The Division of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) Office of School Health Services is pleased to announce a special funding opportunity for Arkansas Public School Districts. The Arkansas AWARE Advancement Mini-Grant Project is an opportunity for districts to support mental health care, awareness and trauma-informed practices among students and staff.
Districts intending to promote school mental health awareness or trauma-informed programming may apply for up to $10,000. The project must address the AWARE focus of mental health awareness through Mental Health First Aid or Trauma-Informed Practices.
Arkansas public school districts who meet all of the following criteria are eligible to apply:
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The organization is an Arkansas Public School District.
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The district agrees to include the goals and objectives from the AWARE Advancement project in the target school’s health and wellness school improvement plan.
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The district has obtained the bronze level in the School Health Assessment and Performance Evaluation (SHAPE) System. (https://theshapesystem.com/)
The following documents are attached to this commissioner’s memo: AWARE Mini-Grant Application Template, AWARE Budget Template, and Grant Award Agreement. Completed applications must be received by the DESE on or before Friday, August 23, 2019.
Please mail or email the completed application packet to the Office of School Health Services, ATTN: Dr. Betsy Kindall, 4 Capitol Mall, Mail Slot #14, Little Rock, AR 72201, or Elizabeth.Kindall@arkansas.gov.
An informational webinar will be held on August 16, 2019, at 10:00 a.m. via the following Zoom link, https://zoom.us/j/793557606 .
All questions prior to the informational webinar may be directed to Dr. Betsy Kindall at Elizabeth.kindall@arkansas.gov