Explanation
BACKGROUND: This ordinance is necessary to authorize the Director of the Department of Education to enter into contract with I Know I Can to provide funding to organizations operating as Learning Extension Centers in the City of Columbus. Because of the pandemic, urgent action is needed to assist students to keep them engaged in learning despite school building closures, and for an amount not to exceed $1,620,956.20.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Columbus City Schools, like so many districts across the country, began the 2020-2021 academic year with a fully remote learning model for grades K-12. The District decided to phase-in a blended learning model beginning in mid-October.
This decision has been crucial for the safety and wellness of students and their families, as well as for teachers, bus drivers, administrators, food service workers, support staff, and custodians. However, many challenges and obstacles will, and have, prevented our students from learning, growing and developing to their full potential under these conditions.
Students need more than classroom instruction to succeed. In their schools, they receive critical support services, such as mentoring, college counseling and advising, tutoring, healthcare, access to nutritious food, and services that support their physical and social-emotional health and development. Without in-person learning, students do not have access to these crucial programs.
And though equipped with computers and hotspots, funded by, among others, City of Columbus CARES funds, students and families could have difficulties in engaging in their education virtually.
But, Columbus is America’s Opportunity City, and in Columbus, every child has an opportunity to succeed. In Columbus, a group of people and organizations led by I Know I Can came together to strategize ways to keep students supported and engaged in learning despite school building closures. Together, this group developed learning extension ce...
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