Schools in line for $4.6M in grants

LYNN – Lynn is slated to receive $4.6 million during the next four years in federal Race to the Top grants to implement education reform strategies.The first payments are expected to arrive within two weeks, according to Jonathan Palumbo, spokesman for the state Executive Office of Education, which will administer the funds.The U.S. Department of Education granted final approval of the state’s detailed plan for implementing these strategies, outlined in the Race to the Top grant application. The approval triggered the release of $250 million in federal funds to Massachusetts and 257 school districts.Race to the Top awards also include $109,370 to Essex Agricultural Technical; $68,918 to the KIPP Academy Lynn charter school; $146,427 to the Marblehead public schools; $62,403 to North Shore Vocational Technical; $512,272 to the Peabody public schools; $1.6 million to the Revere public schools; $826,244 to the Salem public schools; $49,128 to Salem Academy charter school; $252,713 to the Saugus public schools and $97,286 to the Swampscott public schools.”If only we could choose how we spend the money, but there are strings attached,” said School Superintendent Catherine Latham. “Is the money for hiring more teachers? No. Is it to put librarians back to work? No. The money is to improve reforms in the structure of education in the state, so we must spend on projects that have been chosen by the state.”Latham noted some projects are required of all school districts. One is to implement a statewide evaluation framework for teachers.Funded activities will include training for teachers and administrative staff, meeting with union representatives and working to align Lynn’s curriculum to the so-called common core standards outlined by the U.S. Department of Education.”Aligning the curriculum will require some slight changes because the federal standards are slightly different from the current state standards. That means some training will be required,” she said.According to Latham, providing real-time educational data is another required goal highlighted by the grant program.She said the school district previously received a $20,000 grant to update its computer software.”The upgrade allows us to interact with the state data warehouse in real time for things like attendance records. The state should be able to check the database that day and see who was here and who wasn’t.”The interface has not been completed, but work is on track and clerks must still be given professional development training on how to input the required data, the superintendent said.Although Lynn is set to receive $4.6 million, the award likely will not be distributed evenly during the next four years because the funding must dove-tail with the programs being implemented, she said.Palumbo said Massachusetts earned the highest score in the nation in the Race to the Top competition last August.