Three school districts and one charter school in Southwest Central Indiana were awarded grants from Lilly Endowment Inc. to implement strategies to strengthen school counseling programs for their students.
Brown County Schools, Bloomington Project School, Monroe County Community School Corporation, and Orleans Community School Corporation were among 52 Indiana school corporations and charter schools selected for the grants designed to develop “best practice comprehensive counseling models that effectively address the academic, college, career, and social and emotional counseling needs of their students.” ROI applauds these schools for bringing educators and communities together to address this critical need in schools.
Lilly Endowment’s September 29 announcement indicated that K-12 grant funding will be used to launch of a variety of efforts that include, among other strategies:
- Collaborating with mental health care providers to address their students’ social and emotional challenges;
- Pursuing novel ways to engage local businesses in preparing students for a range of employment opportunities, including developing mentoring and internship programs and planning industry information sessions and site visits to local companies;
- Implementing a comprehensive counseling model developed by the American School Counselor Association;
- Making better use of digital tools and adding and integrating curricula for college and career exploration and preparation;
- Providing professional development to teachers, counselors and administrators so they can identify and address the social and emotional needs of students to improve overall student wellbeing;
- Partnering with colleges and universities to offer college counseling, financial aid assistance, campus visits and related programs.
Read the full announcement: Lilly Endowment Announces $26.4 Million in Counseling Grants to School Corporations and Charter Schools Statewide.
The Lilly Endowment has also announced that a second competitive round of the counseling initiative is available. Round II grant proposals are due March 15, 2018. ROI is happy to work with schools interested in pursuing this grant opportunity. Contact us for details. Read more: Comprehensive Counseling Initiative for Indiana K-12 Students Round II Application Procedures.