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Alberto Retana of the U.S. Department of Education, is to hold a meeting at the San Francisco Public Library, Main Branch today, Monday, March 08, 2010 to discuss with the community funding available to California. The intention is to provide funds in order to turn around the lowest-performing schools in the state. The DOE plans to award $3.5 billion in Title I School Improvement grants. How the award is given to each state will be determined using a formula; California is eligible for $415.9 million for local education agencies to utilize for school improvement.

“California is currently taking a hard look at its lowest performing schools to make tough decisions about where to invest millions of dollars that will be available to them this spring,” said Retana. “Monday, we will meet with San Francisco community leaders, school board members, parents, teachers and union representatives to discuss what needs to be done to pave the way for change.”

To qualify under the Title I School Improvement grant program, each state must identify its lowest-performing schools and then use one of these four intervention models to transform them:

• Restart model: close and reopen or convert a school it under a charter school operation, charter management organization, or education management organization selected through a rigorous review process.
• School closure: Close a school and enroll students who attended that school in other schools in the LEA that are higher achieving.
• Turnaround model: Replace the principal and rehire no more than 50 percent of the staff, after which the principal will be granted sufficient operational flexibility (including in calendars/time, staffing, and budgeting) to completely implement an approach that will substantially improve student performance and outcomes.
• Transformation model: Implement these strategies: (1) replace the principal and do what is necessary to increase teacher and school leader effectiveness; (2) institute extensive instructional reforms; (3) increase learning time and create community-oriented schools; and (4) provide flexibility of operation and provide full support.