Rhode Island Foundation Awards Grants To Spark Learning
Rhode Island Foundation Awards Grants to Spark Learning
Dozens of teachers in communities across Rhode Island will receive nearly $190,000 through the Spark Grants program at the Rhode Island Foundation. Launched by philanthropists Letitia and John Carter in 2013, the program offered school-wide reading grants of up to $10,000 for the first time this year. Elementary schools in seven communities will receive grants for proposals that will inspire a life-long love of reading in students.
The program also continued to offer full-time third-grade teachers in any public or charter school statewide grants of up to $1,000 for classroom innovation. Sixty teachers statewide received grants this year.
“We still strongly believe that third grade is a critical stage in the educational development of youngsters,” said Letitia Carter. “The new reading grants are grounded in the belief that imaginative reading and assimilation of context can make learning fun and exciting. Expanding the program’s scope will put more children on the path to educational success.”
Eligible expenses include software licenses, equipment and other resources that otherwise would not be available to teachers. Spark Grants are for one-time expenses and cannot provide ongoing funding to sustain projects.
“As always, Letitia and John Carter are leading innovation by example. Our hope is that their foresight and commitment inspires new creativity and engagement in teachers and their students,” said Neil Steinberg, president and CEO of the Foundation.