Lagging Schools Can Request Grants

Accountability is coming to school districts across California, and the state wants struggling schools to know about funds available to help pay for new educational resources. But there’s a hitch.

State schools chief Delaine Eastin last week sent letters to districts telling them which schools can apply for the grants. A school is eligible if its overall results from the Stanford 9 achievement tests place it in the lower half of the statewide distribution for both 1998 and 1999.

Statewide, 3,144 schools are eligible for the grants, 971 of them in Los Angeles County.

Under California’s new school accountability law, schools wanting to volunteer for the state’s “immediate intervention/underperforming schools” grants must apply by Aug. 26. Schools will be selected on a first-come, first-served basis. The list of chosen schools is to be posted on the California Department of Education Web site (https://www.cde.ca.gov) Sept. 1.

Each school will receive a maximum of $200 per pupil. Under the law, a participating school or district must match the amount of state aid.

As for that hitch, participating schools should be aware that they must show improvement over the next two years or face being taken over by the state.