Oregon leaders will spend $325 million to help kids catch up over the summer

Oregon Public Broadcasting

Published March 8, 2021 at 12:20 PM PST

In this classroom at the Salem-Keizer's Richmond Elementary, desks are socially distanced with tape to outline student spaces and boundaries. Oregon plans to spend heavily on summer enrichment activities to help students who have fallen behind during months of remote or hybrid learning.

Oregon leaders plan to spend as much as $325 million in state and federal money making up for gaps in students’ pandemic-year learning with summer programs.

Gov. Kate Brown and legislative leaders announced Monday that they will devote $250 million in state money to the effort to begin to make up educational ground lost amid COVID-19 shutdowns and remote learning. They’ll add $75 million in federal money to that pot.

The largest single expenditure will be $90 million for grants used to add summer enrichment activities for students in grades K-8. Another $72 million will be grants districts can use to help high school students catch up over the summer.

Last week, the governor ordered all Oregon public schools to provide some form of in-person instruction this spring. Students in kindergarten through fifth grade must return to campus on or before the week of March 29, and students in grades 6-12 must be back before the week of April 19.

Full details of the governor’s plan for more summer classes and child care are available here.