GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – Governor Tony Evers announced $50 million in “Beyond the Classroom” grants to support learning opportunities and mental health programs for Wisconsin school-aged kids during a stop in Green Bay on Tuesday.
The “Beyond the Classroom” grants aim to help non-profits help school-age kids both virtually and in-person.
“These programs are a lifeline, ensuring our kids have high-quality programming and a safe place, while at the same time giving their parents peace of mind,” Evers said. “Organizations will be eligible for awards up to $500,000 to increase enrollment capacity to add additional learning opportunities that help with learning a loss and to increase critical mental health support for school age kids during the summer months.”
Up to $25 million will be available for programming during the summer months of 2021 and an additional $25 million will be available in the 2021-2022 school year and the following summer months.
“For kids here in the city, this will change the course of their lives and our lives in ways that we can’t fully understand or envision right now. At the same time, these monies will provide immediate relief to kids in communities who need it most,” said Former Green Bay School Board member and current State Representative, Kristina Shelton. “Our kids here and across Wisconsin deserve the best, and this funding will help to ensure that they indeed get the best.”
Shelton says the district is seeing the ‘real-world, life-saving’ impact of funds from the American Rescue Plan, which she says it cutting childhood poverty in half, nationally.
“This is an all hands on deck moment. We need all of the partnerships here to work with the school districts, whether it’s with our private schools or with organizations like the Boys and Girls Club, to make sure that we step up to provide the services that our students need,” Shelton said. “This is just another piece of the puzzle to make sure that we center a caring approach that sees the humility and humanity of our children, because they have some serious and deep needs. So this is life saving and this is going to be incredibly important to our community moving forward.”
“Beyond the Classroom” grants will be funded through Wisconsin’s allocation of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and will be administered by the Wisconsin Department of Administration. Evers has allocated $2.5 billion from the roughly $3.2 billion the state anticipates receiving in American Rescue Plan Act funds to assist in the state’s recovery and restore economic well-being. States continue to await federal guidance before being able to provide complete program details or open applications.
“If we’re going to bounce back from this pandemic, then we have to do the right thing for our kids and our families to make sure that we are better off than when we started,” Evers said. “What’s best for our kids is best for our state, and I can’t stress that any more than I have before.”
Organizations interested in learning more about the “Beyond the Classroom” grants can sign up here.
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