$5 MILLION IN EMERGENCY GRANTS TO SAVE CHICAGO PUBLIC SCHOOL CHILDREN ANNOUNCED

No child deserves to have their educational opportunities denied.

(Washington, DC) In response to the outrageous actions - akin to a strike - of the Chicago Teachers Union (CTU) this week, and inaction by the School District, a $5 million Rescue Fund has been created by STOP Award founder Janine Yass in partnership with the Center for Education Reform (CER) to assist schools or programs that can immediately start or expand existing schools for students.

The STOP Award was originally created to honor and advance the work of education providers that continued to perform for underserved children during Covid. In December 2021, $3.5 million in grants was awarded to help education organizations that took decisive action and transformed their existing programs to expand to more students. 

Now, the STOP Award Rescue Fund will support the great educators and organizations who are ready to step in where the traditional Chicago Public Schools have failed. 

“Our goal is to ensure that there are outstanding opportunities for in-person and blended learning for students who have continued to be failed by the Chicago Public Schools system,” said CER Founder and CEO Jeanne Allen. “If the STOP Award taught us anything, it is that there are thousands of educators, civic leaders and parents who are willing to do whatever it takes to help children succeed, if given the opportunity to do so.”

This year, the Chicago Public Schools received approximately $1.8 billion dollars in federal funding to “pay for Covid safety measures, keep teaching positions, and empower a slew of academic and mental health interventions.” Despite this federal funding, Chicago Public Schools remain closed. 

Applications for emergency grants under the STOP Award Rescue Fund will be accepted at https://stopaward.com/rescue/application/ through January 14th beginning at 4 pm EST today, and will be reviewed on a first come first serve basis, and grants awarded to groups able to demonstrate their capacity to educate students with new opportunities now and well into the future.

Exemplary applications will come from:

• Learning pods that work with proven national or local providers, 

• Catholic and community private schools educating low-income families able to expand their enrollment,

• Charter schools willing to partner with local afterschool programs to provide full-time education to students normally served only a few hours a week,

• Parent organizations able to set up learning centers, 

• Other Innovators.

“We are looking for entrepreneurial approaches that can demonstrate to Chicago’s leaders that in this century, children can learn and be taught even under the most difficult circumstances,” said Janine Yass. 

Interested applicants wanting to learn about what success looks like for a STOP Award Rescue grant, and possible resources, should review the STOP Award semifinalists, Forbes STOP Award contributor page and CER’s Essential DB.

For more information contact Michael Musante, Executive Vice President, CER at (202) 302-5983 or michael@edreform.com.

Founded in 1993, the Center for Education Reform (CER) aims to expand educational opportunities that lead to improved economic outcomes for all Americans — particularly our youth — ensuring that the conditions are ripe for innovation, freedom, and flexibility throughout U.S. education.