$31,219,073
Total Grant Funding
Executive Summary
According to the W.K. Kellogg Foundation website, the grant making organization has given Battle Creek Public Schools $31,219,073 since May 1, 2017. It states that the grants are to “transform Battle Creek Public Schools to address structural bias and segregation.”
US News and World Report Test Score Proficiency:
Grant Funded Programming
The district’s commitment to racial equity is highlighted through an online report produced for the district and the foundation. It states that the “transformational plan is rooted in racial equity,” which is “an aspirational pursuit that all people have equal opportunity to experience well-being in life.” The report also notes that it is aware that the “inequities their students face due to systemic racism start with root societal issues outside” the district.
As part of the district’s plan to remedy inequities, it partnered with the National Equity Project to focus on “changing practices and policies to create more inclusive and equitable school communities.”
The report also states that the school district implemented “Culturally-Relevant Teaching Practices” because “core subjects are traditionally taught from a Eurocentric perspective that minimizes the contributions of people of color,” which also “can traumatize students of color.”
In the district’s third-year report, it listed priorities and initiatives for the fourth year that include a “renewed focus on racial equity.” The district intends to “refocus on equity” by “re-examining curriculum and teaching practices.” The district will also continue working with the National Equity Project as well as its teachers receiving “unconscious bias training.”
To further increase district teachers’ “competency in equity and trauma-informed practices,” grant dollars were used to pay teachers to participate in the “Transformational Teacher Institute.” The equity and trauma-informed focused institute is aimed at helping teachers “overcome implicit bias” and “changing school climate.”
By prioritizing racial equity, the district implemented a program titled “Unapologetic Focus on Achievement for Black Boys.” In an effort to improve achievement for Black male students, the district implemented various actions and approaches such as “a book club specifically for Black male middle schoolers.”
Grant Funding
Below are the granting organizations, grant amount, and the program being funded.
Purpose: To transform Battle Creek Public Schools to address structural bias and segregation in Battle Creek, Michigan, by providing quality and equitable opportunities to students pre-K to 12th grade and their families to improve school readiness, early success, and college and career preparation.
Purpose: To improve school readiness, early success, and third grade reading proficiency by expanding teacher and leader capacity to support learning and to provide quality and equitable academic opportunities to students pre-k to third grade.
Purpose: To transform Battle Creek Public Schools to address structural bias and segregation in Battle Creek, Michigan, by providing quality and equitable opportunities to students pre-K to 12th grade and their families to improve school readiness, early success, and college and career preparation
Purpose: Address structural bias and segregation, provide equitable opportunities