The Coalition for Community Schools, one of Attendance Counts' key allies in our chronic absence work, sends news that the U.S. Department of Education has released application information for the Full Service Community Schools (FSCS) grant.
This year, the Education Department is making $5 million available for the grants, with a maximum of $500,000 a year available. The department expect to give out eight to 12 grants, ranging from $275,000 to $500,000. The grants are designed to help public schools function as full-service community schools and support state collaboratives developing such programs.The deadline in July 23.
This is an important opportunity for communities to secure funding for a community schools approach, which taps community resources to provide the seamless integration of academic, health and personal development services for children and families.
Community Schools can also use this as an opportunity to explicitly address chronic absence through a comprehensive approach to school improvement--using attendance both as a programmatic goal and a measure of progress.
In Providence, R.I., the Making Connections network of community providers has been using absence data to tip them off to children and families in need of support.
They're using a Full Service Community Schools grant to to pay for transportation to bring children to school, as well as family counseling and home visits. This effectively creates a system of wraparound services for the most vulnerable children and families.
If you are working in a school facing high levels of chronic absence, don’t miss out on this opportunity to obtain the resources you need to address this critical issue and ensure all children have an equal opportunity to learn!
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