In the early 90s, Maine students read at a higher level than kids in the nation as a whole. But in recent years, Maine's reading scores on a key national achievement test have been flat. Now, elemenatry school students here do no better than their peers in other states. One in five adults, meantime, is stuck at the lowest level of literacy, according to the group Literacy Volunteers of Maine. In Lewiston today, education officials unveiled a comprehensive strategy designed to arrest these trends and improve reading in Maine from birth through adulthood. Jay Field has more.

When it comes to reading and literacy, you keep running into the same basic conclusion, no matter what study you delve into. Basically, if you can't read or write at a high level these days, you're up a creek----less likely to succeed in college, if you even make it there---and less likely to find work, earn a decent living, vote and involve yourself in other aspects of civic life.

"In a world where 300 billion e-mails are sent every day, our students need, more than anything, to be literate," says Maine Education Secretary Stephen Bowen. Bowen says the state must do everything it can to help current students improve and prevent future generations from falling behind.

"That is why work has been underway for more than a year to develop a comprehensive statewide literacy initiative that is not just about schools, but is about involving entire communities in a concerted effort to expand and improve literacy education in Maine," he says.

Two years ago, Maine got a grant from the federal government to begin developing a statewide reading initiative. Shortly after, a team of researchers, teachers and school administrators began working on the blueprint for Literacy For ME. Sue Reed, who helped draft the plan, runs an early literacy program at the University of Southern Maine and is a pre-kindergarten consultant to the Portland Public Schools.

"Maine is lucky to have an array of wonderful literacy programs already in place, some that are at the state level and many at the community level," she says.

Literacy Volunteers of Maine, for example, helps adults improve their reading skills in communities across the state. There are the Maine Family Literacy Initiative and UMaine's Partnership in Comprehensive Literacy, that bring reading coaches into elementary school classrooms across the state.

As a first step, Reed says Literacy for ME is asking local communities to take stock of the exisiting efforts already underway.

"Local communities are to encouraged to form literacy teams that will identify literacy resources, determine current literacy strenghts and acknowledge underlying challenges," she says. "Comprehensive local literacy plans will help communities to advance what is working well and address areas of need."

At the end of September, Reed says she and her colleages on the Literacy For ME planning team will hold six meetings across the state to get feedback on the plan and brainstorm ways to integrate existing literacy programs.

Susan Bennet Armistead teaches early literacy at the University of Maine and works with the program, Raising Readers, which tries to get books into the hands of kids between birth and age three. She says asking local communties to take control of their own literacy needs is a unique approach to reform.

"The intent is to honor Maine's fierce relationship with local control, and really recognize that nobody knows your community like your community does," she says.

The first Literacy For ME public meeting takes place in Presque Isle on Sept. 19.