Improvement grants
Georgia is one of 13 states receiving federal School Improvement Grant funds in this round. Its $17.2 million award is the third-largest behind Florida, which will get $26.8 million, and Illinois, which will get $22.2 million.
Georgia will get $17.2 million in federal grant money to turn around some of its persistently low-performing schools, the U.S. Department of Education announced Monday.
To get the money headed for Georgia, schools that have not previously received School Improvement Grant funds must compete. They have to identify problems, and set goals and say how they’ll use the money to reach them.
“For many of these schools, resources are a challenge,” said Matt Cardoza, director of communications for the Georgia Department of Education. “Any additional resources to help with academic achievement is a plus.”
However, the program can be controversial because to get the funds, a school must agree to reforms that often include replacing the principal.
In Georgia, SIG funds are used to pay for teacher and principal training and to hire teacher coaches.
Schools in Georgia are eligible to apply for a SIG grant if they have a graduation rate lower than 60 percent and have ranked in the lowest 5 percent of schools on state tests in English, language arts and math for the past three years.
To get SIG money, the school must agree to adopt one of three reform models. They are:
- A "turnaround" school, where the principal and no less than half the school staff are replaced. A new governance structure is put in place, more professional development is offered and learning time is extended.
- A "restart" school, which is converted to either a charter school or operated under an education management organization.
- A "transformation" school, where, again, the principal is replaced, the curriculum is reformed, more professional development is offered and learning time is extended.
The Georgia Department of Education has 104 school improvement employees who assist struggling schools, but that number will be cut to 68 because some of those positions were paid for with federal economic stimulus money that runs out at the end of June. All 104 employees can apply for the 68 spots the department will retain.
Education officials generally support programs that put more money into schools, but tying receipt of SIG funds to faculty and principal changes has struck some as the wrong approach.
“I’m not sure that the research and experience over the past decade or so support the effectiveness of these rather dramatic interventions,” said Tim Callahan, director of public relations for the Professional Association of Georgia Educators. “While such changes may need to be made — and they are certainly drastic — my take on it is that any improvements may be short term. Such interventions fail to significantly recognize the serious impacts and long-lasting effects of poverty on teaching and learning of students.”
This will be the fourth time the state has received money from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of School Turnaround, which administers the SIG program.
Georgia schools got $18.9 million in SIG funds in 2009, $19.3 million in 2010 and $19.2 million in 2011.
Late last year, the U.S. Department of Education released a report of more than 730 schools across the country that had received SIG funds. About 65 percent showed improvements in math while 64 percent improved in reading. But 1 percent showed no change in math, and 34 percent showed declines in math. About 37 percent showed declines in reading.
Still, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan praised SIG as a way to transform struggling schools.
“These School Improvement Grants are helping some of the lowest-achieving schools provide a better education for students who need it the most,” he said in a press release announcing the grants.
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