By Associated Press
Frankfort, KY – Kentucky has been awarded almost $9 million to help improve the Commonwealth's persistently lowest-achieving schools. School districts will compete for the funds. U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan announced the funding late last week through the School Improvement Grant program. Duncan says dramatic action is required when a school performs in the bottom 5% of the state and shows no sign of progress or has graduation rates below 60% over a period of years.