Action under consideration:

The Administration recommends that the Board of Education authorize The School District of Philadelphia, through the Superintendent or his designee, to accept grant funds and donations of in-kind, non-construction/non-capital services, if awarded, from various sources, as follows:

From:

All agencies, departments, boards, commissions and instrumentalities of the United States of America, Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and/or The City of Philadelphia, as well as certain other organizations including colleges, universities, other institutions of higher education, and charitable or nonprofit funding entities.

Purpose:

To accept grant funds to support a broad array of non-construction/non-capital projects and ancillary programming aligned to the District’s mission and purpose

Grant Start date: July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2028

Grants for an aggregate amount up to: $800,000,000 in FY24 and 110% of the prior year’s amount in future years

Description:

Why is this Action Item needed?

● On a recurring basis, many different governmental agencies at the federal, state and local levels, as well as other organizations offer the District grant funding for non-construction/non-capital services designed to support various supplemental programs and services. To facilitate the processing of those agreements with maximum efficiency so as not to create delays in accessing the funding that impacts our most vulnerable students, the District seeks Board approval for all these types of funding agreements via this action item for the current fiscal year through FY25.  

Anticipated grants covered by this action item include but are not limited to the following:

·       Title I A Improving the Academic Achievement of the Disadvantaged. To ensure all children have a fair, equal, and significant opportunity to obtain a high-quality education and reach at a minimum, proficiency on challenging State academic achievement standards and state academic assessments.

·       Title I D Delinquent Children and Youth. To support School District programs that ensure that students returning from facilities for delinquent students successfully transition into district programs.

·       Title II A Supporting Effective Instruction/Improving Teacher Quality Funds. For professional development in the areas of math, science and technology to improve teaching and learning, and to support class-size reduction/elimination of split classes.

·       Title III Immigrant and LEP Language Instruction. To provide high-quality professional development to classroom teachers, upgrade curricula, materials and assessment procedures, community participation, and parent outreach for limited English proficient and immigrant students.

·       Title IV Student Support and Academic Enrichment Programs.  To enhance learning opportunities through student support and academic enrichment.

·       Pre-Kindergarten Head Start (Federal). To provide high quality pre-Kindergarten programming for eligible, low-income families.

·       Head Start Supplemental Assistance (State). To expand and enhance the high quality pre-Kindergarten programming provided through the federal Head Start Program.

·       PreK Counts Program. To provide high quality pre-Kindergarten programming for eligible families, including Bright Futures programs.

·       Impact Aid/Refugee Children School Impact Aid/Refugee & Entrant Assistance Discretionary Grants. To improve resettlement services for refugees, enhancing services to disadvantaged refugee groups, and for a wide array of other objectives.

·       School Improvement Grants. To fund data driven school improvement efforts in schools designated as "low performing" under ESEA.

·       Education for Children and Youth Experiencing Homelessness Program. To support activities and services to ensure educational continuity for school age children temporarily living in shelters.

·       Promoting Adolescent Student Health (PASH). To support school-based HIV/STD prevention and health promotion programming, as well as surveying students about high-risk behaviors.

·       Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act. To provide secondary career and technical education services in public schools; Support for high schools in developing/improving approved Career and Technical Education (CTE) programs.

·       CTE Supplemental Equipment Grant. To purchase equipment necessary for the implementation of high-quality Career and Technical Education programs.

·       Gaining Early Awareness and Readiness for Undergraduate Programs (GEARUP). To provide targeted supports and academic programs designed to increase the likelihood of success in attending postsecondary educational programs.

·       Education Leading to Employment and Career Training (ELECT). To provide supports to pregnant and parenting students, including fathers, to help ensure educational success for them and their children.

·       Junior Reserve Officers Training Course (JROTC). To provide an instructional program for students that promotes patriotism, develops informed and responsible citizens, develops respect for constituted authority, and develops a high degree of personal honor, self-reliance, individual discipline and leadership; to provide an educational program that enhances instruction for students by building higher level citizenship and leadership skills, developing increased personal and social responsibility and helping them perform better academically in less time and with greater retention.

·       Nutrition Education Outreach Program. To provide supplemental nutrition education services Districtwide.

·       Ready To Learn (RTL) Grant. To subsidize the cost of Kindergarten programs and improve early literacy education Districtwide.

·       Applied Behavioral Analysis (ABA) Services Program. To provide training for teachers in ABA, a proven research-based strategy for teaching and supporting students with Autism and severe language and behavior deficits.

·       Aspiring to Educate Program. To support a teacher pipeline initiative that will provide more diverse, high-quality candidates for teacher positions in District schools.

·       Promise Neighborhood Program. To support a comprehensive array of interventions, implemented in partnership with Drexel University and other institutions, to improve outcomes for families living in the designated “Promise Neighborhood” section of our city (Mantua and environs).

·       School Violence Prevention Program Grants. To support evidence-based interventions to reduce incidence of violence and improve school climate.

·       The Philadelphia Pre-Kindergarten Initiative (PHLPreK). To expand the number of high-quality pre- kindergarten slots available for 3 and 4 year old Philadelphians.

·       National School Lunch Program (NSLP). To provide partial reimbursement for the cost of breakfast and lunch meal services provided to eligible District and participating charter school students.

·       Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) Twilight Meal. To provide partial reimbursement for the cost of twilight dinner meal services provided to eligible District and participating charter school students.

·       Child and Adult Care Food Program (CACFP) PreK Program Meals. To provide partial reimbursement for the cost of meal services provided to eligible students in the District's Pre-Kindergarten program.

·       Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP). A pilot program to increase scope and availability of fresh fruit and vegetables in selected District schools.

·       Other grants and donations designed to further schools’ and the District’s progress in fulfilling its mission as articulated under the Board of Education’s Goals and Guardrails.

This Action Item does not authorize acceptance of funds for construction services or capital improvements. The District will seek authorization for donations of funds for such services and improvements via separate action items as required by law or Board policy.

How is this work connected to the District’s plan to achieve Goals & Guardrails?

The funding authorized by this Action Item supports a large portion of the District efforts to provide high quality educational services. All the programs supported with these funds are designed to be in alignment with goals and objectives articulated in the School District’s strategic plan. Evaluation plans designed by the District’s Office of Research and Evaluation are described within each program’s annual application, if required. A variety of data, including those from standardized tests, are used as criteria for successful programming.

Goals and Guardrails supported:

Reading Goal – Every student reads on or above grade level

Math Goal – Every student performs on or above grade level in math

College & Career Goal – Every student graduates ready for college and careers

Guardrail #1 – Every school will be a safe, welcoming and healthy place

Guardrail #2 – Every student will have a well-rounded education

Guardrail #3 – Every parent and guardian will be welcomed and encouraged to be partners

Guardrail #4 – Our students' potential will not be limited by practices that promote systemic racism