Pictured: Mary McLeod Bethune at the Daytona Literary and Industrial School for Training Negro Girls, 1905, courtesy of State Archives of Florida, Florida Memory (via Smithsonian)

(IOCI RADIO) – The Illinois State Board of Education (ISBE) announced a $17 million grant to create a network of Freedom Schools.

Freedom Schools began in the 1960s and new the board wants to create a network in Illinois to reach low-income and minority students, and those who “just need a little extra help,” board director Cara Wiley said.

ISBE is asking school districts and community groups to work together to set up the freedom schools. More information is available here.