Five of the Philadelphia School District’s lowest-performing schools will receive federal School Improvement Grants to help improve student achievement, the state Department of Education announced yesterday.
The schools were among 26 in the state to receive the grants, given to the lowest-performing schools which have failed to make substantial progress on state assessments or had graduation rates below 60 percent in two of the last three years. The applications were reviewed and scored by a panel who then made award recommendations.
The awards will go to (amounts are subject to change):
John Barry Elementary School, Turnaround, $1,944,171
Horace Furness High School, Transformation, $1,471,653
William D. Kelley School, Transformation, $1,702,928
Olney High School East, Restart, $5,384,040
Penn Treaty Middle School, Transformation, $3 million
Out of the 141 schools eligible for the grants, only 40 schools in the Commonwealth applied for the grants, DOE said. Of the 40 that applied, 18 did not meet the necessary requirements of the grant. Seventeen re-applied, with five meeting the criteria.
“It’s outrageous and embarrassing that educational leaders, who are entrusted with educating our children, would request funding for frivolous expenditures disguised as tools to enhance student achievement,” state Secretary of Education Ronald Tomalis said in a news release.
In total, the 26 schools will receive $66 million in grants. Last year, the first year that SIG was available, 58 schools in the state received $102 million in grants.
