PROVIDENCE, RI – Governor McKee announced the second round of the Rhode Island Community Learning Center Municipal Grant program, awarding a total of $26.9 million planned for Central Falls, Charlestown, Coventry, Exeter, Lincoln, North Providence and Woonsocket. 

"Community learning centers create centralized, convenient spaces for all ages to participate in education, employment and wellness programs," said Governor Dan McKee . "Their mission supports my primary goals of improving educational outcomes, increasing incomes and building a healthier state for all Rhode Islanders." 

A key component of the Administration's Learn365RI Initiative, the grants support capital costs for learning centers and are funded by the American Rescue Plan Act's Coronavirus Capital Projects Fund. Municipalities can tailor each project to the needs of their community and must offer a minimum of five years of programming designed to improve educational outcomes, support employment opportunities, and provide health monitoring. 

-Central Falls will receive $8,985,198 to renovate the former Ralph Holden Community Center to serve as The Center, a free multilingual entity offering after-school programming, workforce development and health-related supports. 

-Coventry will receive $4,304,000 to convert one-third of the City Hall Annex into programming space for workforce development, health monitoring and educational support. 

-Charlestown will receive $654,597 to renovate the Cross Mills Public Library to increase space for study, programming and publicly available technology. 

-Exeter will receive $802,000 to purchase and convert a property on Ten Rod Road into a learning center serving young people, seniors and the wider Exeter community. 

-Lincoln will receive $2,000,000 to build a new Lincoln Learning Center attached to the Lincoln Centralized Rescue Center. The 2,400-square-foot learning center will include a multi-station computer lab, as well as workforce, education and health monitoring programs. 

-North Providence will receive $3,160,894 to make renovations to the North Providence Union Free Library that will create space for workshops, job training, educational opportunities and telemedicine programming. 

-Woonsocket will receive $6,990,500 to build a multi-use community center in Cass Park, with programming that allows for work, education and health -monitoring, and indoor and outdoor spaces for events and activities. 

Community Learning Center projects must be completed (with certificates of occupancy and beneficial use) by October 31, 2026, and all U.S. Treasury-required programs must be operational within the center by October 31. December 2026. 

This project was supported, in whole or in part, by federal grant number CPFFN0169 awarded to the state of Rhode Island by the United States Department of the Treasury. 

Click here for information on the state's Community Learning Center municipal grants awarded in April.