State receives $9 mil. to help schools

INDIANAPOLIS (WISH) - Indiana will receive a more than $9 million federal grant to turn around its persistently lowest achieving schools.

The federal government said Tuesday that $546 million is available to states and the District of Columbia through the Education Department’s School Improvement Grants.

"When a school continues to perform in the bottom five percent of the state and isn't showing signs of progress or has graduation rates below 60 percent over a number of years, something dramatic needs to be done," said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. "Turning around our worst performing schools is difficult for everyone, but it is critical that we show the courage to do the right thing by kids."

According to Indiana’s application for the grant, 267 schools are eligible to receive aid. School districts that want to utilize funds from this grant apply to the state and indicate which of four school intervention models it will implement in each of its persistently lowest-achieving schools for which it receives SIG funds.

The allowable models are:

• TURNAROUND MODEL: Replace the principal, screen existing school staff, and rehire no more than half the teachers; adopt a new governance structure; and improve the school through curriculum reform, professional development, extending learning time, and other strategies.
• RESTART MODEL: Convert a school or close it and re-open it as a charter school or under an education management organization.
• SCHOOL CLOSURE: Close the school and send the students to higher-achieving schools in the district.
• TRANSFORMATION MODEL: Replace the principal and improve the school through comprehensive curriculum reform, professional development, extending learning time, and other strategies.