Thanks to funding secured by Congresswoman Kathy Manning (NC-06), GCS middle school students will have access to learning hubs to support their academic recovery.   

On Tuesday, Superintendent Dr. Whitney Oakley thanked Manning for securing $2.2 million to expand learning hubs into district middle schools. The grant will fund comprehensive services, including access to academic recovery programs, mental health supports, materials and meals. The funding will also support access to academic recovery programs, meetings for students and families to learn about college planning, test-taking strategies, high school success, college-ready course selection and opportunities to participate in choice and Career and Technical Education (CTE) specialized learning pathways. The grant comes at a time when more families have asked for stronger supports as students transition from middle school to high school.  

Chase Arrington, Western Middle principal, said, “Having learning hubs in middle schools will be a game-changer for our students. We are excited and grateful to Congresswoman Manning for prioritizing Guilford County Schools and helping us to accelerate learning recovery.”   

GCS has seen encouraging results from the learning hubs at its 15 comprehensive high schools. In 2022, GCS students who attended high school learning hubs had a graduation rate that was six percentage points higher than those who did not. In addition, students who attended the learning hubs more frequently had better overall attendance at school.   

“I’m proud to announce $2.2 million for the Middle School Learning Hub Expansion Project which will expand learning loss intervention to Guilford County middle schools,” said Manning. “The program’s expansion will help more students recover from time spent away from the classroom during the pandemic.”  

In March 2022, Manning secured $2 million in federal funds to support the district’s high-dosage tutoring efforts. GCS has increased its tutoring efforts, with 100,000 more tutoring sessions provided this year than compared to the same period last year. More than 7,500 students have spent more than 63,000 hours in tutoring sessions so far this year.   

Also Tuesday, Manning joined Oakley in calling for greater mental health resources for schools. Manning announced that she will reintroduce a bill to bring a stronger focus on mental health promotion in public education.   

“In Guilford County Schools, we have prioritized expanding our mental health support for students and staff as we strengthen our learning recovery efforts,” says Oakley. “I’m grateful to Representative Manning for her advocacy on behalf of our nearly 70,000 students and 10,000 staff.”  

Guilford County Schools recently received a $14.8 million federal grant to increase on-demand mental health resources for students at 61 schools. The funding will also help pay for 16 additional mental health clinicians over the next five years.   

“As we continue to recover from the impacts of the pandemic, I will keep advocating for federal funding to bolster student support and success,” says Manning. “I’m glad to celebrate the $14.8 million grant from the Department of Education that will fund mental health resources in schools, and I’m proud to reintroduce the bipartisan Improving Mental Health Wellness and Schools Act to integrate mental health education and promotion into existing school wellness policies.”  

The School-Based Mental Health Services grant requires federal and district project investments. The federal government will provide 75 percent of project funding, and the district will provide a 25 percent match. The Department of Education will provide $14,835,019 over five years, and GCS will provide $3,708,755, bringing the total investment in school-based mental health services for students to $18,543,744.