NEW HANOVER COUNTY — New Hanover County Schools was awarded an $8.7-million grant from the New Hanover Community Endowment to go toward literacy efforts.
READ MORE: NHCS preparing $8.76M endowment grant, county pushes for ‘favorable’ consideration
The grant, beginning this summer, will support NHCS in hiring 26 literacy facilitators, one to be present at each elementary school and pre-K center. The grant also will provide funding for two additional pre-K teachers and two additional pre-K teacher assistants.
The money will be distributed over the next three years.
“This innovative approach directly aligns with NHCE’s education strategic pillar and more specifically the 2023-25 strategic plan,” the endowment wrote in a statement given to the public at a listening session on Wednesday.
Part of the grant’s goal is to ensure students have access to early learning and development and increase the number of students reading at or above grade level by third grade.
The endowment approved the grant at its June 20 meeting; it will go before New Hanover County Schools Board for approval in July.
Board member Stephanie Kraybill was at Wednesday’s meeting and said Superintendent Charles Foust told the board about its award in the last week.
“I’m very excited about the grant because literacy is one of our focus areas and we want to continue with the momentum that we have at all our schools,” Kraybill said.
She noted, because the grant money is only allotted for three years, the positions hired will be on a contract, with the employees aware of the temporary timeline.
“We will be back in this position in another three years,” she said, comparing it to expiring ESSER funds plaguing the board now.
The Covid-19 relief money from the federal government was approved to finance roughly 170 positions but has expired. It’s one of the reasons, along with less state and federal funding and a depleted fund balance, the board of education is currently scrounging to make budget. It’s faced with cutting positions and reducing classrooms.
Prior to the endowment grant, NHCS has employed literacy coaches, though the 26 positions supported by the $8.7 million are considered new. Kraybill remained positive about their staying power beyond three years.
“Maybe the economy will be better by then and the county commissioners will be more generous or more forward-thinking in their contributions to the education system,” she said.
The school board asked the commissioners for $10.1 million for its budget after facing a $20-million shortfall this year; the county allotted $9.5 million. Yet, County Manager Chris Coudriet compelled the commissioners to advocate to endowment board members for the school district to be awarded the grant money, according to previous Port City Daily reporting.
NHCS announced it was applying for the grant in April.
“We are writing a grant for literacy facilitators because of the strong success we’ve had,” Foust said at the time.
The coaches will be tasked with supporting teachers with modeling and co-teaching lessons, data analysis, curriculum implementation, and professional development to improve student outcomes, according to NHCS.
In its 2022-2027 strategic plan, the board of education adopted a literacy plan with the goal of increasing the percentage of third graders reading at or above grade level to 90%. Another goal is to increase the number of pre-K students meeting or exceeding age expectations in objectives aligned with the North Carolina Early Learning Inventory to 75%.
Also, the grant money for the pre-K positions will put a small dent in the pre-K classrooms the district is faced with cutting. On Tuesday, the board was informed it was not awarded a Head Start grant; last year, the district was told the grant would become competitive.
As a result, the district’s pre-K classrooms will have to be reduced from 46 to 29 in the upcoming year. This results in a decrease from 764 students to 522 students, though returning children and those placed in pre-K already will be prioritized.
The school board convenes again Thursday for an emergency budget meeting as it didn’t pass one Tuesday evening, despite the fact the July 1 deadline looms for the new fiscal year to begin.
Kraybill said the endowment grant money won’t play into the budget discussion on Thursday since it’s not necessarily moving current employees into the 26 literacy coach openings. Though she said she expects some who already work for the schools district, as well as new applicants, to apply for these positions when they open.
CATCH UP: Emergency meeting scheduled for NHCS budget, more than 100 positions remain to be cut
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