Summer and Afterschool Programs

Stedman Elementary School in Denver’s North Park Hill neighborhood used $50,000 from an ESSER grant to offer an afterschool program specifically for boys of color.

Alamosa Public Library created a lively summer learning program in a city park thanks to a $78,000 ESSER grant that got students enthusiastic about reading.

The Expanding Learning Opportunity grant from ESSER III enabled the library to buy books, art supplies and sports equipment and cover some of the staff salaries. About eight students ranging in age from 8 to 18 regularly attended the four-day-a-week program in Zapata Historic Park.

Theatre SilCo in Silverthorne, formerly Lake Dillon Theatre Company, is filling an urgent need for after-school care in Summit County with $528,432 in grant funding from the ESSER III Expanded Learning Opportunities Grant Program.

Project Launch, a full-day summer program that is a collaboration between St. Vrain Valley Schools and four rural districts, is using a $2 million Expanded Learning Opportunities grant from ESSER III to expand the program over the next two years.

The Summer Arts & Culture Camp at Museo de las Americas, a program for low-income youth in downtown Denver for the past 13 years, has a waiting list 20 to 30 students every year, which is why organizers hope that pandemic funding through a CDE grant will help make the program more accessible.