The State Charter Schools Foundation of Georgia (SCSF), a nonprofit foundation dedicated to supporting high-quality state charter schools in Georgia, has announced a second round of COVID-19 Relief Fund grant awards totaling $170,000 for state charter schools to support students. Financial support for the SCSF’s COVID-19 Relief Fund was provided by a $150,000 grant from the Greater Atlanta COVID-19 Recovery and Response Fund, a partnership between the Community Foundation for Greater Atlanta and United Way of Greater Atlanta, a $15,000 grant from the Next Generation Foundation (Columbus, GA), and other private donations. The SCSF provided $204,000 in grants to schools in the spring for electronic devices, Internet access, and tutoring when schools first closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The second round of grants will help ensure that state charter school students have equitable access to learning and support they need to be successful. Grant awards provide funds to state charter schools for tutoring and supplemental small group instruction for academically at-risk students, Internet access for low-income students, electronic devices for students to access learning, and student outreach services. Awards were made based on region based on funder requirements. (The list of grants is below.)

“Students need their schools, and the schools need us. We must give state charter schools tools to promote students’ academic success and wellbeing,” said Michele Neely, SCSF President. “The SCSF is grateful for the support of the Greater Atlanta community and the Next Generation Foundation so that we can help our schools provide high-quality learning and support opportunities for their students while they respond to the COVID-19 pandemic,” said Neely. State charter schools have been responsive to the needs of their individual communities, providing a combination of virtual, in-person, and hybrid learning models, based on feedback from their school communities and public health guidance. Since they each operate as their own public school district, state charter schools have the flexibility to make decisions that best serve their students, faculty, and staff. State charter schools offer innovative educational models for their students, and their commitment to these unique approaches has continued whether learning takes place in person or virtually.

“We know that students need additional support in many ways right now. They have experienced insecurity and unprecedented disruptions in learning, and we must do everything we can to help them access learning and resources. We have seen great results from tutoring and small group instruction from our previous COVID-19 Relief grants, and the SCSF proud to offer grant funding to our schools for this purpose.” said Neely. Schools outside of the Greater Atlanta area are also being awarded funds for student outreach and support for basic needs. 

Grant Awards for Schools in Greater Atlanta

Grant Awards for Schools outside the Atlanta Area

Grant requests from state charter schools exceeded $1.5 million, and the SCSF is continuing to raise funds to support the remaining significant needs of state charter school students throughout Georgia. The SCSF is seeking funding partners to help provide devices, Internet access, tutoring, and support services for state charter schools. Public state charter schools do not receive funding or facility support from local governments, and they typically receive less funding overall than traditional public schools. Anyone interested in supporting state charter schools is encouraged to visit the SCSF’s website at scsfga.org and reach out to their president, Michele Neely at [email protected].