The Department of Education on Wednesday will announce nearly $60 million in new and existing philanthropic funding to help students and schools recover from the pandemic, an education official first told Spectrum News.
The money is meant to boost and prolong the impact of the federal COVID-19 relief funding signed into law last year, more than $122 billion of which went to elementary, middle and high schools to help them get through the pandemic.
Millions of dollars in charitable grants will layer on top of that funding for things like afterschool programs, tutoring, addressing learning inequities, combatting teacher and other staff shortages and boosting students’ mental health.
Education officials will announce the new commitments ahead of a summit planned for Wednesday to highlight the contributions of the American Rescue Plan, which will gather teachers, parents, officials and students together.
The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, for example, will commit $17 million through 2025 to help state and district leaders implement high-impact tutoring programs.
Another $14.4 million to support afterschool will come from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, including more than half devoted to the successful implementation of COVID relief funds.
Some money will be offered directly to districts, such as $1.25 million in grants from the William + Flora Hewlett Foundation, which will be available to the Akron and Cleveland school districts in Ohio, the Hemet Unified School District in California, plus Jackson Public Schools and Baltimore City Public Schools.
“Schools across the country are emerging from pandemic lockdowns with new approaches to teaching, new challenges in enrollment, and new sources of funding,” said Kent McGuire, Hewlett’s Education Program Director. “Hewlett wants to provide grants that enable district leaders to learn together and transform their schools to meet the needs of their students in a changed world.”
The Raikes Foundation, a Washington-based nonprofit which focuses on equity in education, made a $10 million investment “to support organizations aimed at accelerating learning and expanding access to mental health supports.”
“What students need right now is for everyone to come together and respond to the pandemic’s ongoing impacts on their learning and mental health,” an education spokesperson for the foundation told Spectrum News. “We’re happy to see this effort come together, and we’re glad to contribute.”
The education department’s Wednesday summit will focus on addressing issues including labor shortages in schools. Districts from Kentucky to upstate New York and around the country don’t have enough teachers. More than 75% of district leaders surveyed by EdWeek in the fall said they were facing at least a moderate shortage of staff, especially substitute teachers, bus drivers and paraprofessionals.
Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona last month called on states and higher education leaders to use COVID relief funds to address the shortage.
“Thanks to American Rescue Plan funds, schools are open for in-person learning, but that is just the beginning,” said Cardona in a statement this week. “The summit will provide an opportunity for schools, educators, parents, families, students, advocates, government officials, and more to convene, share best practices, and learn about the ways these funds are making a real difference.”
