RD377 - Executive Summary of the Targeted Extended School Year Grant Program – November 1, 2019


Executive Summary:

This Executive Summary includes the activity of the Targeted Extended School Year Payments grant program for fiscal year 2019. Since the General Assembly began appropriating and authorizing grants to extend the school year in FY2014, the Virginia Department of Education has administered the voluntary grant application and award process. In the seven years of dedicated appropriations for this grant, 25 different school divisions have received awards to conduct planning and/or start-up activities.

To encourage applications for the FY2019 grant program, the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) promoted the availability of $7,150,000 in start-up funds and $613,312 in planning funds included in the FY2019 Appropriation Act. The FY2019 grant cycle produced the largest number of grant-funded start-up and planning awards.

Using the guidelines established by the 2018 Appropriation Act Item 135 N (Appendix A), the VDOE awarded start-up grants totaling $7,614,012.00 to 65 schools in 13 school divisions—Bristol, Carroll, Charlottesville, Chesterfield, Hampton, Henrico, Manassas Park, Newport News, Petersburg, Richmond, Roanoke City, Rockingham, and Winchester. These schools and prior year grant recipients implemented programs which served 19,780 students in some capacity during fiscal year 2019. Three school divisions applied for and received $149,300.00 in planning grant funds—Chesterfield, Halifax, and Mecklenburg.