Kentucky Receives $7.7 Million to Assist Low-Achieving Schools

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Kentucky is one of 11 states receiving federal grant money to help low-achieving schools, including Christian County High School. Kentucky will get $7.7 million from the School Improvement Grant program to use at what the state Department of Education calls “priority schools.”

These schools were previously designated as persistently low-achieving for failing to meet standards of the No Child Left Behind Act. The grant money is available to 12 of Kentucky’s 41 priority schools, which hire special educational recovery teams to assist with school turnaround. Other priority schools use another funding stream called Title I.

Education officials say they are pleased Kentucky was chosen for the federal funds, but note that this will mark that the last year the School Improvement Grant will be available. That means the state will eventually need to amend its support model for struggling schools.