LEXINGTON, Feb. 23, 2004 – Nearly $500,000 awarded to eight local organizations marks the beginning of a five-year, multimillion-dollar effort designed to narrow the achievement gap between children from low-income families and their more affluent peers in the classroom.
Guided by recommendations from a 10-member community advisory committee of local education, nonprofit and business leaders, the Miami-based John S. and James L. Knight Foundation plans to invest up to $5 million to support the work of Fayette County organizations such as One Community, One Voice.
One Community, One Voice received a $125,000 planning grant to develop a system to monitor parent and family involvement and early childhood programs in seven schools where more than 35 percent of the children are low-income. The group’s work will focus on students in the following elementary schools: Ashland; Yates; Johnson; Harrison; Cardinal Valley; The Academy of Lexington and Booker T. Washington Montessori.
One Community, One Voice is a task force of educators, parents, teachers, government and business leaders began work in 2002 to focus on helping students of color and those from lower income neighborhoods succeed in school. The panel made 90 recommendations to Fayette County school leaders, including increasing parental and community involvement in the schools and improving the literacy skills of all children under 5. The school district has adopted many of the suggestions.
“The Knight grant will help us do what no other task force has been able to do and that’s provide for accountability for the recommendations we have made,” said Arnold Gaither, chair of One Community, One Voice. “We are going to be able to monitor the strategies we recommended to the school system and make sure they get done”
The achievement gap between low and middle-income students, as well as a similar gap between white students and students of color, has been an issue in the community for many years. Knight’s Lexington advisory committee opted to invest the foundation’s resources and build on the work already being done.
The foundation’s investments will focus on improving child-care programs, increasing the number of children receiving health screenings, providing more education support for students in early elementary grades and increasing parent involvement in their children’s education.
“The committee felt there was an opportunity to build on the momentum developed by these local groups; they are so determined to propel the school district toward ensuring the academic success for all students,” said Vivian Celeste Neal, Knight’s community liaison program officer for Lexington.
The local grants approved so far by Knight’s board of trustees reflect varied approaches to helping students enhance their skills and improve their learning environment at home and in the classroom. The partner organizations and their projects are:
- Community Action Council for Lexington, $103,800, to develop and pilot test a cultural diversity training model for early childhood educators.
- Success by Six, $167,000, for an intensive public and mental health outreach services for low-income families with children ages 3 to 5.
- Prichard Committee for Academic Excellence, $76,400, for a literacy training program for parents of preschool children and for child-care providers.
- Boys & Girls Club of Madison County, $71,600, to initiate the POWER Hour education program for students ages 6 to 12.
- Partnership for Kentucky Schools, $30,000, to implement the One to One: Practicing Reading with Students initiative in five primary schools.
- Fayette County Public Schools, $24,000, to plan and open a full-day preschool for 4-year-olds.
- Lexington Public Library Foundation, $20,000, to establish a collection of high-quality, Spanish books and videos.
Knight Foundation has made additional grants in the community. The United Way of the Bluegrass received a $133,000 grant to train potential nonprofit board members and increase diversity within nonprofits. A $30,000 grant to Central Kentucky Blood Center will help the organization buy a new bloodmobile.
These latest grants build on Knight’s long commitment in Lexington, including a history of funding statewide education reform efforts. The foundation has awarded more than $22.6 million in grants to organizations serving the region since 1974. The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation promotes excellence in journalism worldwide and invests in the vitality of 26 U.S. communities.