Nearly $22 million in federal stimulus money will help West Virginia鈥檚 worst schools take drastic measures, including replacing principals and overhauling curriculum, U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced Thursday.
West Virginia is the first state to receive money through the federal School Improvement Grants program, which seeks to improve student performance by targeting chronically low-performing schools, since Duncan for use of the grants.
The funding is part of $3.5 billion in federal stimulus money made available to states this spring.
鈥淲hen a school continues to perform in the bottom 5 percent of the state and isn鈥檛 showing signs of growth or has graduation rates below 60 percent, something dramatic needs to be done,鈥� Duncan said in a prepared statement. 鈥淭urning around our worst performing schools is difficult for everyone but it is critical that we show the courage to do the right thing by kids.鈥�
Thirty-three schools in 20 West Virginia counties, including Berkeley, Kanawha and Wood, are eligible to apply to the state Department of Education for a share of the $22 million grant. Applications are due May 25, with grants of between $50,000 and $500,000 being awarded by July 6, said department spokeswoman Liza Cordeiro.
Using the transformation model, West Virginia schools chosen for funding will be required to replace their principals if they haven鈥檛 done so in the past two years or are otherwise exempt, complete a comprehensive reform of their curricula, provide more professional development opportunities and extend learning time, among other strategies.
Changes could begin as soon as this fall.
Thursday鈥檚 announcement came just a week after West Virginia education officials learned that their application for $80 million from the federal government鈥檚 $4.3 billion 鈥淩ace to the Top鈥� program for educational reform did not make the first cut. Officials plan to tweak that application and resubmit it by June 1, the deadline for the second round.
Gov. Joe Manchin has said he would consider calling a special session to consider legislation that might bolster the state鈥檚 鈥淩ace to the Top鈥� application, including legislation to allow charter schools.
On Wednesday, he challenged state Board of Education members to be bold and take on a leadership role in pushing for changes that could help West Virginia secure $80 million for education reforms.
Although education officials won鈥檛 know until next month where its 鈥淩ace to the Top鈥� application was weak, state schools Superintendent Steve Paine said the state鈥檚 success in securing funding through the School Improvement Grants program proves the state鈥檚 plan for addressing struggling schools is not the problem.
He added that the grants give the state the resources to fix the state鈥檚 low-performing schools.
鈥淚f it鈥檚 a leadership problem, lets fix the leadership,鈥� he said. 鈥淚f it鈥檚 not having quality teachers, let鈥檚 hire quality teachers. If it鈥檚 poverty, then let鈥檚 provide some support.鈥�
