On April 28, the Community-Building Institute Middletown (CBIM) was awarded three grants from the Ohio Department of Education to expand existing and create new free summer learning opportunities and afterschool programs.

The focus of these out-of-school opportunities will be on providing direct services to students who experienced significant disruptions to learning and did not engage consistently in school during the COVID-19 pandemic. The goals are to help accelerate student learning through academic and tutoring programs focused on literacy, college and career readiness, and entrepreneurial programs, and to address students' mental health and wellness through enrichment activities. CBIM will coordinate programming with Middletown City Schools to support in-school learning and prevent learning loss over the summer.

The Ohio Department of Education received over 700 applications and awarded 161 community-based partners across Ohio, of which CBI Middletown received 3. The grants awarded were:

• The Summer Create Grant was awarded $684,705 ($228,235 per year for three years) for CBIM to offer free full-day summer learning opportunities at Mayfield Elementary, Smith Park, Three R Development, the Louella Thompson Dream Center, and the Robert "Sonny" Hill Jr. Community Center. These dollars will allow CBI to serve an additional 250 students in grades K-5.
• The Summer Expand Grant was awarded $598,434 ($199,478 per year for three years) to expand CBIM's current free summer learning opportunities at Amanda and Rosa Parks Elementary, Middletown High School, and serve youth in grades K-5 and 9-12.
• The Afterschool Create Grant was awarded $1,000,000 ($500,000 per year for two years) to expand after school programs to 10 new locations. Mayfield, Creekview, Miller Ridge, Wildwood Elementary, Highview 6th Grade Center, Middletown Middle School, Central Academy, Three R Development, the Louella Thompson Dream Center, and Robert "Sonny" Hill Jr. Community Center. This funding will allow CBIM to serve up to 500 students in grades K-8 and offer free after school program sites at every school in Middletown and with two community partners.

In addition, these grants will also support weekly Meetup, Read Up, and Eat Up, our summer reading program,  that meets on Wednesdays from 11:00 am - 2:00 pm June 1 through July 20, at multiple locations in the community, and serves latch key students not enrolled in summer learning programs.

The grants are restricted for use to the out-of-school programming mentioned above, and not to be used for any building projects or other CBIM programs.

To register your youth for one of our free programs, go to www.cbimiddletown.org.

About CBI

Headquartered in Middletown's historic Robert "Sonny" Hill Community Center, CBI exists to be a primary force for creating and sustaining community revitalization, transforming Middletown one student, one family, and one neighborhood at a time.

Middletown's goals are to see children adequately prepared to enter kindergarten, students are reading on grade level by the third grade, the youth set up for success post-graduation through college and career, and families in poverty achieving self-sufficiency. We use a "Cradle to Career" continuum of programming that assists families at every generational level. By doing this, we work patiently towards the long-term goal of revitalizing the Middletown area.