RELEASE: New Microschooling Option for Nevada Families Selected in Education Fund’s Inaugural Round
Grant for MicroschoolingNV helps Meet the Moment during pandemic, educational crisis
The VELA Education Fund announced today that MicroschoolingNV, an initiative of Nevada Action for School Options, will receive a grant of up to $150,000 through the Meet the Moment inaugural fund. This financial support will support the non-profit organization in developing more resources and partnerships to serve families as they grapple with the educational crisis created by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Through a robust, diverse ecosystem of resources, experts, and technical assistance, MicroschoolingNV directly supports families and school systems. This fall, the non-profit is partnering with the City of North Las Vegas to launch the Southern Nevada Urban Micro Academy in city-run recreational centers and libraries that support microschooling sites, offering in-person learning opportunities for more than 150 learners in grades K-8. This summer, the nonprofit also served as Nevada’s partner with the National Summer School Initiative (now called Cadence Learning), offering its ambitious five-week online program for free to more than 200 children from some 60 different elementary and middle schools across the state.
“Microschooling holds a strong, growing appeal to Nevada families for a variety of reasons. Especially during pandemic conditions, the opportunity for learners to continue advancing along their trajectories, meeting their needs as individual learners making choices from among high-quality tools, seems especially compelling,” said Don Soifer, President of Nevada Action for School Options. “This crisis is leading parents to think deeply about what matters most to them about their children’s education, and they are increasingly turning to microschooling given its student-driven model and wide range of choices.”
VELA is a national, nonprofit fund that began operating in August through a collaboration between the Walton Family Foundation and the Charles Koch Institute. With the pandemic leading to the temporary closure of school buildings nationwide, VELA’s Meet the Moment grant program is encouraging parents, educators, and education-innovators to rethink how, when, and where learning takes place.
“Parents, educators and entrepreneurs are reinventing when, where and how learning happens,” said Marc Sternberg, K-12 Education Program director at the Walton Family Foundation. “At such a pivotal moment for America’s students, nothing feels more important than investing in the future of school and learning and in the future of our next generation.”
Since launching in August, VELA has distributed more than $1 million in grants to organizations like MicroschoolingNV and to partners such as Camelback Ventures and the National Parents Union. VELA is also working with Transcend to create a community of interaction, learning, and growth to support the Meet the Moment grant program partners and families, as well as, gather and summarize learnings, insights, and findings from the overall Meet the Moment grant program.
Learn more at www.vela.org.
About VELA Education Fund
VELA Education Fund is a national, nonprofit fund dedicated to accelerating education innovation and opportunity for every learner. The fund provides charitable grants driving early and accessible funding to everyday entrepreneurs – community members, families, and young people – developing authentic and responsive learning experiences outside of the traditional K-12 system. VELA Education Fund connects its grantees to a national network and provides them with a platform to elevate their work and learning.
About Nevada Action for School Options
Nevada Action for School Options supports the timely growth of diverse choices of high-quality, rich and personalized educational opportunities for all Nevada learners. Nevada Action’s MicroschoolingNV initiative offers resources and support for Nevada learners and their families to support a robust, diverse ecosystem of effective microschooling options in response to rapidly expanding demand across the state.
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All media inquiries should be directed to media@velaedfund.org.