YOUNGSTOWN School district receives grant

The district plans to open six smaller, autonomous high schools in 2004.
YOUNGSTOWN -- A $2 million grant for Youngstown schools, announced today, will allow for "smaller, more personalized, effective" education at city high schools.
Youngstown schools will receive $2,007,360 to create smaller learning communities within its high schools. The city's high schools are among eight large high schools from six urban districts in Ohio to get implementation grants through the statewide Ohio High School Transformation Initiative.
The money comes mostly from the Bill & amp; Melinda Gates Foundation, the Ohio Department of Education, and KnowledgeWorks, a foundation in Cincinnati that helps to finance education initiatives in Ohio.
The schools were selected from among 41 Ohio high schools that have been working on plans over the past year.
"We're quite excited," said John Tullio, an administrative specialist for the district. "It's a great day for the city, the city schools and the entire Valley."
Tullio said the high school transformation will work alongside several other initiatives aimed at improving proficiency test scores in the district, which is in academic emergency, according to state Department of Education standards.
Among those initiatives are the Urban Congress, a panel of community leaders; a parent committee; planning programs by high school principals; and a middle school summer "bridge program" for pupils entering high school. Tullio said these types of initiatives are "the foundation" of the transformation grant proposal.
The Warren school district was not successful in securing a similar grant this year for Warren G. Harding High School but continues to work on its proposal for future funding.
In Youngstown, representatives from the school district demonstrated that they are ready for a real change, Wick noted.
"In fact, in interviews, teachers mentioned they have gone too far and learned too much to settle for the status quo any longer. We believe in them, and we're ready to help them realize their dreams," he added.
Plans for future
The city's current three high schools are now entering a three-year "implementation phase," during which they'll continue to receive technical assistance and professional development from KnowledgeWorks.
Six new small, autonomous high schools are planned, within one renovated building (Chaney) and one newly constructed facility (on the city's East Side). Each school will serve about 400 students.
The new schools will be networked with other small schools from around the state and nation that have similar cultures, themes and goals.
Goals are to improve achievement, foster mentorships between students and educators and provide a more rigorous curriculum that shows relevance to everyday life and gives community interaction opportunities.
Each small school community would have a dean.
The redesigned schools are slated to open in fall 2004, according to KnowledgeWorks.
"Key to the success of Youngstown's plan is a vision for an economically revitalized city that begins with the schools and is fueled by deep and broad support from community partners," the Youngstown Regional Chamber, the Ministerial Alliance and Youngstown Education Association, KnowledgeWorks noted.
Other school districts receiving funding are in Columbus, Cleveland Heights, Cleveland, East Cleveland and Toledo.