U.S. Department of Education
Today, the U.S. Department of Education (Department) announced $63 million in new five-year Full-Service Community Schools (FSCS) grants to support 42 local educational agencies, non-profits, or other public or private organizations and institutions of higher education working to expand existing community schools or establish new programs in eight new states and territories, including Alabama, Alaska, Louisiana, Maryland, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Puerto Rico.
Meeting the needs of the whole child is essential to help America’s students grow academically and improve their well-being. That’s why the Biden-Harris Administration is committed to supporting the adoption of community school models across the country, which provide comprehensive, integrated supports to our nation’s students, their families, and their communities. Community schools meet the unique needs of the neighborhoods they serve by leveraging local non-profit, private sector, and agency partnerships to bring services into school buildings. This includes services such as high-quality tutoring, health, mental health and nutrition services, and high-quality early learning programs, among others, for students and the community.
“Community Schools are an essential component of accelerating our students’ learning and supporting their social, emotional, and mental health, and deepening community partnerships. At the height of the pandemic, community schools connected students and families with vital nutrition assistance, mental, physical, and other health services, and expanded learning opportunities. This work continues today because we know that students learn best when there is a comprehensive and holistic approach to meeting their needs,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona. “I am thrilled that through the historic investment we’re announcing now, the Department is funding the largest cohort of grantees in the history of this grant program. This represents a huge step toward the Biden-Harris Administration’s goal of doubling the number of Full-Service Community Schools across the country and raising the bar for our support of children.”
This year’s grant competition received the largest number of applications in the history of the program, demonstrating the enormous need to have a continuum of coordinated support to address students’ academic, social, emotional and mental health needs. The new grantees are committed to implementing the four pillars of community schools: 1) integrated student supports that address out-of-school barriers to learning through partnerships with social and health service agencies and providers; 2) expanded and enriched learning time and opportunities; 3) active family and community engagement; and 4) collaborative leadership and practices.
Community schools provide a range of services to meet the unique needs of the students, families, and broader communities they serve. Studies have found that well-implemented community schools—with integrated student supports, active family and community engagement, expanded and enriched learning time, and collaborative leadership practices—can lead to improved student and school outcomes, particularly for students in high-poverty schools.
The White House today also released a new toolkit that outlines how federal grant funding from other government agencies, such as the Departments of Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban Development, and Transportation can be used to support the implementation of the community school model.
Today’s announcement comes while Secretary Cardona is at Turner Elementary School in Washington D.C., one of two District of Columbia Public Schools (DCPS) where FSCS funding will ensure a strong pipeline of services, and further demonstrate the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to providing a high-quality education for all students. DCPS is one of the 42 local educational agencies, non-profits, or other public or private entities and institutions of higher education to receive this funding.
The Department conducted robust outreach to expand interest, and almost half of grantees in this cohort are first-time grantees. Notably, this cohort includes the first set of grantees in the history of the program that have expressed a commitment to scaling the community school model across the grantee’s state. With this award, the Department has awarded FSCS grants in 20 states and territories.
The Full-Service Community Schools awardees are listed below:
State
Year 1 Award
Grant Type
Dillingham City School District
AK
$498,323
Capacity Building and Development Grant
The Association of Alaska School Boards
AK
$2,861,933
Multi-District Grant
Mobile Area Education Foundation
AL
$2,683,027
Multi-District Grant
El Rancho Unified School District
CA
$493,286
Capacity Building and Development Grant
Lindsay Unified School District
CA
$500,000
Capacity Building and Development Grant
Proyecto Pastoral
CA
$493,460
Capacity Building and Development Grant
United Way California Capital Region
CA
$498,603
Capacity Building and Development Grant
United Way of Western Connecticut
CT
$436,949
Capacity Building and Development Grant
The District of Columbia Public Schools
DC
$492,623
Capacity Building and
Development Grant
Communities In Schools of Georgia, Inc.
GA
$3,000,000
Multi-District Grant
Board of Education of the City of Chicago
IL
$500,000
Capacity Building and Development Grant
Cook County School District 104
IL
$1,413,134
Multi-District Grant
Frida Kahlo Community Organization
IL
$2,792,835
Multi-District Grant
Lewis University
IL
$500,000
Capacity Building and Development Grant
Puerto Rican Arts Alliance
IL
$500,000
Capacity Building and Development Grant
Elkhart Community Schools
IN
$1,903,403
Multi-District Grant
Evansville Vanderburgh School Corporation
IN
$500,000
Capacity Building and Development Grant
Marian University
IN
$357,040
Capacity Building and Development Grant
Partners for Rural Impact, Inc.
KY
$3,000,000
Multi-District Grant
Partners for Rural Impact, Inc.
KY
$3,000,000
Multi-District Grant
Partners for Rural Impact, Inc.
KY
$10,000,000
State Scaling Grant
The Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence
KY
$9,605,136
State Scaling Grant
Wilderness Education Project
KY
$3,000,000
Multi-District Grant
The Orchard Foundation
LA
$498,562
Capacity Building and Development Grant
Lowell Public Schools
MA
$499,175
Capacity Building and Development Grant
University of Maryland, Baltimore
MD
$385,507
Capacity Building and Development Grant
Paterson Board of Education
NJ
$499,959
Capacity Building and Development Grant
County of Bernalillo
NM
$491,700
Capacity Building and Development Grant
Las Cruces Public School District 2
NM
$500,000
Capacity Building and Development Grant
Taos Municipal Schools
NM
$499,963
Capacity Building and Development Grant
Batavia City School District
NY
$488,761
Capacity Building and Development Grant
Belleville Henderson Central School District
NY
$139,331
Capacity Building and Development Grant
Booker T. Washington Community Center of Auburn, N.Y., INC.
NY
$399,593
Capacity Building and Development Grant
Sodus Central School District
NY
$2,618,374
Multi-District Grant
Growing Together Inc.
OK
$412,735
Capacity Building and Development Grant
Stilwell Public Schools
OK
$441,161
Capacity Building and Development Grant
Communities In Schools of Eastern Pennsylvania Inc
PA
$500,000
Capacity Building and Development Grant
Communities in Schools Pittsburgh-Allegheny County
PA
$1,273,989
Multi-District Grant
Boys & Girls Club of Puerto Rico
PR
$1,320,401
State Scaling Grant
Seeding Success
TN
$2,796,802
Multi-District Grant
Austin Independent School District
TX
$500,000
Capacity Building and Development Grant
Transformation Waco
TX
$500,000
Capacity Building and Development Grant
Total
63,795,765
For the full list of grantees and abstracts, please visit the Full-Service Community Schools’ webpage.
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U.S. Department of Education Announces $63 Million to Expand … – US Department of Education
