LOWELL — The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education awarded Lowell High School’s McDonough Freshman Academy with $600,000 in funding through the 21st Century Community Learning Centers Supporting Additional Learning Time Grant.
The grant funding will be distributed across the next three years to fund after-school and summer programs, career development opportunities and academic support for freshman and sophomore students at LHS.
The DESE funding will specifically fund The Compass Program, an after-school program meant to help freshman students feel like a part of the community around them in and out of school, while building relationships with mentors and learning new skills. The funding will help the program expand its opportunities for students to work with organizations like Green Dragons, Lowell Parks & Conservation Trust, the Mass Audubon Society and My Beautiful Mind.
The award will also be used to help increase opportunities for family engagement and multicultural events, outings, workshops and student showcases.
“This is really exciting news for the school and we are thrilled to receive this award. It is so important for us to provide our students and families with as many engaging and dynamic after-school opportunities as possible,” LHS Community Schools Program Manager and The Compass Program Director Kate Keefe said in a statement. “The Compass Program provides a unique space for all of our students, but especially those who are unsure of what they might be into or those who are afraid to try something new.”
Keefe said they recognize the challenges students often face when transitioning into high school, but also the opportunities presented by the moment.
“The Compass Program has been pointing students in new directions for more than ten years and we are grateful to be able continue helping students chart their course through high school,” said Keefe.
Lowell Public Schools Title 1 Director Carolyn Rocheleau Feeney called the funding award “a testament to the hard work and dedication of our team.”
“Special thanks to Kate Keefe, our Community Schools Manager, and Dr. Rebecca Duda, Coordinator of Special Programs, for their outstanding efforts in securing this vital funding,” Rocheleau Feeney said in a statement.