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HARRISBURG, February 2, 2005 -
The first year of Pennsylvania’s Accountability Block Grant
Program has been a remarkable success in providing
flexibility and funding to the state’s school districts,
according to state Sen. J. Barry Stout.
“By investing in early childhood education, as well as other
programs, Pennsylvania’s public schools are taking the steps
necessary to reach their performance targets,” said Stout
(D-Greene/Washington/Allegheny/Beaver/Westmoreland).
On Tuesday, the state Department of Education released its
Mid-Year Report on the program, which found that more than
two-thirds of the block grant funding had been spent on
early childhood education programs, including quality
pre-kindergarten, full-day kindergarten, and class-size
reduction in the early elementary grades.
School districts have also used the block grants for
tutoring, professional development, math and literacy
coaching, social and health services, science and
applied-knowledge skill development, and improving the
performance of student subgroups.
“This program is unique because it provides $200 million to
the state’s public schools and empowers them to choose the
best program for bringing their students up to proficiency,”
said Stout.
In the 2003-04 school year, nearly 40 percent of the state’s
11th graders were below the state’s performance standard in
reading, and more than half did not meet proficiency in
math. The federal No Child Left Behind accountability law
requires all Pennsylvania students to meet proficiency by
2014.
With Act 48 of 2003, the legislature established the
Accountability Block Grant Program. Each year, the
department must submit its mid-year report to the General
Assembly by February 1. Copies of the report are available
at www.pde.state.pa.us.
The school districts in the 46th Senate District utilized
the block grants for the following programs and received the
following funds:
Greene County:
· Carmichaels Area SD - Full-day Kindergarten ($200,087)
· Central Greene SD - Full-day Kindergarten, Class Size
Reduction ($344,619)
· Jefferson-Morgan SD - Full-day Kindergarten ($158,642)
· Southeastern Green SD - Social and Health Services,
Performance of Student Subgroups ($127,099)
· West Greene SD - Full-day Kindergarten ($110,128)
Washington County:
· Avella SD - Full-day Kindergarten, Class Size Reduction,
Social and Health Services, Tutoring Assistance ($104,798)
· Bentworth SD - Class Size Reduction, Science and
Applied-Knowledge Skills, Literacy and Math Coaching
($178,689)
· Bethlehem-Center SD - Full-day Kindergarten, Science and
Applied-Knowledge Skills ($215,901)
· Burgettstown SD - Full-day Kindergarten, Literacy and Math
Coaching ($215,481)
· Canon-McMillan - Tutoring Assistance, Science and
Applied-Knowledge Skills ($366,042)
· Chartiers-Houston SD - Social and Health Services, Science
and Applied-Knowledge Skills ($157,715)
· Fort Cherry SD - Science and Applied-Knowledge Skills
($178,573)
· McGuffey SD - Full-day Kindergarten, Social and Health
Services, Science and Applied-Knowledge Skills ($379,602)
· Ringgold SD - Full-day Kindergarten, Social and Health
Services, Performance of Student Subgroups, Science and
Applied-Knowledge Skills,
Professional Education ($520,187)
· Trinity Area SD - Class Size Reduction, Tutoring
Assistance, Science and Applied-Knowledge Skills,
Professional Education, Research-Based
Improvement Strategies ($407,917)
· Washington SD - Full-day Kindergarten ($335,191)
Allegheny County:
· Elizabeth Forward SD - Class Size Reduction, Science and
Applied-Knowledge Skills, Professional Education,
Research-Based Improvement
Strategies ($347,113)
Westmoreland County:
· Monessen City SD - Full-day Kindergarten ($153,068)
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