PROVIDENCE – State officials and the R.H. Department of Education launched the $3 million Education Health Leads to Learning, or GOOD, initiative on May 9 to support the development of health spaces in schools across the state.
In addition, the initiative will provide funds to accompany professional development and programming.
Govt Daniel J. McKee, RI Education Commissioner Angelica Infante-Green and RIDE together said the designed wellness spaces will allow students and staff to experience a relaxed atmosphere and a chance to decompress. This initiative comes in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and schools looking to reimagine themselves to meet the holistic needs of students.
State officials say local education agencies have up to 4,000 students with $100,000 in funding to help purchase furniture and fixtures for these spaces. Larger agencies can get $150,000. In addition, LEAs can apply to use one-time funds to support staff and student wellness programming, state officials said.
Interested local education agencies seeking funding should contact RIDE by email at SBACapitalFund@ride.ri.gov by May 26.
James Bessett is PBN’s special projects editor and also covers the nonprofit and education sectors. You can reach him Bessette@PBN.com. You can also follow him on Twitter @James_Bessette:.
Want to share this story? Click here to purchase a link that allows anyone to read it on any device, whether they’re a subscriber or not.