Idaho officials are looking for ways to help 29 low-performing schools in the state. The focus is on helping those in need.
“The schools we are talking about here are dealing with some of the biggest challenges in education in Idaho,” says Kevin Richert with Idaho Education News. Speaking on Monday on Idaho Matters, he said it’s mostly smaller, lower income schools with at-risk populations that made the list.
“The vast majority of the schools on this list have poverty rates above the state average," Richert says. "When you look at the numbers of kids who are eligible for free lunch or reduced price lunch, almost all of these schools have higher poverty rates than the state average."
Officials say the new list was designed to help, not ridicule, the schools identified. The ranking was made based on how students did in math and English, student growth, graduation rates and other factors.
The schools will stay on the list for three years, during which time the state Department of Education will work to help them improve.
“And there will be resources going to these schools, there’s going to be some federal money going to these schools, some staffing, designed to try and help these schools turn around,” says Richert.
They’ll each get an education and improvement coach and schools that serve low-income families will share more than $2 million in federal funding.
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