Feds release guidance for block grants to support a 'well-rounded' education
Moving away from the no-frills, test-driven approach to education of the No Child Left Behind era, U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King Jr. on Friday released guidance about new federal block grants designed to fund a more varied curriculum, a more positive school environment and a more integrated use of technology.
The newly authorized Student Support and Academic Enrichment Grants are intended to provide schools the flexibility to fund programs they feel are most crucial to well-being and intellectual curiosity of their students. Created under the federal education law known as the Every Student Succeeds Act, the grant program consolidates targeted grants that were used under the previous federal education law, No Child Left Behind.
Courses such as civics, technology, music and the arts, “aren’t luxuries that are just nice to have,” King said in a statement. He added, “For me and for so many students, a wide range of possible subjects in school, powerfully and creatively taught, can be exactly what it takes to make the difference between disengagement and a lifelong passion for learning.”
The three areas identified for funding in the grants, which are also known as Title IV grants, are so broad as to encompass nearly everything a school would like to fund, from mental health counseling to an art class. The categories are: safe and healthy students, integrating technology to improve learning, and access to a “well-rounded education.”
The term ‘‘well-rounded education’’ is defined in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 as “courses, activities, and programming in subjects such as English, reading or language arts, writing, science, technology, engineering, mathematics, foreign languages, civics and government, economics, arts, history, geography, computer science, music, career and technical education, health, physical education, and any other subject, as determined by the state or local educational agency, with the purpose of providing all students access to an enriched curriculum and educational experience.”
“For me and for so many students, a wide range of possible subjects in school, powerfully and creatively taught, can be exactly what it takes to make the difference between disengagement and a lifelong passion for learning,” said U.S. Secretary of Education John B. King Jr.
The “safe and healthy students” category includes nutritional and physical education, creating systems to prevent bullying and harassment, and supporting re-entry programs for students who have been involved in the juvenile justice system. The umbrella of “well-rounded” educational opportunities also Feds release guidance for block grants to support a ‘well-rounded’ education | EdSource:
