The Wayne School District to expected to receive a nearly $700,000 grant from the federal government designed to bolster its ability to serve at-risk and low-income students.
The grant is part of $14.5 billion allocated by the Department of Education Appropriations Act for schools with high concentrations of students from lower-income families.
The funds are used to provide supplementary educational services to districts and schools with the highest percentage of children from low-income families.
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It could not be determined what specific schools will receive the funds.
The grant may fund school-wide or targeted assistance programs.
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School-wide programs are used to improve the performance of all students in a school. Providing professional development services to all of a school’s teachers, upgrading instructional technology, and implementing new curricula are examples of school-wide programs.
Targeted assistance programs are generally limited to the lowest-achieving students in a school. These can vary. Specific students may be pulled out of their regular classroom each week for several hours of more intensive instruction. They could also receive after-school instruction. A teacher’s aide could be hired to provide additional classroom assistance to low-achieving students.
“This is great news,” said Board of Education President Donald Pavlak Jr. “I would like to use that money to develop different programs that will allow us to bring students back into the district.”
Pavlak said the money could possibly be used to fund programs with non-reoccurring costs.
There are several factors that determine whether a district is eligible for a grant.
Participating states must administer annual standardized tests in language arts and mathematics. Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) results based on these tests are also used. Teachers of core subjects must be “highly qualified.” “Highly qualified” teachers must possess at least a bachelor’s degree, obtain full state certification, or pass the state teacher licensing exam, and be licensed to teach.
Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr. (D-8) announced the awarding of the grant Monday afternoon.
“These dollars will help children succeed in the classroom and help public school officials achieve their mission of providing quality education to all students,” Pascrell said.
The state in February that the district will receive $1.5 million to fund special education programs.
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