New York State is giving $6 million in grants this school year for family-engagement programs aimed at boys and young men of color, inspired by President Barack Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper initiative.
School districts can apply for grants of up to $150,000 each for the 2016-17 school year. Districts are eligible based on their free- and reduced-price-lunch rates, number of English-learner students and graduation statistics, according to the grant description.
Applications are due in August.
The New York Legislature allocated a total of $20 million for initiatives to help boys and young men of color as the first state to accept the My Brother’s Keeper challenge, according to the grant. The first school grants will be for family-engagement and beginning-teacher programs, according to a July 18 story by Monica Disare in Chalkbeat New York.
Obama announced My Brother’s Keeper challenge in 2014 as a way to address the opportunity gap for boys and young men of color, asking communities to tackle six milestones. Those include reading at grade level by 3rd grade and completing postsecondary education or training, according to the White House website.
“We can start changing the lives of boys and young men of color in New York State right now,” Regent Lester Young said in the Chalkbeat story. “By expanding access to critical opportunities we can help young people get a better education, gain access to the middle class and fulfill their dreams.”