Rotary Offers $25K in Literacy Grants for Teachers

The Rotary Club of Long Beach and its charitable foundation are offering a total of $25,000 in grants for creative, teacher-driven literacy projects.

Long Beach Unified School District teachers in preschool through third grade, including Special Education, may apply for Paul Kennard Teacher Literacy Grants ranging from $500 to $2,500. 

The application deadline is Monday, Oct. 30. Grants may be used to purchase books, e-books, teaching aides, training programs or other educational materials during the current school year. 

View the grant application.

The Paul Kennard Teacher Literacy Grants honor Mr. Kennard, who envisioned and oversaw the Rotary Reads program in LBUSD for many years. Last year, a total of $20,000 in grants were awarded to local teachers.

Since 1999, the Rotary Club of Long Beach has held an annual Reading by 9 Fundraiser where its members and others donate to the Long Beach Rotary Charitable Foundation to support early education and literacy and the goal of promoting grade-level reading by age 9.

Since the inception of the program, more than $1 million has been raised and more than 350,000 books and e-books have been donated. This program provides funding and children’s books to Long Beach area schools, libraries, childcare centers, nonprofits and other organizations that promote reading and literacy.