MEDIA CONTACT: Meghan Frick, GaDOE Communications Office, 404-416-2286, mfrick@doe.k12.ga.us
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April 23, 2020 – The Georgia Department of Education is awarding a total of $241,900 to rural school districts to help them expand access to summer literacy programs, State School Superintendent Richard Woods announced today.
Nineteen rural districts are receiving the summer literacy grants, which can be used to create, develop, and implement summer learning initiatives that support literacy education and improve student outcomes in English Language Arts and literacy during the summer months.
For example, districts may choose to increase or extend their media center's summer hours; provide books and resources to families; offer parent engagement workshops on literacy skills; or link summer book clubs or contests to their summer nutrition programs.
Given the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, awarded districts have the flexibility to use their funds for activities this summer or during summer 2021.
“Providing opportunities for continued reading and literacy learning during the summer months is essential," Superintendent Woods said. “These funds will help school districts reach their students where they are and provide ways to keep reading and learning all summer long."
The grants are part of GaDOE's broader Partnership for Rural Growth initiative, which seeks to expand the resources available to public school districts in rural Georgia.
All eligible school districts were given the opportunity to apply for the summer literacy funding. For the purposes of the grant, a rural school district is any district currently eligible for funding under the federal Rural Education Achievement Program.
Districts Awarded Funding
District | School | Funding Amount |
Baldwin County | Lakeview Academy | $10,000 |
Baldwin County | Midway Hills Primary School | $10,000 |
Baldwin County | Baldwin High School | $10,000 |
Baldwin County | Lakeview Primary School | $10,000 |
Bleckley County | Bleckley County Elementary School | $10,000 |
Brantley County | Brantley County Middle School | $10,000 |
Brooks County | North Brooks Elementary School | $10,000 |
Brooks County | Brooks County Middle School | $9,300 |
Brooks County | Quitman Elementary School | $10,000 |
Bulloch County | Mill Creek Elementary School | $10,000 |
Burke County | Waynesboro Primary School; Blakeney Elementary School; SGA Elementary School | $10,000 |
Dooly County | Dooly County K-8 School; Dooly County High School | $10,000 |
Dublin City | Susie Dasher Elementary School | $10,000 |
Echols County | Echols County K-8 School | $10,000 |
Grady County | Whigham School | $10,000 |
Glascock County | Glascock County Elementary School; Glascock County Middle/High School | $10,000 |
Jasper County | Jasper County Primary School | $10,000 |
Jefferson County | Jefferson County Middle School | $9,800 |
Madison County | Comer Elementary School | $5,500 |
Madison County | Danielsville Elementary School | $2,300 |
Madison County | Ila Elementary School | $9,900 |
Meriwether County | Mountain View Elementary School; Unity Elementary School; George E. Washington Elementary School | $10,000 |
Montgomery County | Montgomery County Elementary School | $10,000 |
Talbot County | Central Elementary-High School | $5,100 |
Taliaferro County | Taliaferro County School | $10,000 |
Thomaston-Upson County | Upson Lee Primary School | $10,000 |