Richmond County Public Schools has secured nearly $300,000 in new grant funding, a financial injection that is intended to benefit STEM education, expand computer science instruction, and accelerate math achievement.

“One of Governor Youngkin’s initiatives was to issue a lot of grants through the Dept of Education and Richmond County was fortunate to be awarded a few,” assistant superintendent Jason Strong told the Board of Supervisors.

STEM Event Grant

The district received a $5,000 STEM Event Grant to support an expanded STEM Night, building on last year’s science fair. The fund‑ing will help provide prizes and scholarships as well as be used for expenditures, such as supporting teachers serving as research men‑tors, allowing students to apply for project materials as well as a website and STEM project application.

Advancing Computer Science

A $31,500 Advancing Computer Science grant is helping seven teachers complete a Praxis preparation course as they work toward computer science certification.

RCPS plans for one teacher to begin offer‑ing computer science at Rappahannock High School next year. The grant also supports a new after‑school science club for 4th and 5th graders, which launched last month.

Math Acceleration

Another $12,000 will fund the certification of a teacher qualified to teach dual‑enrollment math courses. To offer these courses, instruc‑tors must hold a master’s degree and at least 18 graduate credits in the subject area.

“We’ve been trying to expand our dual enrollment offerings at Rappahannock High School and this really helps with that,” said Strong. He emphasized that this offer means students will get college credit for free.

Math Innovation Grant

The largest award came through the state’s Math Innovation Grant program, which allo‑cated $10 million statewide. Since there was no cap on individual requests, Strong said RCPS decided to ask for the full amount needed—and they succeeded.

Richmond County Public Schools was awarded $250,000 to adopt a high‑quality math curriculum.

The funds, which must be spent by December, will cover curriculum licensing and teacher training.

“We are already in the process of vetting the best curriculum to adopt, and the funds will pay to fuel it for 5-6 years,” Strong said.