Lincoln High School won a Smaller Learning Communities grant last week, the only school in Washington state to receive funding under the U.S. Department of Education’s High School Graduation Initiative. The grant, which targets professional development, graduation support and college preparedness, could go up to just under $2 million if the grant is funded for the full five years, said Lincoln High School Co-Principal Pat Erwin. “The total grant award is $1.75 million that would be given to Lincoln in four installments over five years. The first two years came to us at this time as $728,257. The remainder will follow."
Lincoln Center, housed at Lincoln High School is one of three academies at the school, and will be the connecting point for the grant’s Perseverance Over Poverty (POP) Project, instituting key curriculum features in Lincoln’s other two small learning communities through work with the College Preparedness Program.
Erwin said he wanted to give credit to “star teacher, and now star grant writer, Jennifer Zamira for her great work in authoring the grant, the assistance of our network of friends in the College Preparedness Project and colleagues from the surrounding areas for their ideas and input.”
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced nearly $100 million in grants to support state and local efforts to reform high schools and improve educational outcomes of students. Twenty-eight high schools throughout the nation will receive $52.2 million under the Small Learning Communities program and 29 states and districts will receive $46.6 million under the High School Graduation Initiative program.
The Smaller Learning Communities grants support large comprehensive high schools to create smaller, personalized learning environments with the goal of improving the academic achievement of students and preparing them for post-secondary education. Grantees will also focus on improving teaching and learning by providing teachers with collaborative planning time to meet the needs of their students.