Grants sought by School District 47 schools outlined at Powell River Board of Education meeting

Five School District 47 (SD47) schools have applied for grants for mental health and learning supports.

At the November 17 school district board of education meeting, superintendent of schools Dr. Jay Yule outlined the resource requests. He said these were put out to schools to address gaps in learning, and also to address wellness initiatives related to COVID-19. He added that grants were issued to schools from the provincial ministry of education and the board of trustees has supplemented those funds with some local funds.

Yule said the initiatives were specific to schools because the district wanted schools to tailor grants to what they thought were priorities.

“This is a supplement above and beyond what we already provide in terms of intervention support in schools,” said Yule.

Director of instruction Kristen Brach said most of the grants were around the $10,000 mark.

She said the first school was Henderson Elementary School, which is looking for additional support to specifically target literacy interventions for primary students. Brach said that would involve a partial teacher. Literacy has been identified as a target for the grant.

She said Edgehill Elementary School is looking for support to supplement an outdoor learning program.

Kelly Creek Community School wants to take on a school-wide project called One School, One Book, to promote literacy in the school, according to Brach. The school also wants to revitalize its library.

Brooks Secondary School is looking for some funding for the theatre, with the new drama program, said Brach.

Westview Elementary School is looking for a portion of a teacher to provide social emotional learning and is also conducting a book club that combines parents as well as staff. The school is also looking at a speaker series to provide mental health topics.

Trustee Brendan Behan asked if the programs will address the mental health crisis the students are in.

Brach said when the school district put the grants out, the funding was coming from the two grants: COVID-19 recovery, addressing learning needs; and the mental health grant.

“It really gave the schools the opportunity to determine which areas they felt their school needed,” said Brach.

Yule said the approach is intentional because there are some things being done district-wide.

“We thought it was important to go directly to schools and let them have those conversations about what might be the priorities,” added Yule. “I agree, they are very diverse, allowing the schools to make decisions based on their own requirements.”