AASA to Partner with ‘just keep livin’ Foundation to Make Schools Safer

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
James Minichello
703-774-6953
jminichello@aasa.org

AASA named a strategic partner in the Foundation's Greenlights Grant Initiative to help school districts access federal funding to support safe and healthy school environments.

Alexandria, Va. and Los Angeles, Calif. – July 20, 2023 – AASA, The School Superintendents Association, is pleased to announce the organization’s new partnership with the Greenlights Grant Initiative—a project launched today by the Camila and Matthew McConaughey’s just keep livin Foundation (JKL).

The campaign’s top objective is to create safer school environments by enabling school districts across the country to have access to billions of dollars of federal school safety funding through the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA) and subsequent legislation.

“Kids can’t learn if they don’t feel safe in their own classrooms. AASA is honored to serve as a strategic partner in a nationwide initiative to make all schools and students safer,” said David R. Schuler, executive director, AASA. “Given the variety of challenges and barriers school districts routinely grapple with when applying for federal grantmaking, we were excited when the JKL Foundation—a private philanthropy—reached out to us to help our neediest members in their efforts to access school safety grants.”

"Kids can’t learn if they don’t feel safe in their own classrooms. AASA is honored to serve as a strategic partner in a nationwide initiative to make all schools and students safer."

“Just over one year ago, the tragedy at Robb Elementary School in Uvalde pushed Congress to pass historic legislation, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act, which allocated billions of dollars aimed at assisting schools and school districts to create safer school environments,” said Camila and Matthew McConaughey, founders of the just keep livin Foundation. “While the legislation is crucial in protecting America’s youth from violence, it remains far too difficult for school districts to apply for and receive federal school safety grants. Today’s launch of the Greenlights Grant Initiative is a meaningful step toward providing school districts across the country the grant writing support and the resources they need to keep kids safe. The parents in Uvalde asked us to do one thing – to ‘make their lives matter.’ We hope the Greenlights Grant Initiative can help do just that.”

"Today’s launch of the Greenlights Grant Initiative is a meaningful step toward providing school districts across the country the grant writing support and the resources they need to keep kids safe."

AASA urges school leaders to sign up here to receive updates, tools and support needed to secure funding for their district.

Applying for government grants is complex, expensive, and intimidating. The Greenlights Grant Initiative is designed to help school districts navigate the grant process to ensure full access to school safety funding opportunities, which include resources for mental health services, school security systems, and other common-sense measures to ensure kids can learn in peace.

The Greenlights Grant Initiative will serve school districts by focusing on three key priorities:

• Education: Raising awareness of available school safety grant opportunities and how to secure them. This includes notifications of when grants become available, how to apply, and grant deadlines.
• Support: Providing tailored resources – ranging from tutorials, webinars, and guidebooks as well as fully-funded grant writing services to select high need, low capacity districts.
• Advocacy: Encouraging policymakers to maximize funding for school safety grants and to streamline and simplify the grantmaking process.

For more information and to receive critical updates about how school districts around the country can access the support and resources they need to protect their students and to learn more about the Greenlights Grant Initiative strategic advisory board, please visit: https://www.greenlightsgrantinitiative.org.

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About the just keep livin Foundation: The just keep livin Foundation was founded by Camila and Matthew McConaughey and is dedicated to empowering high school students by providing them with the tools to lead active lives and make healthy choices for a better future.

About AASA
AASA, The School Superintendents Association, founded in 1865, is the professional organization for more than 13,000 educational leaders in the United States and throughout the world. AASA’s mission is to support and develop effective school system leaders who are dedicated to equitable access for all students to the highest quality public education. For more information, visit www.aasa.org.