State of Montana Newsroom
Superintendent Arntzen Announces a Partnership with Afterschool Programs
The Office of Public Instruction (OPI) is on track today to release the formal application for the Montana Afterschool Grant. This grant is part of the federal American Rescue Plan for COVID-19 relief. Afterschool community organizations, including schools, will receive $2,805,957 for the calendar year of 2022. Grantees can apply for renewal for the second year of funding.
The Montana Afterschool Grant is a formula grant. It has a two-tier process where interested organizations or schools have until November 12th of 2021, to submit an Intent to Apply.
The criteria for general eligibility and amount funded included:
- Number of students of serving
- Location and population density of the community,
- Socio-economic status of the students served
The formal application is now open. For the first allocation, 75 afterschool programming sites are eligible to apply for funding, and over 4,000 Montana students will be served.
“As a classroom teacher of 23 years, partnership with afterschool programs is essential for the continuation of learning,” said State Superintendent Elsie Arntzen. “These afterschool partners provide a safe learning environment supporting our hardworking Montana parents.”
A steering committee was formed in late spring of 2021, with multiple conversations focusing on current and future needs in a sustainable model. OPI will be offering an introduction to the electronic grant (E-grant) application and technical support webinar [mt-gov.zoom.us] on Wednesday, December 29th at 11 AM via Zoom.
For more information, please contact Jeff Kirksey, MSEd., ESSER Program Manager, at Jeffrey.kirksey@mt.gov or (406) 444-0783.