Partnership between “A Kid’s Place” and “Southwest Dubois County School Corporation” leads to $1 M Grant to fund K-5 Student Learning Recovery Program

The Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) announced that it has awarded “A Kid’s Place” a $1,058,862 million grant to fund a Student Learning Recovery Program which will result in a multi-year collaborative community-school approach to address student learning loss due to COVID-19. Children in grades K-5 will be invited to attend sessions over the summer, before school and after-school that will provide individual and small group instruction focused on getting all students to be “at or above grade level” in math and literacy.

In all, more than $122 million in state grant funds is being awarded to 110 community partners and schools across the state. Deanna Vonderheide, Executive Director of A Kids Place, and Melissa Boeglin, Director of Curriculum, said that staffing is a critical piece of the vision for how they will use the grant. They plan to hire a Learning Recovery Site Coordinator, who will work closely with teachers during the school day at Huntingburg and Holland Elementary Schools, to analyze assessment data, identify struggling students, and create individualized learning recovery plans.

Grant dollars will also be utilized to pay teachers (special education, EL teachers, general elementary, art, music, etc.) and counselors outside of contractual hours to provide high quality support, tutoring and enrichment activities. The program will look more like a camp, with time allocated for academics, enrichment, social-emotional learning, and building relationships.