The Vicksburg Warren School District will use a two-year grant of more than $800,000 to increase accessibility to books and reading-related technology, officials said.

The United States Department of Education awarded VWSD $413,734 in grant funds for the 2012 fiscal year by way of the Innovative Approaches to Literacy Program competition, U.S. Rep. Bennie Thompson said in an email. Another $400,000 will be dispensed in FY 2013.

Paula Johnson, assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction, said the grant will provide a boost for VWSD in its pursuit of higher state test scores and its preparation for Common Core Standards, a new statewide curriculum going into effect in 2014.

“The utilization of these funds will only enhance what we’re striving for as we move toward Common Core,” Johnson said. “These funds will give us and other community agencies access to nonfiction books we would not have, and access to technology we would not have.”

The Innovative Approaches to Literacy program’s aim is to help develop and improve literacy skills for school-age children in high-need areas.

The program helps fund literacy activities and school libraries, distributes free books to children and their families and provides instruction for qualified library media specialists.