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New Pandemic Recovery Programs

Grant to provide additional supports for Walla Walla students this school year

Walla Walla Public Schools will utilize a one-time, pandemic recovery federal grant to provide tutoring, expand volunteer programs and enhance afterschool learning opportunities for students this school year.

“Two years ago, Walla Walla Public Schools applied for and was awarded a $1.4M extended day/extended year grant,” said Superintendent Dr. Wade Smith. “This targeted grant must be used to support outside-of-day programming, with a deadline to allocate resources no later than the fall of next school year.”

In addition to offering vast summer school opportunities the last two years, Walla Walla Public Schools also utilized these funds to bring a 21st Century afterschool program to Berney Elementary to ensure all elementary sites maintained access. Pandemic recovery grant funds also allowed the district to implement targeted afterschool academic programs at the elementary level that started last spring. These new offerings listed below, scheduled to begin this school year, will continue to help students move beyond the pandemic.

“These new programs we are offering are based on staff and stakeholder input,” said Superintendent Smith. “We are thankful to the school board for prioritizing these funds to help us further support students, many of whom were significantly impacted by the pandemic. We look forward to the positive results these opportunities will have on improving student academic recovery, attendance and engagement.”

2022-2023 Grant Funded Learning Enhancements at a Glance:

AT THE ELEMENTARY LEVEL
• Grow and expand the successful afterschool academic interventions, specifically targeting reading and mathematics.
• Continue to supplement afterschool academic interventions with dedicated Social Emotional Learning support through our 21st Century programs.
• Expand community engagement and volunteerism in district elementary schools to help support staff and the individual and personal needs of students and families.

AT THE MIDDLE SCHOOL LEVEL
• Expand the Communities in Schools (CIS) case-management approach into extended day and outside-of-school-time contexts, where CIS personnel will target specific struggling students.
• Implement after-school tutoring and math/reading/skill intervention programs, similar to the elementary model.
• Provide free, on-demand (24/7) online tutoring services to all middle school students.
• Broaden volunteerism to support staff in order to foster increased student engagement and address issues of chronic absenteeism.

AT THE HIGH SCHOOL LEVEL
• Hire extended day/after hours Communities in Schools (CIS) personnel to provide extended day academic, SEL, and social-wellbeing supports for students and families through dedicated case management.
• Provide free, on-demand (24/7) online tutoring services to all high school students.
• Utilize a broad-based volunteer framework to provide additional academic resources and support, remove barriers and increase engagement, and to bolster student connectedness to community and the real-world.

 

WALLA WALLA PUBLIC SCHOOLS • 364 South Park St. • Walla Walla, WA 99362 • Phone: 509-527-3000 • Fax: 509.529.7713

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