Lilly Endowment grant to fund expansion of community e-learning sites

The Mind Trust announced Monday that it’s the recipient of a $500,000 Lilly Endowment grant it will use to expand community e-learning sites in Indianapolis.

This summer, The Mind Trust in partnership with other organizations opened sites throughout the community to offer free e-learning supervision for students learning virtually.

Last month, the number of sites increased as Marion County schools were mandated to close their doors to in-person learning because or a rising number of COVID-19 cases in the county and state.

Officials said the average cost to provide one week of support at a site is $50 per student. The Mind Trust said the new grant should support the launch of new sites that could serve 200 to 400 additional students while also reserving resources that would allow it to extend the initiative beyond Jan. 15.

Originally the Marion County Public Health Department instructed schools to move to remote learning through Jan. 15. But last week, the department announced that schools that wish to reopen sooner could do so on Jan. 4.

Currently there are 26 community learning site locations across the city with the capacity to serve more than 880 students. The sites are open to any student enrolled in grades K-12, regardless of their district or school type. The Mind Trust said it has spent more than $490,000 to date on the sites.