Youngstown schools intervention program moving to fifth grade

By Harold Gwin

Federal stimulus money will be used for a fifth-grade academic-intervention program.

YOUNGSTOWN — A state grant funding a program focusing on the in-school performance of ninth-grade boys has expired, but the city school district will tap some federal funds to move the program to a lower grade level.

The school board voted Tuesday to use up to $245,000 in federal stimulus money to launch the revamped Governor’s Initiative program that will now target fifth-grade boys and girls.

The program, focusing heavily on academic and behavioral intervention, ran two years and had a 68 percent passage rate for the 100 boys selected for participation after being deemed to be at risk of dropping out of school before graduation.

The district plans to take that same intervention effort into the fifth grade this year.

Youngstown schools have been awarded $9.7 million in federal stimulus funds, and that money is to be used for various types of academic intervention, said Superintendent Wendy Webb.

The fifth grade’s academic performance was the weakest point in the district’s 2009 state local report card (as it was for the entire state, according to the Ohio Department of Education), so the decision was made to move the Governor’s Initiative to that level, she said.

The state funding may be gone, but the state mandate to continue the program still exists, she said.

The state supports Youngstown’s decision to move it to the fifth grade, said Karen Green, assistant superintendent for human resources.

“By the time they get to ninth grade, it’s almost too late. This is a better fit for us,” she said.

The board voted to hire four “linkage coordinators” and one “parent/school liaison” to run the program.

The coordinators will look for “at risk” students, using district data to pinpoint those in academic difficulty, Green said.

School attendance and behavior problems are other issues that could bring a child into the program, she said.

The coordinators will be the “drill sergeants,” Green said, making sure the students attend school, get appropriate tutoring and stay involved in other efforts designed to ensure academic success.

The liaison will enlist ongoing parental involvement and support for their children’s education. Parents must be made aware of what is needed to succeed in school, and everyone must be on the same page in support of the children, Green said.

The four coordinators will each be paid $34,000, while the liaison will be paid $33,000. The contracts are for 12 months and don’t include any benefits.

gwin@vindy.com