Ciresi Walburn Foundation for Children grants more than $280,000 to attack the "COVID-slide"
Six organizations chosen to receive funding for innovative responses to the "COVID-slide"—the pandemic's impact on academic achievement for children of color and low-income children.
The Ciresi Walburn Foundation for Children today announced more than $280,000 in grants to support schools and organizations working to mitigate the impact of and help students catch up from learning loss due to the coronavirus crisis.
The Foundation released a Request for Proposals after local media coverage and recently published studies from the Northwest Evaluation Association and McKinsey & Company painted a bleak picture of the devastating impact the coronavirus crisis will likely have on student learning and our economy, here in Minnesota and across the US. What some researchers are calling the “COVID slide” may result in many students entering school this fall nearly a full year behind where they would typically be. Additionally, learning loss will almost surely be greater for low-income, Black, and Hispanic students, exacerbating long-standing opportunity gaps.
At the same time, stories are emerging from across the country of schools and organizations that are successfully responding to the challenges presented by school closures and “distance learning.” The goal of the Foundation’s RFP was to identify similar efforts in the Twin Cities and provide grants to organization’s with innovative plans to mitigate negative impacts on student academic achievement.
“The six schools and organizations receiving grants today are committed to ensuring all Minnesota children have access to a quality education, in spite of the enormous challenges facing schools, families, and communities.”
“The ongoing crisis related to the global pandemic will only exacerbate Minnesota’s academic achievement gaps,” said Foundation board chair Mike Ciresi. “The six schools and organizations receiving grants today are committed to ensuring all Minnesota children have access to a quality education, in spite of the enormous challenges facing schools, families, and communities.”
The Foundation selected the six grant recipients from the Twin Cities against the criteria laid out in its COVID-19 Response Request for Proposal (RFP):
describe creative, imaginative, and/or research-backed programs and plans to boost academic achievement for students of color, English Learners, and students who qualify for free- and reduced-price lunch;
be rigorous in leading students towards meeting grade-level standards;
be “evergreen”—programs and plans that can be implemented in the near-term and also in future school years; and
be replicable by other schools and organizations.
The Ciresi Walburn Foundation for Children selected the following schools and organizations in support of their COVID-19 Response proposals:
Friendship Academy of the Arts: $100,000
Northeast College Prep: $40,475
Way to Grow: $50,000
Pillsbury United Communities: $50,000
Saint Paul Promise Neighborhood c/o Amherst H. Wilder Foundation: $32,259
Joyce Preschool: $10,000
“While we recognize the enormous needs across the community, these six proposals stood out to the board by demonstrating a commitment to innovation, academic rigor, and replicability,” said Foundation Treasurer and Secretary Roberta Walburn. “We’re especially excited about the proposals from Friendship Academy of the Arts and Northeast College Prep, both of which proposed ideas that could be replicated in schools across the Twin Cities in order to meet the learning needs of our least well served students.”
Students at Northeast College Prep in Northeast Minneapolis will continue to receive grade-level instruction and just-in-time interventions.
Northeast College Prep, a K-8 school serving more than 300 students in Northeast Minneapolis, will provide training and professional development to non-teaching staff and assigning those staff to small groups of students to ensure that a strong school/student relationship exists despite distance learning. Students will receive diagnostic assessments in the fall to determine the extent of learning loss over the past several months, and every family will receive personalized support for their unique circumstances. 85% of students at Northeast College Prep identify as students of color, 41% are English Learners, and 88% qualify for Free or Reduced-Price meals.
The school plans to effectively utilize instructional staff’s time and energy by engaging their teachers in the reopening planning process during the summer and providing training to educators in the most current research-based best practices for utilizing their online learning platforms. “The goal is to ensure that all of our students continue to receive grade-level instruction and just-in-time interventions,” says Northeast College Prep Executive Director Carl Phillips. “We know we must accelerate learning next year, not simply focus on remediating for lost learning time during COVID.”
At Friendship Academy of the Arts, a K-8 school which will serve 375 students in South Minneapolis, the forced “distance learning” presents an opportunity to implement an innovative plan to ensure all students needs are being met: personalized learning plans for all students. Through the school’s proposed plan, students at Friendship Academy will be exposed to a variety of instructional approaches, such as independent work with and without technology, group and independent projects, and one-on-one and small-group work with the teacher. Friendship Academy of the Arts’ student population is 98% students of color, with 60% of students qualifying for Free or Reduced-Price meals.
Friendship Academy of the Arts in South Minneapolis will provide students and their parents agency, voice, and choice in the selection of learning formats and content delivery.
Perhaps most importantly, the proposed model will be compatible with in-person, distance learning, or a hybrid approaches to schooling for the next school year. “Our plan offers a variety of formats to families to best ensure student safety and continuous learning, regardless of what the external environment brings,” says Friendship Academy of the Arts Executive Director Dr. Charvez Russell. “Our proposal provides students and their parents with agency, voice, and choice in the selection of learning formats and content delivery.”
Way to Grow will develop a new, virtual home visiting and tutoring initiative to support children ages 4-8 in transitioning to distance learning and meeting grade-level learning standards.
Pillsbury United Communities will provide ancillary academic support for middle and high school students of color through “Goal Getters,” a new tutoring and mentorship program providing rigorous and standards-aligned academic support.
The Saint Paul Promise Neighborhood is taking their historically successful STEM Freedom School online for the summer, culturally relevant literature, live instruction with group activities, STEM/Social Justice kits, virtual field trips, and read aloud guests from the community.
Joyce Preschool will increase the number and capacity of Parent Outreach Coordinators to boost home visits and provide connections to community resources to ensure that family needs are being met.