Indiana to receive $9.2 million to aid struggling schools

The U.S. Department of Education announced that Indiana will receive $9.2 million to help turn around its lowest-performing schools.

The money is awarded through the Department’s School Improvement Grant program. Seven schools in Indiana received grants through this program for the 2010-11 school year, totaling $2,191,767.

These seven schools include one in Indianapolis, one in South Bend, one in Evansville and one in Hammond, Ind. Indianapolis Metropolitan High School received the most with $735,737 for school transformation.

Indiana has received more than $9 million in grants each year since 2009.
The grants are given to state educational agencies that then distribute them to local education agencies. The money can be used to implement four of the department’s models: restart, transformation, turnaround or school closure.

In order for states to receive funding, they must go through an application process and list all schools in the state that would be eligible for grant money. In the 2012 application, Templeton and Fairview elementary schools, both in Bloomington, were listed as possible recipients.

According to the Department’s Office of School Turnaround, 2,000 high schools, about 15 percent, produce half of the nation’s 1.2 million high school dropouts.

— Sydney Murray