Michigan

DiscoverWorks gives grantees the flexibility to design programs that meet the needs and interests of their students, teachers, and families. Sites can choose to use the Lavinia RISE curriculum or select their own curriculum, and may use grant funding to fund new programming or enhance existing programming.

Grantees operating an 8-hour full-day program will receive between $1,600 and $2,000 per student to design and implement high-quality summer learning programs for students entering Kindergarten through  10th grade. In line with existing research on effective summer programming, all programs must:

• Serve students who attend school in Macomb, Oakland, or Wayne County, and operate in one of those counties
• Serve a student population in which at least 40% qualify for free lunch  as reported by MI School Data
• Serve students entering kindergarten through 10th grade in fall 2027 (CBOs may serve students entering 1st through 10th grade only)
• Be free to DiscoverWorks families
• Provide at least 20 days of instruction, excluding days dedicated solely to assessment or enrichment
• Offer 8+ hours* of in-person care per day, including:

• 3+ hours/day of high-quality English Language Arts (ELA) and math (most grantees provide 90 minutes of ELA and 90 minutes of math, though other combinations are acceptable, as long as three-hour programming is maintained.)
• Daily enrichment/recreation programming 
• May include up to 1 hour of before-care and up to 1 hour of after-care (optional)

• Maintain a student-to-teacher ratio of no more than 18:1
• Hire educators who are qualified to teach ELA and math during the school year
• Implement family engagement strategies, including regular touchpoints with families throughout the program
• Administer the standardized pre- and post-assessments provided by DiscoverWorks, as well as student surveys
• Deliver instruction and enrichment in-person
• Track and report student enrollment and attendance
• Complete all program reporting requirements
• Secure appropriate Child Care licensure based on state requirements

*Exception: Programs serving students entering 9th and/or 10th grade may operate a partial day of 5 hours per day (to include 3 hours/day of academics). A partial day is optional for 9th/10th graders—a full day may be provided. See the “Grant Funding Details” section of the FAQ for more details.

Yes! Funding is available for any subset of the eligible grade ranges (students entering Kindergarten through 10th grade).

For example, a program could limit participation to students entering 1st through 6th grade. Another program may serve only students entering 6th through 8th grades.

It is the grantees’ sole responsibility to ensure compliance with all state licensing requirements that apply to their DiscoverWorks programs. Grantees and their host sites must hold any and all licenses required by the state of Michigan for the entirety of their DiscoverWorks programs.

Child Care licensing ensures that providers are in safe spaces and use quality, background-checked, and fingerprinted staff to provide care and programming. Michigan’s licensing body, MiLEAP (the Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential), requires providers who care for children under 13 for less than 24 hours a day, unattended by a parent or legal guardian, for more than two consecutive weeks to obtain a Child Care Center License. MiLEAP requires most out-of-school providers that fit the description for Child Care licensing to be in compliance with the rule.

Notes:

• Applicants may include costs associated with obtaining a license in their DiscoverWorks budget, which will be submitted at the time of application.
• Licenses are issued to a specific person or organization at a specific location.
• Partners/schools that operate multiple sites will need to be licensed at each location. 

Active licenses, their type, and student capacity can be found in the Statewide Facility Search database. More details about resources can be found here.

A complete overview of the funding model for Michigan can be found here. 

The DiscoverWorks grant provides $80 per student for each 8+ hour day of the program, up to $2,000/student. The table below calculates the per-student amount based on the length of the program:

Any program longer than 25 days will receive the maximum student rate of $2,000.

This per-student amount is contingent upon meeting program dosage requirements:

• Provide at least 20 days of instruction, excluding days dedicated solely to assessment or enrichment
• Offer 8+ hours* of in-person care per day, including:
  • 3+ hours/day of high-quality English Language Arts (ELA) and math (most grantees provide 90 minutes of ELA and 90 minutes of math, though other combinations are acceptable, as long as three-hour programming is maintained.)
  • Daily enrichment/recreation programming 
  • May include up to 1 hour of before-care and up to 1 hour of after-care (optional)

As long as these requirements are met, there is flexibility to add days or make adjustments as needed. 

* Exception: Programs serving students entering 9th and/or 10th grade may operate an OPTIONAL partial day of 5 hours per day (to include 3 hours/day of academics). See the following question/answer for more details.

To allow for greater flexibility, grantees may apply for a 5-hour program day for students entering 9th or 10th grades only. A minimum of three hours of instruction must be provided:

• The 3 hours must include math AND ELA for students entering 9th grade
• The 3 hours can include math AND/OR ELA for students entering 10th grade

This 5-hour program is OPTIONAL (grantees can still operate an 8-hour program for students entering 9th and 10th grades if they so choose) and has a different per-student funding amount than the full-day model. See below for more details.

When applying, applicants will be asked to project the number of students participating in an 8-hour program day and the number of students participating in a 5-hour program day. For 5-hour programs, the DiscoverWorks grant provides $55 per student per day, up to 25 days.

Any program longer than 25 days will receive the maximum student rate listed above.

When calculating program length, include all funded program days, including days dedicated to academic instruction, assessments, field trips, and/or enrichment.

Programs Offering 20 Instructional Days (minimum requirement)

Program must provide:

• At least 20 days of instruction (must build in assessment time as well)
• Offer 8+ hours* of in-person care per day, including:
  • 3+ hours/day of high-quality English Language Arts (ELA) and math (most grantees provide 90 minutes of ELA and 90 minutes of math, though other combinations are acceptable, as long as three-hour programming is maintained.)
  • Daily enrichment/recreation programming 
  • May include up to 1 hour of before-care and up to 1 hour of after-care (optional)

*Exception: Programs serving students entering 9th and/or 10th grade may operate an OPTIONAL partial day of 5 hours per day (to include 3 hours/day of academics). 

Note: Time dedicated to assessments, field trips, or enrichment must be offset by sufficient academic instruction during the 20 or more instructional days to maintain the required average of at least 3 hours of ELA and math instruction.

Programs Offering More Than 20 Days

Grantees may offer up to 25 funded program days. Days beyond the required 20 instructional days may be dedicated solely to assessments, field trips, or enrichment.

For example, a program operating 5 days per week for 5 weeks—a total of 25 program days—may designate each Friday as a field trip day. The remaining 4 days each week would provide the required 20 days of academic instruction and must collectively meet the academic instructional-hour requirement.

Learn more about the funding model.

The application requires an estimated student enrollment, which allows applicants to calculate the predicted funding amount. 

The estimated number of students in the application often does not match real-time summer enrollment numbers. For this reason, in the spring, grantees will be asked to more accurately predict the number of students who will attend and to see if the grant total (and budget) needs to be adjusted. The goal is for that adjusted enrollment to be as close to actual enrollment as possible.

Learn more about the funding model.

Consistent attendance is key to student success. To receive full grant funding, grantees must meet two key metrics:

• Maximize access: Actual enrollment (total number of unique students who attended the program at least one full day at any point during the program) must reach at least 70% of the enrollment number in the grant agreement.
• Maximize impact: Average student attendance must be at least 70% of the students enrolled (see above).

Grantees are required to track and report enrollment and attendance throughout the summer and at the end of the program. Program Officers will request enrollment and attendance updates and can support grantees/sites with strategies, if needed. 

The final 30% payment is contingent upon meeting all grant reporting requirements and all grant terms and deliverables.

Learn more about the funding model.

Assuming all requirements are met, grantees will receive 70% of the grant total from DiscoverWorks Michigan’s fiscal sponsor, United Way for Southeastern Michigan, approximately 10 business days after the grant agreement is fully executed.

Grantees will be asked to provide an updated projected summer enrollment number near the end of the 2026-2027 academic year. The grant amount will be updated to reflect the projected enrollment number.

First payments, totaling 70% of the adjusted grant amount, will be disbursed once all required documents, including a fully executed grant agreement, are received. Delay in submitting all required documentation will result in a delay in payment.

The balance of the grant, if applicable, will be paid on or around 10/16/27. 

Note: The final payment is contingent upon meeting attendance-related criteria, reviewing and approving the final expenditure report, reporting the final spend, meeting all grant reporting requirements, and meeting all of the grant criteria.

Learn more about the funding model.

Grant agreements will be with the legal entity for the individual school (e.g., district, CMO, stand-alone charter school) or CBO. Funds will be distributed to the grant agreement holder.

Grant funding can support new programming or enhance existing programming. Funds can be used to support various aspects of DiscoverWorks. This may include staffing salaries, teacher bonuses/stipends, curriculum, supplies and materials, enrichment activities, facility costs, transportation, meals, technology, and any other expenses incurred explicitly related to summer learning. Some costs cannot be covered by this grant; see the list of unallowable expenses.

Grantees should prioritize the following items in their budget:

• Paying teachers and other staff at a competitive rate
• Robust enrichment activities, which teachers and/or community partners may offer
• Transportation costs (travel to/from the program, travel to an enrichment partner, travel for field trips)
• Attendance incentives (e.g., weekly celebrations or activities to specifically encourage attendance)
• Food for students
• Facilities/operational costs
• Lavinia RISE costs (including materials, printing, and costs for teacher/leader professional development)

Beyond the requirements below, grantees/sites have flexibility to structure programs creatively. For example, a program operating 5 days per week for 5 weeks—25 program days total—may designate each Friday as a field trip day. The remaining 4 days each week would provide the required 20 days of academic instruction and must collectively meet the academic instructional-hour requirement. Grantees/sites may also alternate academic instruction and enrichment activities throughout the day.

Site-Selected Curriculum

Grantees/sites using their own curriculum can determine program dates and daily schedule. As long as the following requirements are met, grantees/sites are encouraged to design a schedule that best meets the needs of students and families.

Program requirements:

• Provide at least 20 days of instruction, excluding days dedicated solely to assessment or enrichment
• Offer 8+ hours* of in-person care per day, including:
  • 3+ hours/day of high-quality English Language Arts (ELA) and math (most grantees provide 90 minutes of ELA and 90 minutes of math, though other combinations are acceptable, as long as three-hour programming is maintained.)
  • Daily enrichment/recreation programming
  • May include up to 1 hour of before-care and up to 1 hour of after-care (optional)

*Exception: Programs serving students entering 9th and/or 10th grade may operate an OPTIONAL partial day of 5 hours per day (to include 3 hours/day of academics). See the Grant Funding Details section of this FAQ for more details.

Grantees Selecting Lavinia RISE

Grantees/sites using the Lavinia RISE curriculum must meet the same program requirements outlined above. They may determine program dates and schedules that best meet the needs of students and families. Please note, the Lavinia RISE curriculum only provides 20 days of instruction. In addition, required leader and teacher training dates are established in advance and must be incorporated into program planning.

DiscoverWorks includes required pre- and post-assessments to support both instructional planning and program evaluation. These assessments are designed to:

• Help educators tailor instruction during the program
• Provide program leaders with data on student growth and overall program impact

The Lavinia RISE curriculum is explicitly aligned to the standards below. As a participant in the DiscoverWorks program, the required pre- and post-assessments will be based on the following standards:

• Literacy Standards
• Math Standards

Because DiscoverWorks is a 20-day program, the assessments focus on a targeted set of priority standards in ELA and math. This narrowed focus lets teachers engage students in deeper learning and meaningful skill development over the summer.

Assessment format and logistics:

• All students must take both the pre- and post-assessments
• Assessments include a mix of multiple-choice and open-response questions
• Assessments take approximately 40–60 minutes for ELA and 40–60 minutes for math
• Assessments are untimed
• Assessments can be taken on the assessment platform that will be provided to grantees/sites. Assessments can also be taken on paper.
  • Note: This requires the teacher or site leader to upload the graded assessments onto the platform within 5 days of administration
• Assessment training on administration and scoring will be offered in advance of the program.

Learn more about the RISE assessment overview and design

Yes. All grantees/sites must administer the required pre- and post-assessments provided by Lavinia Group, regardless of the curriculum selected.

The assessments are essential for measuring student growth and evaluating the program’s impact. They are provided at no cost to you and are a required component of the DiscoverWorks program.

We recommend administering both ELA and math pre-assessments within the first 2-3 days of the program to establish a clear baseline for student learning.

Grantees/sites may choose to:

• Administer both assessments in a single day, or
• Spread them over two days (e.g., ELA on one day and math on the other)

To capture the most accurate growth data, administer the post-assessments during the final week of the program. This timing allows teachers enough time to score and review the results before the program concludes.

Since attendance often drops off toward the end of the program, grantees/sites should develop a strategic communication and testing plan to ensure all students complete the post-assessments. This could include:

• Proactively informing families and students about the importance of the assessments
• Communicating with families about student exit dates to ensure assessments are completed before students leave the program
• Incentivizing attendance on assessment days, such as scheduling celebrations or field trips afterward

No. All grantees/sites must administer the required pre- and post-assessments provided by Lavinia Group, regardless of the curriculum selected.

Grantees/sites may choose to administer additional assessments to meet internal goals or district requirements, but these would not take the place of the required DiscoverWorks assessments.

Training attendance is required. Grantees/sites will receive training materials (including videos and resources) on assessment implementation and scoring in the spring.

Program, site, and/or technology leads should attend the assessment training. Teachers, if selected, are encouraged to attend as well.

The assessment platform will offer accessible, responsive customer service for any technical questions before, during, or after the assessments.