News Article - Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

For Immediate Release
Monday, June 8, 2015
Contact:	781-338-3115

Baker-Polito Administration Awards $4.48 Million to Support Turnaround Efforts in Four Underperforming Schools

MALDEN - The state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education today awarded more than $4 million in federal funding to Springfield and Worcester to build the districts' capacity to support and sustain turnaround work in four underperforming schools. The schools are Elm Park Community School in Worcester and three Springfield middle schools: Duggan, Forest Park and Van Sickle. Today's award is the sixth round of competitive federal grant funding in support of the Commonwealth's efforts to implement school turnaround strategies that will increase student performance in the lowest performing schools. In five prior rounds of funding, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education awarded approximately $86 million to 50 schools in 12 districts. Grants in this sixth round average about $1.1 million over three to five years. The grants will start in fall 2015. "I am delighted these schools will be receiving support to rapidly accelerate student achievement and provide academic opportunities for all students," said Governor Charlie Baker. "Through this funding and a strong partnership with our schools, we hope to expand access to great educational opportunities for every child in the Commonwealth." "This programming will provide much-needed support for our schools in Worcester and Springfield," said Lieutenant Governor Karyn Polito. "These grants will focus on building district capacity and turnaround efforts in these schools so they work toward closing the achievement gap." "I am pleased to announce these grants, which will benefit students in some of the Commonwealth's most struggling schools," said Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education Mitchell D. Chester. To apply for the grants, districts were required to develop proposals for funding that would adopt and implement one of six federally-funded redesign models to improve student learning: (1) the Transformation model, which requires increased learning time and new evaluation systems for principals and teachers; (2) the Turnaround model, which requires that at least 50 percent of the staff be new to the school; (3) the Restart model, in which an educational management or charter organization will assume primary responsibility for turning around the school; (4) the Whole School Reform Model, which requires the implementation of a school reform model supported by evidence of effectiveness; (5) the Early Learning Model, which requires the establishment or expansion of a high quality pre-school program; and (6) the School Closure model. Seven schools from four districts applied for this grant, and at this time, four schools met funding criteria and will be awarded grants. Additional grant applications remain under review. All four awarded schools are Level 4 ("underperforming") schools under the state's accountability system, which classifies schools as Level 1-5. The four schools serve more than 2,600 students, of which approximately 88 percent are low income, 26 percent are English language learners, and 23 percent are students with disabilities. The Department approved these four schools for funding following a comprehensive review process that included face-to-face interviews with district and school officials and an assessment of their capacity to do the work necessary to improve student achievement. The Department determined the amount of each award based on the size, scope and score of an applicant's school redesign plan. The following schools received funding in Round 6 (funding amounts are preliminary):

Worcester: Elm Park Community, Transformation model, $1,300,000
Springfield: Duggan Middle School, Transformation model, $1,065,000
Springfield: Forest Park Middle School, Transformation model, $1,055,000
Springfield: Van Sickle Middle School, Transformation model, $1,060,000

Under the Achievement Gap Act of 2010, Massachusetts has focused federal and local resources on identifying and improving the state's lowest performing schools. For more information on the process, including additional resources on the eligible schools and a summary of the four required federal intervention models, go to: School Redesign Grants. ###

Last Updated: June 8, 2015