Partnership Offers Two Funding Opportunities for Afterschool & Summer Learning Programs
LITTLE ROCK – Arkansas State University and its sponsored initiative, the Arkansas Out of School Network (AOSN), are pleased to announce two grant opportunities to provide after school and summer learning programs that address student social emotional development and learning loss as a result of COVID-19. The Arkansas Department of Education’s Division of Elementary and Secondary Education selected A-State and the AOSN in 2021 to administer the grants totalling $25 million over three years.
The Summer Supplemental grant application deadline is at 5 p.m. April 26, 2022. The summer grant awards will be announced on May 6, 2022. Awards will range between $35,000 and $75,000 for the award period of May 15 to August 15, 2022. The summer awards will provide funding for high-quality summer learning activities, including literacy, STEM, academic support and skill building, social emotional learning, health and wellness, enrichment, and workforce development.
The Round Two ARP ESSER III Afterschool and Summer grant application will open on May 15, 2022, and will close at 5 p.m. on July 15, 2022. Round two awards will be announced on August 1, 2022. Grants will provide continuation funding for eligible awardees funded in 2021 and will provide access to quality after school and summer programs in underserved areas of the state. The maximum award for round two is $150,000 per award. The grant period for round two is September 1, 2022, to August 31, 2022. The application instructions and documents for both funding opportunities can be accessed through the AOSN website at aosn.org.
The Summer Supplemental and the ARP ESSER III Afterschool and Summer Round Two grants will provide programming for students in grades K-12. Eligible applicants include school districts or entities that partner with a school district, community-based organizations, faith-based organizations, licensed youth development programs and other youth development programs, non-profit organizations, career and technical education programs, libraries, public and private institutions of higher learning, or other entities determined by AOSN and approved by the DESE.
Priority for funding will be given to programs in communities that serve the highest percentage of students who have been disproportionately impacted by Covid-19 and will address the academic impact of lost instructional time on student learning through evidence-based summer programs.
For more information about the afterschool and summer learning initiative, contact Laveta Wills-Hale, AOSN Network Director, at (501)-660-1012 or lwillshale@AState.edu.
