WASHINGTON - U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan has announced almost $100 million in grants to support state and local efforts to reform high schools and improve the educational outcomes of students.
“These grants will help our local communities and states in working towards President Obama’s goal of once again having the highest college completion rate in the world by the end of the decade,” Secretary Duncan said. “To achieve this goal, high schools must ensure more students graduate and are prepared for success in college and careers.”
Twenty-eight high schools will receive $52.2 million under the Smaller Learning Communities program and 29 states and districts will receive $46.6 million under High School Graduation Initiative program.
The Smaller Learning Communities grants support large comprehensive high schools to create smaller, personalized learning environments with the goal of improving the academic achievement of their students and preparing them for postsecondary education. Grantees will also focus on improving teaching and learning by providing teachers with more common planning time to meet the needs of their students.
For example, the St. Louis Public Schools in Missouri will use some of their grant funding to partner with College Summit. Together, they will offer a new course for juniors on how to plan and prepare for college, create College Resource Centers for students, and carry out a school-wide initiative to equip students with the skills they need to succeed in more academically challenging courses. In the Robbinsdale Independent School District in Minnesota, the district will be aligning its curriculum with college-ready standards, establishing rigorous college-prep programs in the lower grades, and supporting teachers by providing instructional coaching and more time to collaborate during the school day.
The U.S. Department of Education’s High School Graduation Initiative supports activities such as early warning systems designed to identify students at risk of dropping out, rigorous academic programs and support services to engage students and implement dropout prevention, credit recovery programs, and targeted re-engagement programs that identify out-of-school youth and encourage them to reenter school. The Initiative targets high schools with high dropout rates or middle schools that feed into schools with high dropout rates.
The Massachusetts Department of Education will implement a statewide dropout prevention strategy that includes the creation of three Gateway to College programs. The work will enable high school dropouts and other at-risk students to complete their high school diploma at a community college while earning college credits toward an associate’s degree or certificate. Washoe County School District in Nevada will create new options for at-risk youth, establishing a network of small schools that will give dropouts, and students at risk of dropping out, the opportunity to pursue an individualized education program to earn their diploma.
The 28 Smaller Learning Communities grantees are:
SLC Grant Recipient Name
State
Grant Award Amount
Fairbanks-NorthStar-Borough School District
AK
$631,975
Fayetteville School District #1
AR
$653,886
Oakland Unified School District
CA
$2,581,563
Woodland Joint Unified School District
CA
$1,534,537
Baldwin Park Unified School District
CA
$1,355,873
Long Beach Unified School District
CA
$2,018,607
Antioch Unified School District
CA
$664,431
Bluff Joint Union High School District
CA
$720,641
Atlanta Public Schools
GA
$2,112,553
Hawaii State Department of Education
HI
$3,446,866
Chicago Public Schools
IL
$4,735,739
Jefferson County Board of Education
KY
$3,795,483
Beverly Public Schools
MA
$756,000
Robbinsdale Independent School District 281
MN
$1,291,381
Board of Education of the City of St. Louis
MO
$1,721,017
West Orange Board of Education
NJ
$851,898
Los Lunas Schools
NM
$1,314,492
Syracuse City School District
NY
$2,955,979
New York City Department of Education
NY
$4,587,741
Albany-Schoharie-Schenectady-Saratoga Board of Cooperative Educational Services
NY
$748,939
Springfield School District #19
OR
$1,612,627
School District of Philadelphia
PA
$3,386,349
Laurel Highlands School District
PA
$562,889
Bradley County Schools
TN
$2,517,541
Region 1 Education Service Center
TX
$2,538,353
Ogden City School District
UT
$1,528,896
Chesterfield County Public Schools
VA
$843,971
Tacoma Public Schools
WA
$728,257
TOTAL
$52,198,484
The 29 High School Graduation Initiative grantees are:
HSGI Grant Recipient Name
State
Grant Award Amount
Mobile County Public School System
AL
$1,651,537.00
Los Angeles Unified School District
CA
$2,315,000.00
Pasadena Unified School District
CA
$817,073.00
Riverside County Office of Education
CA
$1,333,568.00
Colorado Department of Education
CO
$3,000,000.00
Hartford School District
CT
$2,732,987.00
School District of Palm Beach County, Florida
FL
$1,468,606.00
The School Board of Broward County, Florida
FL
$902,011.00
Jones County Schools
GA
$1,446,950.00
Des Moines Independent Community Schools
IA
$1,200,507.00
Davenport Community School District
IA
$217,107.00
West 40 Intermediate Service Center #2
IL
$1,461,637.00
Bloom Township High School District 206
IL
$1,047,464.00
Chicago Public Schools, District #299
IL
$2,928,547.00
St. Clair County Educational Cooperative Board
IL
$988,394.00
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education
