19 Priority Schools Receive School Improvement Grants

August 27, 2014

LANSING – Nineteen low-performing schools will use up to $114 million in federal funding over the next three years to increase student achievement, the Michigan Department of Education (MDE) announced today. 

The MDE is distributing the federal funds to the 19 Priority Schools, in the bottom 5 percent of the state’s annual Top-to-Bottom rankings, as recipients of a School Improvement Grant (SIG).

The SIG grants are awarded for three years and, starting with the 2014-15 school year, the grants will go to 19 schools from 11 traditional and charter schools districts. 

“Schools can use these important dollars to focus planning and instruction on academic growth, to help their students reach improved levels of achievement,” said State Superintendent Mike Flanagan. 

“These are some of Michigan’s most academically at-risk schools,” Flanagan said. “Increased funding, both from federal and state sources, is needed to help provide more tools for educators to target instruction for specific student needs. Every student needs an opportunity to succeed.”

SIG grants provide each of the 19 schools up to $2 million per year, for each of the three years of the grant program, to implement reform and redesign plans. Michigan’s federal flexibility waiver, which the USED last week announced that it’s extending for one year, requires Priority Schools to select one of four intervention models aimed at increasing student achievement at an accelerated pace. The models are: Turnaround; Restart; School closure; and Transformation.

The 19 schools were selected from an applicant pool of 55 eligible Priority Schools that applied. A group of peer reviewers from across the state read the applications and scored them according to a rubric and directions provided to the applicants. 

This is the third round of federal SIG funding in Michigan: 19 schools received $84 million from 2010 to 2013, and $61 million went to 24 schools between 2011 and this September.

Here is the list of 19 schools receiving three-year SIG grants this year:

Battle Creek Public Schools:              Dudley School

 

Benton Harbor Area Schools:             Benton Harbor High School
                                                       International Academy at Hull 

                                                       Montessori Academy at Henry C Morton

 

Detroit City School District:              Carstens Elementary-Middle School

                                                      Noble Elementary-Middle School

                                                      Osborn College Preparatory Academy 

                                                      Osborn Evergreen Academy of Design and Alt. Energy

Ecorse Public Schools:                       Ecorse Community High School 

                                                       Ralph J. Bunche Academy

Kalamazoo Public Schools:                Washington Writers' Academy

                                                       Woodward School for Technology and Research

Lansing Public School District:          Eastern High School

                                                       Forrest G. Averill School

Lincoln Park School District:             Raupp School

Litchfield Community Schools:           Litchfield Elementary School

Michigan Technical Academy:            Michigan Technical Academy Elementary

River Rouge School District:              Ann Visger K-5 Preparatory Academy

Roseville Community Schools:           John R. Kment Elementary School