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22 Valley schools enter Race to the Top
By HAROLD GwIN
YOUNGSTOWN
One additional Mahoning Valley public school district and five additional local charter schools have signed up to participate in Ohio’s Race to the Top application for federal grants.
That brings the total to 10 school districts and 12 charter schools from the tri-county area.
Friday was the deadline for schools to provide the state with signed memorandums of understanding that included the signatures of the superintendent, the president of the school board and the president of the teachers union, if the school has a teachers union. The memorandums are part of the application process.
A Vindicator story Thursday showed that nine area school districts and nine charter schools had signed up at that point, based on a preliminary list from the state.
A final list released by the Ohio Department of Education shows that the Brookfield district as well as Legacy Academy for Leaders & Arts, Life Skills Center of Youngstown, Life Skills Center of Trumbull County, Stambaugh Charter Academy and Youngstown Community School also submitted signed memorandums of understanding by the close of business Friday.
Two charter schools that were on the preliminary list didn’t make the final cut. They are LEARN Academy and Liberty Exemplary Academic Design.
Brookfield joins Canfield, Jackson-Milton, Sebring, Western Reserve, Bloomfield-Mesopotamia, Columbiana, Crestview, Leetonia and Lisbon in the state application.
The five additional charter schools join the Academy of Arts & Humanities, Buckeye On-Line School for Success, Dixon Early Learning Center, Mahoning Unlimited Classroom, Mahoning County High School, Western Reserve Kindergarten Learning Academy and Youngstown Academy of Excellence on the list.
The state must submit its application to the U.S. Department of Education by June 1. The grant program is designed to aid low-achieving schools.