Boys & Girls Clubs of Greater Northwest Indiana was recently named the recipient of a $4 million grant as part of the state’s Student Learning Recovery Grant Program. The funding, created last year through House Enrolled Act 1008, allocates $150 million to support in-person accelerated learning options for Indiana’s students in the areas of literacy, math and college and career readiness.
“It’s more important now than ever that our communities, families and schools come together to accelerate student learning,” Governor Eric Holcomb said in a press release from the Indiana Department of Education. “This important work requires unparalleled collaboration, and I’m thankful that so many partners across the state have stepped up to the plate to deliver these extended learning opportunities for our students.”
Boys & Girls Clubs President & CEO Ryan Smiley said the award has the potential to be transformative and will allow the organization to address a number of challenges youth in Porter and Lake counties are facing as a result of the COVID pandemic. The youth development organization will use the funds to launch its Re-LEARN program, which will focus on literacy, education, activity, readiness and nutrition.
“This is a huge opportunity to do some exciting things and ensure our Club kids get back on academic track after a couple tumultuous years,” Smiley said. “This funding allows us to combat learning loss in multiple ways, including offering some new programs and creating some new staff positions in key areas. This is a grant that reaches every part of our organization.”
Smiley said Clubs will implement and reinforce a number of intervention strategies like offering small group and individual tutoring sessions, as well as evidence-based learning programs, healthy lifestyles activities, and programs that develop social-emotional skills. He said the organization will staff social workers to prioritize the mental health of its Club members. Older participants will have the option to join the organization’s Career Academy, a new college and career readiness prep program that exposes tweens and teens to career options through on-site employer field trips and engagement with Purdue Northwest’s Society of Innovators Entrepreneurship Club.
The award will also enable Boys & Girls Clubs to create new jobs to improve its efforts. Smiley said the organization will hire a director of education, education coordinators, teen service directors and teen program coordinators, as well as staff social workers to address issues of mental health.
Central to the success of the grant are partnerships with local school districts.
“Educators across the state are working strategically to help close learning gaps and reduce the significant academic impact we’ve seen from pandemic-related school disruptions. This is an enormous responsibility – and it requires all of us,” Indiana Secretary of Education Dr. Katie Jenner said in a release.
To this end, Boys & Girls Clubs is partnering with a number of area schools to implement the Re-LEARN program. Smiley said Portage Township Schools, Gary Community School Corporation, School City of Hammond, School City of East Chicago and Valparaiso Community Schools have signed on so far. These collaborations will allow for data sharing between Clubs and schools to track measures such as attendance, grades and test scores from students whose parents have given permission. Smiley said this will enable Clubs to evaluate the success of the program, respond to student needs as they arise and demonstrate the impact of Re-LEARN.
“Working with schools is critical to the success of what we do as an organization and to this program specifically. We all share the common goal of helping our young people find success,” Smiley said.