Kellogg Foundation grants $1.5 million to BCPS for equitable digital learning environments

TOWSON – The W.K. Kellogg Foundation has awarded a $1.5 million grant to Baltimore County Public Schools to help increase student achievement by providing all students with an effective, equitable digital learning environment.

The grant will help support the school system’s S.T.A.T. initiative, which in its first year has begun to provide personalized instruction to children through the blended use of technology in classrooms. It will also support staff development aimed at reducing academic achievement gaps through greater equity and cultural inclusion.

“We are pleased and grateful to have the Kellogg Foundation with us on this journey,” said BCPS Superintendent Dr. S. Dallas Dance. “As visionaries, they understand the importance of addressing not only the technological tools our students need but also the learning environment needed to nourish and prepare our students. By addressing the ways our children can succeed and grow as well as the conditions that inhibit that success and growth, we can ensure a student body prepared for the challenges and competition of the 21stcentury global marketplace.”

Founded in 1930 by breakfast cereal pioneer Will Keith Kellogg as an independent, private foundation, the Kellogg Foundation is among the largest philanthropic foundations in the nation. The Michigan-based foundation is guided by the belief that all children should have an equal opportunity to thrive and works with communities to create conditions for vulnerable children to realize their full potential in school, work, and life.

The foundation’s grant, which runs through October 2017, addresses a primary academic goal of the school system’s Blueprint 2.0 strategic plan to raise the academic bar and close achievement gaps “so that every student will become a globally competitive citizen in an culturally diverse world.”