Community thankful for $51M grant to fund Battle Creek schools

By Madison Bennett | MLive

BATTLE CREEK, MI - Staff, students and administration with Battle Creek Public Schools are excited and thankful for a five-year, $51 million grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation.

"Wow, it is hard not to stand here and be emotional," Kim Carter, BCPS superintendent said to a room full of community members, city officials, parents, students and staff.

W.K. Kellogg and Battle Creek Public Schools hosted a formal announcement for the community Friday morning at Battle Creek Central High School.

The foundation also streamed the announcement live on Facebook for anyone, allowing students and faculty in classrooms as well as anyone not in attendance to witness the event.

The grant was announced by La June Montgomery Tabron, CEO and president of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, and is meant to fund changes so all students have better access to quality education to help ensure academic success.

It comes after a New York University study that highlighted structural bias and racial, socioeconomic and residential segregation that create unequal access to opportunities in Battle Creek, but a strategic plan had already been in the works for a year and a half, according to Carter.

"The plan has been there, but what we had to do is prioritize our implementation of that plan as a result of the lack of resources needed to fully implement," Carter said.

"So, today was an investment that says now you can do what you know needs to be done to ensure that our students achieve."

For Battle Creek Central High School senior, Sicily McLaughlin, she hopes students will take away the notion that the Battle Creek community is there for them.

"Our community investing their time, resources and support in the student body makes all the difference," she said.

The grant will support:

*Recruitment and retention incentives for teachers and professional development

*A full day pre-kindergarten summer transition program

*Extended pre-kindergarten school year

*Implementation of an Intermediate STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) academy

*High school college pathways program, including an early middle college program, an International Baccalaureate program and academies aligned with fields of interest

*Enhanced academic program supports for all learners

*Comprehensive behavior education plan focused on alternatives to school suspension

*Investments in the arts and athletics

*Early literacy support personnel

*Implementation of innovative curriculum aligned at all grade levels

Tabron referred to the grant as "historic" and said it will serve as a way for people throughout the nation to think about quality education for all children.

"So, there you have it, 51 million reasons to smile," said AJ Jones II, W.K. Kellogg Foundation's chief policy and communications officer. 

This post originally appeared May 5, 2017 on MLive.com.