SOUTH POINT — The Ohio Department of Education has announced that two new 21st Century Community Learning Center grants have been awarded to South Point Local Schools.

Burlington Elementary and South Point Middle School are the recipients of the new grants. Funded for a five-year period, the grants written by the Gallia-Vinton ESC will provide $1,700,000 in services to support students and their families.

21st Century Community Learning Center grants are competitive federal grants that provide schools with funding to support before and afterschool programs. The purpose of before and afterschool programs is to provide high-quality out-of-school learning opportunities for students.

The emphasis is improving students’ reading and mathematics achievement through additional instructional time, tutoring and expanded opportunities for students to practice relative skills.

Other advantages afforded by the grant include homework help, physical fitness activities, youth development and enrichment activities and events. Not least, each afterschool includes a family engagement component to assist parents with increasing their capacity to support their children’s academic achievement.

For more information, contact Mike Clay at Burlington Elementary or Sara Chapman at South Point Middle School.

The programs will launch on Oct. 12. Enrollment information will be released soon.