Broken Arrow Schools Receiving $500,000 in Grants
By BOB LEWIS
Contributing Editor
Broken Arrow Public Schools will launch the coming school year on a positive note with $500,000 in state grant money to help it cope with the impact COVID-19 is having on student learning.
The grant is part of $16 million going to 150 school districts across the state. BA and Moore are receiving the largest awards. Tulsa Public Schools is number four on the list at $360,000.
Gov. Kevin Stint and State Superintendent Joy Hofmeister said selected districts will focus their grant money on five priority areas which the pandemic should impact during the next school year. They include expanding connectivity, continuing mental health supports and various services for at-risk students. The money also ensures training in the “science of reading” for teachers in prekindergarten through the fifth grade
Of the total $16 million, $8 million is coming from the state’s Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Act. The other half is being pulled from its Emergency Education Relief Fund. Both are part of the federal Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act.
B.A. education officials say the district will use some of its money to purchase Chromebooks to open a virtual academy for students from pre-k through the eighth grade and support distance learning at elementary school sites.
