FLINT, Mich. — The Flint Center for Educational Excellence has been awarded nearly $1 million to expand and sustain licensed afterschool and summer learning programs for Flint students as part of a statewide effort to increase access to out-of-school time learning.
The Flint-based education nonprofit received $971,850 through Michigan’s 2025–26 Out-of-School Time (32N) Grant, administered by the Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential, also known as MiLEAP. The funding is part of a broader $73 million statewide investment supporting before-school, afterschool, and summer programming at hundreds of sites across Michigan.
According to state officials, the grants were awarded to 289 organizations serving students in 68 counties, following a competitive process that drew 438 applications, the highest number submitted since 2021. This year’s funding supports programming at 862 approved sites statewide, an increase of 173 sites from last year.
“Out-of-School Time programs are making a real difference for Michigan students and families,” said Dr. Beverly Walker-Griffea, director of MiLEAP, in a Jan. 7, 2026, press release. “They give young people a safe place to go while strengthening learning, supporting social development, and helping them show up more prepared and confident in the classroom. With this $73 million investment, we’re expanding access to opportunities that help students build strong foundations for lifelong learning and success.”
For the Flint Center for Educational Excellence, the award reinforces its role in providing school-embedded academic and enrichment programming in a city where access to licensed out-of-school care remains limited. The organization partners with Flint-area schools to deliver afterschool and summer learning programs focused on academic support, enrichment, and youth development.
“Receiving the 2025–26 Out-of-School Time Grant reinforces the Flint Center’s ongoing commitment to ensuring that all Flint students—and the families and communities that support them—have access to safe, high-quality, school-embedded afterschool and summer learning opportunities that help them thrive,” said Jordan Munerlyn, director of state and federal programs for the Flint Center for Educational Excellence.
Munerlyn said the funding allows the organization to stabilize and strengthen its Thrive Afterschool model by retaining trained staff, maintaining compliance standards, and expanding high-quality learning opportunities across multiple school sites in Flint.
“It reflects confidence in the Flint Center’s ability to operate compliant, data-driven, and student-centered programs that directly support academic success and youth development,” Munerlyn said.
The impact of the funding extends beyond organizational stability and into the daily lives of Flint students and families, particularly in neighborhoods where licensed afterschool and summer programs are scarce.
“This grant will have a significant and lasting impact on both the organization and the Flint community,” Munerlyn said. “For Flint families and students, the impact is immediate: more licensed afterschool and summer learning seats, more instructional hours, and greater access to safe, structured environments that support academic growth, social-emotional learning, and youth leadership.”
The 32N funding will be used to retain high-quality success coaches who deliver daily academic and enrichment programming, increase student capacity, and expand summer programming. The grant also allows the Flint Center to extend summer learning time from three to four hours per day, providing additional hands-on academic instruction.
Additional investments will support literacy acceleration initiatives such as Reading Rangers, along with expanded STEM, health and wellness, physical activity, mentoring, youth voice, and 21st-century skills programming. Funds will also ensure continued licensing compliance, appropriate staff-to-student ratios and consistent program quality standards.
The grant supports Thrive Afterschool programming at 12 school-based locations across Flint, identified based on demonstrated student need, limited access to licensed out-of-school options and strong partnerships with school leadership. The schools served are:
- Brownell STEM Academy
- Doyle-Ryder Elementary
- DTM Elementary
- Eisenhower Elementary
- Freeman Elementary
- Holmes STEM Academy
- Potter Elementary
- Southwestern Academy
- Dailey Elementary
- International Academy of Flint
- Flint Cultural Center Academy
- McMonagle Elementary
The 32N grant will be used to expand and sustain licensed out-of-school time programming by:
- Retaining high-quality success coaches who deliver daily academic and enrichment programming
- Increasing student access and capacity, including expanded summer programming hours
- Extending summer learning time from three to four hours per day to provide additional hands-on academic instruction
- Supporting literacy acceleration initiatives such as Reading Rangers
- Strengthening STEM, health & wellness, physical activity, mentoring, youth voice and 21st-century skills programming
- Maintaining licensing compliance, safe staff-to-student ratios and high program quality standards
According to MiLEAP, the statewide investment reflects growing recognition of the role out-of-school time programs play in supporting academic achievement and family stability.
“With this investment,” Walker-Griffea said, “we’re expanding access to opportunities that help students learn, grow, and succeed—both inside and outside the classroom.”
(This education coverage is supported by a grant from the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation to expand reporting on education in Flint and Genesee County.)