To continue the battle against fallout from COVID-19, Gov. Jared Polis on Wednesday launched a $32.7 million grant program that seeks to create innovations that help the state’s most disadvantaged students.
In an interview with Chalkbeat, Polis said he hopes the Response, Innovation, and Student Equity Education Fund, known as RISE, will plant ideas that will leave Colorado in a better place during and after the pandemic.
The state describes the competitive grant fund, which uses federal stimulus money from the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief Fund, as an incubator of ideas that advance student learning, especially among those who have suffered deeply the economic, social, and health effects of the crisis.
Polis also hopes RISE will foster new models of learning, ideas to better the educational experience of college students, and ways to strengthen the connections between high school, college, and careers.
Polis said he wants the state to use the money to address long-standing inequities among student populations.
“The ideas are going to be as creative as our state is,” Polis said
Earlier this year, Polis designated $510 million to Colorado school districts and $450 million to higher education, both from federal stimulus money. A formula determined how much each institution received.
He said the new grant allows the state to identify and address its greatest areas of need outside of the formula.
-Jason Gonzales, Chalkbeat
Author: Mile High Mamas
