Boys and Girls Clubs across Georgia will soon be better equipped to address learning gaps caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Gov. Brian Kemp announced Tuesday that he will designate $15 million from the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) funds to advance student academic achievement by addressing learning recovery and other critical needs of youth brought on by the pandemic.
“Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Georgia have done a remarkable job of serving the needs of youth across the Peach State,” said Kemp. “With this GEER funding, the Boys & Girls Clubs of Georgia will be able to further enhance student academic achievement by addressing educational gaps caused by the pandemic. I look forward to seeing the positive impact this funding has on youth across the State of Georgia.”
According to Kemp, the $15 million will be distributed across 34 Boys & Girls Clubs organizations, 141 sites, and 62 counties in Georgia and will serve over 9,000 youth across the state. Sub-awards from the Georgia Alliance of Boys & Girls Clubs will be made to local Boys & Girls Clubs based on the number of youth served at an average cost of $1,550 per child, the Governor said
The program has lofty goals — including ensuring that 6 percent of youth below grade level will return to grade level by the end of the program term, and 35 percent of youth will show an increase or progress toward grade level achievement.
The funding period is between June 2021 through September 2022, inclusive of summer camp, school breaks, and holidays (fall/spring/winter camps); and the afterschool program for youth ages 5–18 (K-12), to be served at club sites across the Boys & Girls Clubs in Georgia with targeted academic support. According to Kemp, $4 million will go toward the grant kick-off and summer costs for 2021; $7 million will go toward the 2021-2022 school year costs; and $4 million will go toward summer 2022 and the grant closeout.
Boys & Girls Clubs organizations in Georgia provide direct afterschool and summer learning programs and provide out-of-school time services at over 140 club sites in 62 counties across the state. They will be hiring a dedicated Project Manager to oversee the development and implementation this project.
