April 21, 2010

Office of Congressman Artur Davis Announces Alabama will receive $58 Million from the Department of Education

Money will support efforts to turn around the state’s lowest achieving schools

Congressman Artur Davis announced today that the U.S. Department of Education has allotted $58,052,413 in federal funding to help Alabama turn around its persistently lowest performing schools. The funds are being distributed through the School Improvement Grants (SIG) program, and are part of $3.5 billion made available to states from money set aside in the 2009 budget and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.
The money will be distributed to the State, and eligible school districts will be able to apply for the funding this spring. School districts identified as "persistently lowest achieving" will be able to apply first to receive funds. Tier III schools-a school that has failed to meet annual yearly progress for two years and not identified as a persistently lowest achieving school, are also eligible to receive funds once all of Alabama's persistently lowest achieving schools have received their funding.
"With our schools in proration and thousands of teachers in jeopardy of losing their jobs, this infusion of federal dollars into our most troubled schools should be welcomed by every Alabamian," said Congressman Davis. "The School Improvement Grants are another example of the Department of Education's commitment to rewarding innovation at the local school level."
The state has designated 263 schools that are eligible for the SIG grants. School districts who apply for the funding must indicate that they will implement one of four reform models in their schools:

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.