The University of Kansas has been chosen to run one of seven centers across the state that will help both teachers and parents learn how to help children read better.

Now, KU has to figure out exactly where it will locate this new center that likely will employ about 10 professionals who are experts in the “science of reading.” The center doesn’t have to be on the KU campus, and it will be designed to serve an area that encompasses at least Douglas, Johnson and Wyandotte counties, a leader of the effort told the Journal-World on Wednesday.

“Its purpose will be to train teachers, and it also is to help support families who might have a child struggling and who might need an evaluation,” Cynthia Lane, director of the Kansas Board of Regents’ Blueprint for Literacy program, told the Journal-World in a brief interview.

The Regents at their Wednesday meeting approved a plan that will create seven Centers for Excellence in Reading across the state. Other universities chosen to operate centers are Kansas State, Wichita State, Emporia State, Pittsburg State, Fort Hays State and Washburn University.

The centers are a foundation of the state’s Blueprint for Literacy, which has received $10 million in state funding this year, and is expected to receive annual funding from the state in the future. Education and legislative leaders have come together to support the literacy initiative after data showed that more than 30% of all Kansas students are reading below their grade level, many times dramatically so.

“Some don’t read, some don’t read well, but they don’t read well enough,” said Lane, who is a former superintendent of the Kansas City, Kan., school district and was a literacy champion when she previously served on the Kansas Board of Regents.

The Blueprint for Literacy calls for all elementary teachers in Kansas to get credentials in the “science of reading,” which is a phrase for the latest scientifically tested methods for teaching children how to read. New research on the subject has shown that many of the longtime methods used to teach children how to read aren’t the most effective ways, and sometimes can be counterproductive.

The seven Centers for Excellence in Reading will be places where teachers can go to take classes needed to get those credentials. Plans call for all elementary teachers to have credentials in the science of reading by 2030. In many cases that will involve teachers taking some classes either remotely or in person, although some teachers may already have the skills that will allow them to essentially take a single test to show they already have the needed competencies.

But the centers are expected to provide teacher assistance long after the initial classes are completed. Staff at the centers — all trained in the science of reading methods — will be available to help teachers one-on-one throughout the school year. That means if a teacher is struggling to get through to a particular student, that teacher can call a Center for Excellence to get advice on how to reach that student.

Lane said that scenario often would lead to one of the staff members of the center actually traveling to the school to meet the student and the teacher and give advice tailored to the student. Getting staff members of the centers into the schools is a high priority, Lane said. In addition to working individually with teachers who have requested assistance, the staff at the centers also will be working with school counselors and others to ensure that those school personnel know that the centers are available to work with students in need of help.

“I kind of think of it like your school counselor at your primary K-12 building is like your primary care physician, and the center is the specialist,” Lane said. “You get a referral and then the specialist goes back to the primary care, the schools, and helps provide support at that level.”

Additionally, Lane said parents also will be able to contact the centers directly and discuss issues that their children are having with reading. Those discussions may lead to testing and development of a learning plan.

At KU, the center will be part of the university’s nationally recognized school of education. Exactly where the center will be, though, hasn’t yet been determined. Lane said the center does not have to be on the KU campus, and there is a desire to have the center in a location that is easily accessible for teachers and others who may be driving there to take classes, for example.

Lane said KU and all the other universities are scheduled to present final plans next month to her office and the literacy board that is overseeing the Blueprint for Literacy. A location for the center should be proposed at that time.

In other business, Regents on Wednesday:

• Approved a change in KU’s academic calendar for the next school year. KU received approval to start the fall 2025 semester a week earlier than originally planned. The first day of classes now will be on Aug. 18, up from its scheduled start date of Aug. 25. The last day of finals also will be moved to Dec. 12, up from Dec. 19. The changes align KU with all other Regents schools in the state, other than K-State, which is keeping its later start date.

• Approved a nearly 4% increase in student housing and meal plans rates for the next school year at KU. Under the new rate plan, a modest double-occupancy room with a limited meal plan would cost $11,338 per year at KU. That’s an increase of 3.8% from current rates. The 3.8% rate increase is the largest proposed for a Regents university, slightly exceeding the 3.7% increase proposed for Pittsburg State. KU, the largest university in the system, has the second-highest overall rate. Wichita State has the highest annual rate at $11,910. Rates at the other schools are: ESU, $10,500; FHSU, $9,306; KSU, $10,520; PSU, $9,320.

• Approved a new KU undergraduate degree in Health and Society. The degree will be offered through the Sociology Department of KU’s College of Liberal Arts & Sciences. It will be the first such degree offered in the state and will provide students with an “interdisciplinary understanding of the role of social factors in health, such as housing, economics and local environments,” KU told the Regents via a memo.

• Approved a new KU professional science master’s degree in Environmental Geology. The degree will be offered through KU’s geology department, with the bulk of the degree program occurring through online classes, and will specialize in helping scientists understand both manmade and natural disasters.