Local afterschool funding for approximately 1,500 students is being provided for the upcoming 2019-2020 school year through $550,787 in afterschool funding supplied through the Partnership Project.

The Partnership Project is a 20-year-old program founded by Harris County Department of Education’s Center for Afterschool, Summer and Enrichment for Kids, or CASE for Kids, which fills afterschool funding gaps through a unique collaborative between local, state and federal partners.

Partnership Project is a collaboration between HCDE’s CASE for Kids, the Houston-Galveston Area Council, the Texas Workforce Commission and local afterschool sites in which all parties contribute funding.

Services will be provided from Oct. 1, 2019 through Aug. 31, 2020 to 25 afterschool sites located in schools throughout Harris County. Awards range from $10,000 to $30,000. Districts include Alief, Houston, Pasadena and Sheldon independent school districts and charter schools the Academy of Accelerated Learning Chimney Rock and Belfort.

“The Partnership Project allows us to expand our reach to local families and education communities we serve during times when public school budgets are lean and federal funding for afterschool has lessened,” said CASE for Kids Director Lisa Thompson-Caruthers.

CASE for Kids supplies resources, training and funding for students in afterschool programs in schools, childcare families and community centers. In 2017-2018, CASE for Kids served 14,627 students and supported 2,814 educators.

The goal of Partnership Project is to provide supplemental funding to comprehensive afterschool programs for disadvantaged students ages 4-12, or children with disabilities up to age 19.  The program promotes social and emotional learning skills and increases support for academic programs which promote math and reading.

The Partnership Project fills funding gaps with a variety of resources, including the CASE for Kids lending library which provides curricula, educational games, sporting equipment and STEM-based materials like robotics kits. Afterschool vendors affiliated with CASE for Kids specialize in academic focus areas that highlight math and language and social and emotional learning.

For more information, including specific schools and award amounts, visit https://bit.ly/2XlPd5z