The Westmoreland Intermediate Unit will use a $200,000 grant from the Richard King Mellon Foundation to expand and enhance virtual learning for children age 3 through grade 8 and their families.
The intermediate unit’s Learning Equitable Accessibility Network project is among 37 proposals that were granted a total of $5.25 million through the foundation’s Covid-19 Economic Impact and Recovery Initiative.
The LEAN project is meant to provide students, parents and teachers in member school districts tools to help children overcome gaps in learning caused by school closures because of the pandemic, according to intermediate unit Executive Director Jason Conway.
A lending library for families of elementary and early learning students will provide internet access for those who lack it as well as devices to connect them to their instructors and educational resources.
The grant also will support professional learning opportunities for up to 1,500 teachers and therapists, with a focus on better practices for online instruction and use of media tools in personalized learning. The intermediate unit also proposes creating a teacher cadre leader for every 10 instructors.
LEAN will also offer training and consultation to parents of children ages 3 through middle school, to help them better support their children’s educational needs.
