HARTFORD – Some 1,100 Hartford students at 19 schools will have access to imaginative and diverse after-school enrichment activities this school year thanks to state funds awarded through the Hartford Public Schools.
Fifteen community-based organizations will receive a total of $375,000 through the 2013-2014 Extended School Hours Grant competition.
The individual grants range from $24,000 to the Ebony Horsewomen, an African-American equestrian group based at Keney Park, for a program at Noah Webster MicroSociety Magnet School to $10,000 for Hartford Stage, a local theater, to use at Great Path Academy. Multi-school awards went to groups such as the Boys & Girls Clubs of Hartford, ConnectiKids and Youth United for Survival.
These programs are intended to provide opportunities for academic improvement, including instructional services to help students meet state and local performance standards, according to the school district’s announcement Friday. The activities also are expected to spark students’ imagination and promote self-discovery through the arts, recreation and fun, socialization, cultural enrichment, service learning, character education, and leadership development.
“ESH grants are an integral part of our district’s reform strategy,” said Superintendent Christina M. Kishimoto.
Extended School Hours grants are funded by the Connecticut Department of Education and awarded by Hartford Public Schools through a competitive Request for Proposals (RFP) process that began in October.
The grants cover from Jan. 2 through June 30. A review committee made the awards based on criteria approved by the state Commissioner of Education.
The following grants have been awarded:
Artists Collective, Martin Luther King Jr. Elementary, $24,000
Blue Hills Civic Association, Culinary Arts Academy at Weaver, $24,000
Boys & Girls Clubs, Expeditionary Learning Academy at Moylan School, $24,000; Global Communications Academy, $20,000
Catholic Charities, Jumoke Academy at Milner, $15,000
COMPASS Youth Collective, Nalor/CCSU Leadership Academy, $24,000
ConnectiKids, M.D. Fox School, $20,000; West Middle-Middle Grades Academy, $24,000
Ebony Horsewomen, Noah Webster, $24,000
Hartford Stage, Great Path Academy, $10,000
Hispanic Health Council, Maria C. Colon Sanchez Elementary, $24,000
Organized Parents Make a Difference, Montessori Magnet School at Moylan, $18,500
Village for Families and Children, Alfred E. Burr Elementary, $15,000
Urban League of Greater Hartford, Bulkeley High School, HPHS-Law and Government, HPHS-Academy of Nursing and HPHS-Academy of Engineering, $24,000
YMCA, Simpson-Waverly School, $24,000