U.S. DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION TO HOST COMMUNITY MEETING ON TURNING AROUND PENNSYLVANIA'S LOWEST-PERFORMING SCHOOLS
U.S. Department of Education's Alberto Retana will hold a community meeting at the Department's regional office in Philadelphia from 10 a.m. to noon Monday, Feb. 8, to discuss funding available to Pennsylvania to turn around its lowest-performing schools.
(Media-Newswire.com) - U.S. Department of Education’s Alberto Retana will hold a community meeting at the Department’s regional office in Philadelphia from 10 a.m. to noon Monday, Feb. 8, to discuss funding available to Pennsylvania to turn around its lowest-performing schools. This spring, the U.S. Department of Education will award states a total of $3.5 billion in Title I School Improvement grants to turn around their lowest-performing schools. The funds will be awarded by formula to states, which will then make competitive grants to local education agencies ( LEAs ). Pennsylvania is eligible to receive an estimated $163 million to turn around its lowest-performing schools.
“Pennsylvania is currently taking a hard look at its lowest performing schools to make tough decisions about where to invest millions of dollars that will be available to them this spring,” Retana said. “This Monday, we will meet with Philadelphia community leaders, school board members, parents, teachers and union representatives to discuss what needs to be done to pave the way for change.”
In order for states to qualify for funding under the Title I School Improvement grant program, they are required to identify their lowest-performing schools and transform them with one of the four following intervention models:
Turnaround model: Replace the principal and rehire no more than 50 percent of the staff, and grant the principal sufficient operational flexibility ( including in staffing, calendars/time and budgeting ) to fully implement a comprehensive approach to substantially improving student outcomes. Restart model: Convert a school or close and reopen it under a charter school operator, a charter management organization, or an education management organization that has been selected through a rigorous review process. School closure: Close a school and enroll the students who attended that school in other schools in the LEA that are higher achieving. Transformation model: Implement each of the following strategies: ( 1 ) replace the principal and take steps to increase teacher and school leader effectiveness; ( 2 ) institute comprehensive instructional reforms; ( 3 ) increase learning time and create community-oriented schools; and ( 4 ) provide operational flexibility and sustained support. Who: Alberto Retana, director of community outreach, U.S. Department of Education
What: Philadelphia Community Meeting on Turnaround Schools
Where: U.S. Department of Education Regional Office The Wanamaker Building, 5th Floor North 100 Penn Square East Philadelphia, PA
When: 10 a.m. to Noon, Monday, Feb. 8
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