Balanced Calendar Grant

The Balanced Calendar Grant, funded by OSPI's federal ESSER funds, supports public school districts, educational service districts, state-tribal education compact schools, and charter schools. It aims to enhance academic achievement by reducing summer learning loss through modified school calendars. Three grant opportunities are available: New Grant for first-time applicants up to $20,000, Continuation Grant for past recipients up to $75,000, and Implementation Grant for the 2023-24 school year up to $100,000.

NOTE: Due to limited availability of these temporary resources, the Balanced Calendar Initiative will not be funded in the 2023–25 biennium. OSPI, the Association of Educational Service Districts, and other partners will be working together in the coming months to identify ways to move the project forward without the federal pandemic funds.
Purpose/Background
Research shows that children from low-income communities attending modified-calendar schools outperform their counterparts in traditional-calendar schools. When supplemental instruction is offered during some of the vacation periods, it can uphold and create learning gains for students who may not have access to outside-of-school learning opportunities, and prevent them from falling behind academically. A balanced/modified calendar has the potential to improve and equalize academic achievement. A reduction in summer learning loss means less review time at the beginning of the school year, and thus, more instructional time for all students.
According to the National Association for Year-Round Education, “A modified calendar transforms traditional nine-month agrarian calendar into a calendar that allows for continuous education by shortening the summer vacation and adding more frequent breaks during the rest of year. Those breaks may be used for ‘intersessions’ where remediation and enhancement can occur. The shorter breaks stem learning loss and allow educators the opportunity to get the most out of the 180 days that most states mandate for instruction.
Balanced Calendar Grant Funding
This grant program is funded by an investment of OSPI’s federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds. There will be three grant opportunities:

• New Grant (these are entities who have never applied for a balanced/modified calendar grant).
• Entities will be able to apply for up to $20,000.
• Continuation Grant (these are entities who have already received a study grant (FP 173) in either the 2021–22 school year and/or the 2022–23 school year).
• Entities will be able to apply for up to $75,000.
• Implementation Grant (these are entities who will be implementing a balanced or modified school year calendar during the 2023–24 school year).
• Entities will be able to apply for up to $100,000.

Eligibility

Funds are available to public school districts, educational service districts, state-tribal education compact schools, and charter schools A condition for grant recipients is the core planning team is expected to participate in statewide summits, job-alike sessions, regional meetings, and other activities to support the work.