Nearly $300,000 in New Grant Funding for Old Rochester Regional

One of the things I’ve come to appreciate about serving on the Old Rochester Regional School Committee is seeing just how much work happens behind the scenes to create opportunities for our students and families.

At our October 1 School Committee meeting, we approved $277,468 in grant funding for the Old Rochester Regional School District. That’s nearly $300,000 in additional resources coming into our district, and the range of programs these grants will support is particularly encouraging.

Here’s where those funds are going:

Supporting Early Literacy

The largest grant is $117,000 in state funding for literacy support.

Superintendent Michael Nelson explained that this grant will build on work the district has been doing over the past several years, with a particular focus on young readers, approximately ages 3–6.

Those early years are incredibly important when it comes to developing literacy skills. Supporting children before they even enter elementary school can help establish a strong foundation for future learning.

Supporting Young Children and Their Families

The district also received $75,468 for family and community engagement through the Early Childhood Office, led by Doreen Lopes.

While these funds will benefit our Mattapoisett preschool, the funding must flow through the district for distribution. I’m particularly glad to see investment in the connections between schools, families, and our broader community. Those relationships are an important part of supporting children as they begin their educational journeys.

Preparing Students for the Future

Another $50,000 will support career pathway programming.

Our students have many different paths ahead of them, and preparing them for life after high school means making sure they have opportunities to explore careers, develop skills, and understand the possibilities available to them.

There is also $5,000 for curriculum changes focused on encouraging job readiness. While that is a smaller grant, I think the focus is important. Helping students develop practical skills and understand how what they are learning connects to the world beyond school is valuable preparation for whatever comes next.

Building Civic Knowledge

The district received another $30,000 for civics education.

I’m especially pleased to see this investment. Understanding how our government and communities work—and knowing how to participate in them—is an important part of preparing young people to become engaged citizens.

Education isn’t just about academic achievement. It’s also about helping students understand their place in their communities and giving them the knowledge and confidence to participate.

The Work Behind the Funding

It’s easy to look at a number like $277,468 and simply think about the money.

But grant funding doesn’t just appear.

It takes staff who identify opportunities, determine whether a grant is a good fit for the district, develop proposals, complete applications, and then manage the funding once it has been awarded. That is a significant amount of work, often happening in addition to people’s already demanding jobs.

At our meeting, School Committee Vice-Chair April Nye thanked everyone who had worked to seek out and apply for these grants, noting that while the process takes a lot of work, it provides vital funding for the district.

I couldn’t agree more.

As a School Committee member, one of my responsibilities is to be a good steward of the resources available to our schools. That means carefully considering how we spend the funds entrusted to us, but it also means supporting efforts to bring additional resources into the district whenever possible.

Nearly $300,000 in new grant funding represents more than just a line in a budget. It represents additional support for early literacy, families and young children, career exploration, civics education, and job readiness.

Those are investments in our students—and ultimately, investments in the future of the Old Rochester community.

I’m grateful to the staff members who did the work to secure these grants, and I’m proud that our School Committee was able to approve them.

This is the kind of good news about our schools that deserves to be shared.