A for Arizona Awards Expansion and Innovation Grant to Edison School of Innovation
A for Arizona | AforArizona.Org
Edison School of Innovation is 1 of 7 state schools to be awarded A for Arizona’s “Public Small Learning Communities” grant as a part of their Expansion & Innovation Fund.
PEORIA, AZ – Arizona families have responded to the current pandemic by finding creative ways to ensure a successful educational environment for their children. Meet A for Arizona's newest Public Small Learning Communities — all community-driven, small scale solutions by public schools across Arizona benefiting nearly 1,000 students this spring 2021 semester. These grants provide seed funding for new small models and approaches to teaching and learning that support student populations that have been significantly disrupted during the COVID-19 pandemic and make access to Small Learning Communities free and more equitable.
PROBLEM TO SOLVE
With COVID-19 cases on the rise, providing in-person learning has been the biggest challenge for Edison School of Innovation. In their small Title One school, any cases impact staffing at a greater level when they have to quarantine. Students living in pover-ty, children of essential workers, Exceptional Student learners, and English language learners have especially struggled academically from the remote learning and have demonstrated a greater need for access to reliable internet, additional instruc-tional support, meals, and a safe place to learn while parents are at work in essential roles.
SOLUTION EXCITEMENT POINT
With an incredibly inclusive student body and leveraging research, Edison aims to build a meaningful learning hub for in-person engagement and social-emotional supports for students suffering from trauma and lacking support from many learning options right now. This model will provide interactive opportunities away from the screen for students to improve focus, physical, and mental health and also have access to counseling services for additional social-emotional support.
WHY IS THIS APPROACH SO URGENT?
This proposal was developed in real-time this school year based on student needs, parent surveys, and caregiver communication on a need for an alternative to distance learning. The social-emotional learning hub aims to increase level of learning engagement, improve student behavior, and expand social-emotional skills.
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