LAST UPDATED ON 2020-10-05 15:03:05

New Philadelphia School District granted $125,000 from Ohio Collaborative

The Martha Holdings Jennings Foundation and Philanthropy Ohio has awarded the New Philadelphia City School District with a $125,000.00 grant that will allow a unique and powerful partnership between New Philadelphia City School District and the Quaker Digital Academy, according to the district.

The COVID-19 pandemic and its resulting shift in the delivery of instruction and student learning has left a lasting impact not only on the educational landscape in Ohio but throughout the nation.

The impact on New Philadelphia City Schools' students and staff is no different. These funds from the $125,000 grant will serve to create a partnership in an effort to bring together the best of both worlds of education by improving the remote learning practices in traditional schools with the collaboration of online experts.

"We are blessed to have great partners in this grant with QDA to help serve our students who are part of our Virtual Academy due to COVID19," stated Superintendent David Brand.  "New Philadelphia City School District's Director of Programming Laurie Hall and Debra Kennedy, QPA's Superintendent, deserve the credit for bringing $125,000.00 to the District to help defer costs and launch this program."

This project is expected to help bridge the digital divide and create an Educator Mentor Partnership and Professional Learning Community between a traditional brick and mortar district and a virtual school, which the school district says will improve instruction and learning outcomes for students. 

This partnership will allow the New Philadelphia City School District to learn best practices and replicate strategies from experienced experts who excel at providing high-quality instruction online, such as QDA, according