Mercyhurst awarded $5.5 million grant for community learning centers

The Mercyhurst University Department of Education has received $5.5 million in federal funds to support its innovative after-school community learning centers—the Mercyhurst Early Learning Innovation Academy (MELIA) and its new Compass Academy—for the next five years.

The highly competitive award, allocated through the Nita M. Lowey 21st Century Community Learning Centers federal grant program and administered through the Pennsylvania Department of Education, is the source of $5,567,380 for Mercyhurst.

MELIA, an after-school enrichment program founded by Mercyhurst in 2019 to serve children in grades K-2 of the Northwestern School District, has been awarded $2,726,360. This funding will allow programming to continue through 2029 with an expansion to grades 3-5.

The corresponding allocation of $2,841,020 will launch the new Compass Academy, which will serve K-8 students at the Robert Benjamin Wiley Community Charter School. Compass Academy is modeled after the nationally recognized Mercyhurst University Carpe Diem Academy that supported children in grades K-2 and their families from 2012-2024 in several of Erie’s Public Schools.  

MELIA and Compass Academy aim to fill a need for quality extended learning experiences that are responsive to children and their families. MELIA Program Director Amy Bauschard said, “These programs empower students by offering safe spaces for growth, learning, and exploration beyond the classroom.”

Both programs are mission-driven, providing not only academic support but also other relevant experiences to support students in meeting state and local standards in core academic subjects. Kortnie Fisher, assistant professor of Education, said, “This funding enriches communities by nurturing development of the whole child, uniting families, and creating a foundation for collective growth.”

Mercyhurst Department of Education Chair Dr. Phil Belfiore will serve as principal investigator for Compass Academy; Fisher will do the same for MELIA.

“The Mercyhurst Education Department has always understood the need to meet students and families in spaces where they live, in their schools, and in their communities,” said Dr. Phil Belfiore, chair of the Department of Education at Mercyhurst. “The community and schools are where authentic learning occurs. MELIA and Compass Academy continue our department’s ongoing commitment to support learning where it may be needed most.”

For more information on either initiative, please contact Fisher at kfisher@mercyhurst.edu.

FILE PHOTO: Mercyhurst’s Dr. Alice Edwards engages with MELIA pupils in the Northwestern School District.