ALLEN COUNTY, OH (WLIO) - The Allen County Educational Service Center shared the impact a state grant has had on local public schools.
The Allen County ESC received over $2 million from the State of Ohio after the pandemic to help students catch up on gaps in reading, STEM, and mental health caused by virtual learning.
The Allen County ESC received over $2 million from the State of Ohio after the pandemic to help students catch up on gaps in reading, STEM, and mental health caused by virtual learning. Each school that received part of the funding was free to choose what they needed to spend it on, anything from hiring additional guidance counselors and bringing in therapy dogs to purchasing software or robotics for their classes. Every public school in the county was accepted, and they report that their students are back on track and, in some cases, performing better than ever.
Every public school in the county was accepted, and they report that their students are back on track and, in some cases, performing better than ever.
"The immediate impact was to get the students back up to where they should be if the pandemic never occurred, and we think we've been very successful. The long-term impact, especially with the STEM part of the grant, is to have our students ready for jobs that don't even exist in the marketplace yet," stated Craig Kupferberg, superintendent at the Allen County Educational Service Center.
You can watch the full video below about the programs implemented in our local schools thanks to the ESC mini-grants.
This shows many of the ways the Extended Learning and Recovery Grant dollars were utilized to help the students of Allen County. This was a grant awarded from the Ohio Department of Education after the pandemic that had to be spent within the last two years.
