Manchester City Schools has received a grant in the amount of $758,554 that will fully fund the system’s “Afterschool Journey” program.
Afterschool Journey is the name of the program, and it will operate each regular day of school from 3-6 p.m. and there will be no cost for families that participate thanks to the grant.
According to information provided by Manchester City Schools, this program will offer academic, remedial and enrichment services to between 580 and 650 students at College Street Elementary and Westwood Elementary, providing a safe environment for children who have working parents who cannot be home after school.
Approximately $14 million was available to award for LEAPs funding, which is the Tennessee Lottery for Education Afterschool Programs. Applications with a score of 71 or more requested approximately $22.6 million in funding. Based on a technical merit score of 98.7, the Tennessee Department of Education and the office of extended learning and afterschool made the grant available to Manchester City Schools for Aug. 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021. There were a total of 79 applications across the state.
Grant fund will continue to be awarded for three years, provided funding is available and the grantee is making reasonable progress toward project goals.
Performance goals set forth by the TDOE and Office of Extended Learning and Afterschool include improvement in Reading and Language Arts and Math, addressing chronic absenteeism, increasing family engagement, and help address social and mental challenges of students and families. Many great organizations have partnered with Afterschool Journey to provide enriching activities that address the aforementioned performance goals and some “just plain fun” things to do. MCS partners are: UT Agriculture Extension 4-H, Coffee County CHS Future Farmers of America, Coffee County Manchester Public Library, University of the South Sewanee, EverFi Financial Literacy, WHOLE Child Mental Health and Wellness Project AWARE, UT Space Institute, Hope Petty Homeschool Theater Enrichment Program, and the Hands-On Science Center. Many more will be added soon.
