Families of low-income students in Missouri can receive up to $1,500 in state funding for learning tools such as internet equipment, tutoring and educational camps through a new grant program.
The state’s Closing the Gap Grant Program, which is accepting applications through Oct. 25, is available to students in Missouri public school districts or charter schools, as long as they live in Missouri. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) is making $25 million available to eligible families to spend at their disposal.
The state lists eligible expense categories as educational materials, tutoring, academic days or summer camps, computer equipment, internet connectivity, before- and after-school education programs, course fees and textbooks, and online access for academic apps or subscriptions. , education, etc. or learning skills services, arts-related day or summer camps, arts enrichment, etc.
Grant winners can select vendors for these services through Odyssey, an online platform that partnered with DESE for the grant.
Mallory McGowin, DESE’s chief communications officer, said in an email that the grant is aimed at addressing learning loss during the COVID-19 pandemic. In Missouri, like the rest of the country, reading and math test scores for fourth- and eighth-graders declined “significantly” from 2019 to 2022, according to the federal Department of Education’s national report card.
The first round of grants will be given priority to households with incomes at or below 185 percent of the federal poverty line. If funds remain, families above that limit may receive funds during the second award.
DESE does not track data on the number of households with incomes below 185% of the federal poverty level. However, McGowin noted that students from these families are eligible for the Free and Reduced Lunch Program (FRL). Children from families with incomes below 130 percent of the federal poverty level are eligible for free school meals, while children from families with incomes between 130 and 185 percent are eligible for free school meals. People who meet the federal poverty level are eligible for reduced-price school meals.
Using the latest available data on FRL eligibility, 20.8 percent of Washington School District students qualify for the first round of Closing the Gap grants. This equates to approximately 725 students who could be paid up to $1,500 for out-of-classroom learning tools.
In the Union R-XI School District, that number is 27.2 percent, or 813 students. In the New Haven School District, 151 students, or 32.8 percent, will qualify. At St. Clair R-XIII, 42 percent of students, or 820 students, will qualify. And that number represents 40.6 percent, or 1,184, of Meramec Valley R-III School District’s students.
These are the students hardest hit by pandemic-era setbacks, and those who were already far behind before the pandemic. In Missouri, students who qualify for the FRL lag an average of 26.5 points behind more affluent students in reading and math.
For context, the “significant” drop in test scores from 2019 to 2022 that prompted the state action was a 5-point drop.
Area school officials said they encourage families who think they can help students who are struggling in the classroom to apply for the grant. Washington School District Superintendent Jennifer Kephart told The Missoulian in an email that the school is sharing information about the grant on its website and social media. St. Clair School District Superintendent Kyle Kruse said St. Clair schools also plan to promote the opportunity to local parents.