Seventeen Maryland school districts -- including all of those in the Baltimore metropolitan area -- have received grants totaling $2.42 million for new school-improvement projects under the federal Schools for Success/Goals 2000 program, now entering its third year.
The award, announced at this week's Maryland State Board of Education meeting, is part of this year's $5 million federal grant.
The rest of the money will be used for existing programs and administration.
Overall, Maryland schools have received $11.6 million in the three years of the Goals 2000 awards, about $10 million of which has gone to programs of local school systems.
The remaining funds paid for administrative costs.
Ten districts received grants this year ranging from $195,000 to $240,000 for projects supporting the Maryland School Performance Assessment Program, said Paula Despot, grants coordinator for the Maryland State Department of Education, who announced the awards at the Board of Education meeting.
In addition, 14 districts, including Baltimore City and the five counties in the metropolitan area, received $250,000 for a group project that will match low-performing schools with high-achievers, the state's Blue Ribbon Schools.
The latter will share the strategies that make them well-run schools with high-performing students and involved parents.
The projects focus on four areas: safe schools, school readiness for youngsters in kindergarten through third grade, learning innovations, and support for schools with low test scores, Despot said.
Carroll County, for instance, will receive $215,000 for its Ready to Learn program for children in at-risk families.
Through teacher training, home visits and cooperation with community service agencies, the county aims to have 95 percent of its preschoolers ready for school in the year 2000.
Cecil County will receive $210,000 for a program aimed at helping students in four schools improve math skills, and will share $250,000 with Queen Anne's County to improve school and student performance in four targeted schools.
"At first glance, this looks quite good," board President Christopher T. Cross said at the meeting.
But he asked school systems that received grants in the last two years to report on the results of those projects at a future board meeting.
Pub Date: 1/30/97
