Fayette schools gets $500,000 to ‘foster diverse schools,’ US Department of Education says

Valarie Honeycutt Spears
·2 min read
1

Fayette County Public Schools in Kentucky, along with schools in places like Chicago and New York City, will receive part of a $14 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education to “foster diverse schools,” a news release from the department said.

FCPS will use its $500,000 grant at Lexington Traditional Magnet School, said district spokesperson Dia Davidson-Smith.

The money will be used to enhance arts education programs at the school. It will receive $500,000 the first year, $300,000 the second year and can compete for a $1 million grant in third year, Davidson-Smith said.

Grants for the first year of the program were distributed by Sept. 30, so grantees have access to those funds now to begin their projects, U.S. Department of Education officials told the Herald-Leader.

Recipients have committed to working closely with families, students, communities and school diversity plans through a variety of activities. For example, grantees will engage with stakeholders to better understand the needs of their school communities and how to best address them.

About 82% of Lexington Traditional Magnet School’s population, or 292 of the 356 students, is economically disadvantaged, according to the Kentucky school report card.

The grants support districts as they work to enrich educational experiences by providing every student with a well-rounded education and improved school conditions for student learning, U.S. Department of Education officials said in a news release Thursday.

“Every student in America deserves access to a high-quality education,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Miguel Cardona in the news release.

However “persistent racial and socioeconomic isolation in schools continues to result in inadequate resources, lesser access to advanced courses, fewer extracurricular offerings, and other tangible inequities that disproportionately impact students of color and students from low-income backgrounds,” Cardona said.

The Fostering Diverse Schools Demonstration Grants Program comes as “schools and classrooms have become increasingly more separated along lines of socioeconomic status, race, and ethnicity,” the news release said.

Chalkbeat.org reported New York City received $3 million for initiatives in Brooklyn and Manhattan and that a spokesperson for Chicago Public Schools said that district would use its $500,000 for hiring staff and hosting community meetings.

Hamilton County schools in Tennessee and Winston-Salem/Forsyth county schools in North Carolina are among the 30 other school districts across the United States that received grants through this new program, according to the news release.