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U.S. Secretary of Education Rod Paige has announced 21 new grants totaling $36 million in federal support for magnet school programs that bring diverse groups of children together, offer public school choice and create innovative educational programs for students. The grants - the first group of an expected 60 grants and $95 million to be awarded over the next several months - are going to school districts in 14 states.
The grants, under the federal Magnet Schools Assistance Program, will help school districts set up or strengthen school choice programs in Hot Springs and Little Rock, Ark.; San Diego and San Jose, Calif.; New Haven, Conn.; Miami-Dade, Pinellas, Escambia and Seminole Counties, Fla.; Indianapolis, Ind.; Rapides Parish, La.; Springfield, Mass.; Lansing and Kalamazoo, Mich.; Harrison County, Miss.; Yonkers and Brooklyn, N.Y.; Charlotte, N.C.; Philadelphia; Berkeley County, S.C.; and Aldine, Texas.
"Parents, armed with options and choice, are equipped to ensure that their children get the highest quality education possible," Paige said. "Competition among schools can be a powerful motivator to help schools improve the quality and scope of programs they offer, and to make sure that young people learn the core knowledge that they need to succeed in the world today."
The funds awarded today will help school districts establish or expand existing magnet programs that are part of a school district's court-ordered or federally approved desegregation plan.
To qualify for funding, the projects must:
- foster interaction among students of different social, economic, ethnic and racial backgrounds in classroom activities and extracurricular activities;
- carry out a high-quality educational program that will substantially strengthen students' reading skills or knowledge of mathematics, science, history, geography, English, foreign languages, art, music or vocational skills;
- reduce, eliminate or prevent minority group isolation in participating schools;
- address the educational needs of the students who will be enrolled in the magnet schools; and,
- encourage greater parental decision-making and involvement.
The projects in Hot Springs, Ark.; Rapides Parish, La.; Lansing, Mich.; Berkeley County, S.C. and Harrison County, Miss., are first-time magnet schools grant recipients. The department expects to fund a total of 60 awards, ranging in size from less than $1 million to more than $2 million a year over three years. Almost $15 million will fund the continuation of four other magnet schools programs that received initial funding last year as well as 15 innovative programs that involve local desegregation activities that expand parental choice through the use of strategies other than magnet schools.
The Magnet Schools Assistance Program is authorized under Title V, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended in 1994 and is administered by the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education.
NOTE TO EDITORS: Following is a list of grantees.
Magnet Schools Assistance Program
FY 2001 New Grant Recipients
Arkansas
Hot Springs School District, Contact: Donald R. Waldrip (501) 624-3372 $2,028,382
Little Rock School District, Contact: Linda Austin (501) 324-2112 2,336,370
California
San Diego Unified School District, Contact: Patricia A. Trandal (619) 725-7153 2,024,098
San Jose Unified School District, Contact: Sharon Andres (408) 535-6378 2,262,650
Connecticut
New Haven Public Schools, Contact: Edward Linehan (203) 946-5696 1,906,292
Florida
Miami-Dade County School District, Contact: John Johnson II (305) 995-1704 1,015,782
School Board of Pinellas County, Contact: Deidra K. Honeywell (727) 588-6539 2,152,979
St. Petersburg
School District of Escambia County, Contact: Linda R. Gulley (850) 469-5329 1,025,692
Pensacola
Seminole County Public Schools, Contact: Sherry O?Leary (407) 320-0458, 953,240
Sanford
Indiana
Indianapolis Public Schools, Contact: Billie Moore (317) 226-4794 1,654,560
Louisiana
Rapides Parish School Board, Contact: Lyle Hutchinson (318) 473-8585, 1,926,696
Alexandria
Massachusetts
Springfield Public Schools, Contact: Joshua P. Bogin (413) 787-7752 2,245,324
Michigan
Lansing School District, Contact: Shari J. Miller (517) 325-6125 2,147,493
Kalamazoo City School District, Contact: Yvonne Davis (616) 337-0183 2,275,408
Mississippi
Harrison County School District, Contact: Charlotte Davis (228) 539-5946 1,166,442
Gulfport
New York
Community School District #21, Contact: Barry M. Fein (718) 714-2541 1,655,160
Brooklyn
Yonkers City Schools, Contact: Fern Eisgrub (914) 376-8213 1,993,846
North Carolina
Charlotte-Mecklenburg Board of Ed., Contact: Robbie Kale (704) 343-5030 2,132,154
Pennsylvania
Philadelphia School District, Contact: Harry J. Gaffney (215) 335-5043 551,561
South Carolina
Berkeley County School District, Contact: Anne B. Godbee (843) 899-8640 653,982
Moncks Corner
Texas
Aldine Independent School District, Contact: Diane Creekmore (281) 985-6416 2,123,718
Houston
TOTAL $36 million
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