PROVIDENCE, RI – Governor Dan McKee and the Rhode Island Department of Education (RIDE) today announced the recipients of nearly $3.8 million in Advancing Learning Beyond the 180-Day School Year grant program funding aimed to support Rhode Island communities launch or expand extended learning programming in alignment with the Governor's Learn365RI initiative.
"Our Learn365RI grants will help us improve student outcomes across the state by empowering communities to offer more high-quality, out-of-school learning opportunities," said Governor Dan McKee. "By working together with education leaders and city and town representatives, we will ensure our students have the support and resources to recover and excel academically. With these investments in our kids, we are closer to reaching our goal of 1 million hours of additional learning for the students of our state."
"The Learn365RI grants we have awarded are direct investments to expand access to year-round learning opportunities and accelerate learning to get our students back on track," said Commissioner Angélica Infante-Green. "Through continued collaboration among state, municipal, school, and community leaders, we will ensure our students can thrive and our school communities continue to move forward. I congratulate all the recipients and thank them for their commitment to shifting from 180 days of learning to 365."
The McKee Administration issued a Request for Proposal for the Advancing Learning Beyond the 180-Day School Year grant program as part of the Governor's Learn365RI initiative, with the long-term goal of improving student learning outcomes and increasing three key metrics: Rhode Island Comprehensive Assessment System (RICAS) mathematics and English Language Arts scores; school attendance rates; and Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) completion rates.
Learn365RI grant funding will support wide-ranging efforts across the state. For example:
In Burrillville, the funds will help provide a number of STEM related programs, tutoring, and academic support across the community through partnerships with the Boys & Girls Clubs of Northern RI, Smith Memorial Library, Burrillville Prevention Action Coalition, Burrillville Extended Care, and Burrillville Public Schools.
In Central Falls, the funding will support a partnership with Coaching 4 Change and Rhode Island College to provide near-peer tutoring and experiential learning for all fourth graders, the hosting of district-wide FAFSA nights, and the expansion of the Central Falls Pod Mentorship Program to support school day attendance.
In Newport, the grant will support a partnership with the Boys & Girls Club of Newport County, Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center, and the EBCAP/Newport Family and Child Opportunity Zone, to expand the Reading Reaps (R3) Rewards project from a summer program to a year-round program targeting Kindergarten to fourth grade students. It will also support FAFSA completion with a series of workshop events and target attendance with various community engagement events with FabNewport.
In South Kingstown, a partnership with the Johnnycake Center for Hope and the University of Rhode Island College of Education will help provide academic tutoring for students from Kindergarten to eighth grade, along with additional supports for students with dyslexia. The funding will also help create wrap-around services with Tides Family Services for middle school students to address chronic absenteeism and a partnership with the Tomaquag Museum to offer trauma-informed care trainings to families and educators.
Learn365RI expanded grant recipients for funds ranging from $50,000 to $400,000 include:
Burrillville - $286,990 Central Falls - $394,564 East Providence - $340,000 Middletown - $203,445 Newport - $345,000 North Kingstown - $305,000 Pawtucket - $310,000 Smithfield - $240,000 South Kingstown - $325,000
Standard $50,000 grant recipients include: Bristol Coventry East Greenwich Hopkinton Jamestown Lincoln Little Compton New Shoreham North Smithfield Portsmouth Richmond Scituate Warwick West Warwick Woonsocket
Barrington, Cranston, Cumberland, Providence, Warren, and Westerly remain eligible to access standard grant funding and will be provided technical assistance and support from RIDE. The agency is hosting support sessions for these communities this week.
An additional $4 million in funding was approved within the Governor McKee's #RIReady budget and will be made available by the State to provide additional support for extended learning opportunities statewide.
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