(INDIANAPOLIS) – More than 100 programs to help students make up lost ground this summer are receiving grants from the state.
The $122 million in learning-loss grants will reach students in all but nine of Indiana’s 92 counties, to help those who fell behind when the pandemic moved classes online. There’s another $28 million to be awarded. The money will go to community groups partnering with local school districts, including 12 Boys and Girls Clubs, the United Way, and 10 universities.
The grants range from $29,000 for a project in Muncie to $11 million for “summer learning labs” across Marion County. The Indianapolis-based Mind Trust had already announced plans for half-day summer school across Indianapolis. CEO Brandon Brown says the grant will double capacity to 7,000 students. He says about 3,000 slots have been filled already.
The Mind Trust is partnering with United Way of Central Indiana on the program, which will operate in schools and community buildings. The programs which aren’t school-run will surround the three-and-a-half-hour classroom curriculum with other activities aimed at keeping students engaged. Brown says the Mind Trust plans to chart and release data on how participating students do in school afterward. He’s hoping the program can be a fixture even after the pandemic is in the rear-view mirror.
26 of the 110 grant recipients will focus on Marion County, with another eight including Indy in multi-county efforts.
Legislators used federal pandemic relief money to create the grant fund.
