Nearly $1.9M in state funding coming to Mahoning Valley schools

Staff report

YOUNGSTOWN

Mahoning Valley schools will get more than $1.9 million in state and consortium funding to help students prepare for future success.

The Mahoning County Educational Service Center is getting nearly $1 million from Ohio’s “Straight A” grant.

And Mahoning County schools also will receive slightly more than $900,000 from the Northeast Ohio Literacy Consortium, a program created by Ohio State University to enhance student’s literacy skills.

State Reps. John Boccieri of Poland, D-59th, and Michele Lepore-Hagan of Youngstown, D-58th, made the announcement Thursday.

The “Straight A Fund” was established to help schools launch creative new ideas for improving education and to transform Ohio’s education system into one that meets the unique needs of every student in every classroom, a news release said.

The Ohio Department of Education received more than 141 grant applications from more than 400 schools.

The $990,048 the service center will receive will help participating school districts ensure that students are college- and career-ready with the implementation of the Mahoning Valley Prepared for Success project.

It is a community-level, shared-service approach project focused on preparing students for the competitive 21st century global economy by helping schools meet college and career readiness criteria on the state report card.

Students will become more proficient in reading and writing by building on their current skill level, creating a more individualized, student-focused approach.

“The innovative approach under ‘Mahoning Valley Prepared for Success’ provides the perfect opportunity for thousands of kids to learn necessary skills they need to succeed,” Boccieri said.

Among the local Mahoning Valley-area participating school districts that will receive a portion of the funding are Austintown, Campbell, Canfield, Columbiana, Mahoning County Career and Technical Center, Poland, Springfield and Struthers.

Mahoning County schools also will receive $915,603 from the Northeast Ohio Literacy Consortium.

The consortium is a research-based program that offers innovative approaches for educators to teach students reading and writing. Based on framework created by OSU, the program does away with traditional approaches and allows students to choose what they’re interested in reading and writing about. Youngstown City Schools already have experienced some success with the program.

“These collaborative community projects show that Mahoning County is dedicated to making our children’s education a top priority,” Lepore-Hagan said.

School districts that will receive consortium funding include Austintown, Brookfield, West Branch and Youngstown.