By Christi Parsons
Tribune Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama on Monday announced a new intervention program for 5,000 of the nation’s lowest-performing schools, available to districts where officials take actions as drastic as firing principals, clearing out staff and even shuttering some campuses.
In an address to a coalition of education advocates at the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Obama unveiled his administration’s “turnaround” grants, designed to improve student achievement and change the local culture in schools that are doing poorly.
“There’s got to be a sense of accountability,” Obama told the group. “Our kids get only one chance at an education. We need to get it right.”
Under the plan, Education Secretary Arne Duncan will administer $900 million in grants next year to school districts that adopt one of four reform models. In some cases, a school can qualify for the grant money by taking steps to reform instructional strategies and improve teacher effectiveness, in part by extending planning time for educators.
The more dramatic options include a “turnaround” model, which requires replacing a principal and half the school staff and setting up a new structure of school governance and instructional program. Another “restart” model calls for closing a school and reopening under charter management, while the “closure” model requires sending students to better schools in the district.
About 2,000 of the nation’s high schools produce half the dropouts, according to the Department of Education. The intervention program is part of the administration’s effort to help prepare all students to graduate from high school ready for career or college.
The president unveiled the plan in a morning speech to America’s Promise Alliance, founded in 1997 by retired Army Gen. Colin Powell and chaired by his wife, Alma Powell. The group is a partnership made up of corporations, nonprofit and faith-based organizations and education advocates.
“In the 21st century, schools shouldn’t just make sure a student graduates,” the president told the group. “They should make sure the students graduate ready for college, ready for a career and ready for life.”
In addition to the turnaround grants, the Obama administration is setting aside $50 million targeted to support dropout-prevention strategies. The money is meant to promote more personalized instruction and high-quality alternative schools, as well as better use of school data to identify at-risk students.
“This is a problem we can’t afford to accept or ignore,” Obama said. “The stakes are too high – for our children, for our economy, for our country. It’s time for all of us to come together – parents and students, principals and teachers, business leaders and elected officials – to end America’s dropout crisis.”