WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Herb Kohl announced that Wisconsin received grant funding through the Department of Education's School Improvement Grants (SIG) program, totaling $50,708,839. This funding will be distributed to consistently low achieving schools throughout the state on a competitive basis. As a senior member of the Appropriations Committee, Kohl provided funding for this program through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.  

"Chronic underperformance reveals fundamental flaws in some of our schools," Kohl said. "This grant will provide an investment to help turn around low achieving schools in Wisconsin and create a positive learning experience for the students and teachers."  

Schools eligible for School Improvement Grants are not just struggling schools; they are the persistently lowest performing schools in the state – schools that have been unable to demonstrate student achievement or significant gains in test scores for years, or even generations.  The research-based improvement models schools can implement with these grants focus on bringing in leaders and teachers who have demonstrated their ability to raise their students' academic achievement.