District 30 gets $200K to better programs

Valley Stream District 30 is expected to get more than a half-million dollars in the next three years to improve programs, thanks to a New York state grant.

The district is already guaranteed $200,000 for the coming school year, and could receive an additional $400,000 if the state’s School District Performance Improvement Competitive Grant program is renewed each of the following two years. District 30 got a piece of $25 million in competitive grant money for public schools set aside in the state budget by Gov. Andrew Cuomo.

District officials already have grand plans for the money. To even qualify for the grant, they had to write a proposal on how they would enhance programs. Now that plan can be put into action.

Gerard Poole, the assistant to the superintendent for curriculum and instruction, said the district will expand its before- and after-school academies. Two ideas include a Lego robotics club and Check and Connect, a program where children can get emotional and academic support from adults.

The district will purchase 100 iPads to help students with research and allow more access to digital texts. It will also invest in a new data system to keep track of all student performance on both state and district assessments. Poole said that with one click, a teacher or administrator would be able to get a full overview of a child’s academic performance. “It’s really to help individualize the learning for the students,” he said.

Poole wants to expand the literacy summer school and offer help to more students. He said the district also plans to add a computer-based monitoring system to keep track of student performance in math, similar to a system already in place for reading and writing.

Educational leaders from Valley Stream’s school districts are working together to create a more unified science curriculum among the three elementary districts, specifically in fifth and sixth grades. Poole said the money can be used to implement any changes that come out of that.

Officials are also looking to create a jump-start program for children moving into the district in their later elementary years, who did not have the benefit of the district’s “foundation” programs.

“It’s exciting,” Poole said of the grant. “We could never afford these things.”

Poole and Superintendent Dr. Elaine Kanas said they spent a lot of nights and weekends working on the grant application. To be eligible, a district had to show student growth from the 2009-10 to the 2010-11 school year. It did, as District 30’s test scores have been steadily rising.

Between the increase in student achievement, and what he believed was a solid proposal to the state, Poole said he was certain District 30 would get the money. “I said, ‘we’re going to get it,’” he said. “I knew we were going to get it. I was really confident.”

Kanas noted that the grant was actually targeted for middle school education, so as an elementary district the application had to show how it prepares students for their middle school years.

She added that the district does not have to re-apply for the grant. If the money is offered again in each of the next two state budgets, District 30 will automatically receive another $200,000 for the 2013-14 school year, and again the following year.

The purpose of the grant is to encourage innovation in schools, as money can only be used to create new programs or enhance existing programs. The funds cannot be used to offset current expenses. At $200,000 per year, District 30 received the maximum award for a district of its size. It’s enrollment is about 1,450 students.

Board of Education President Carolyn Pean said she was grateful to Poole and Kanas for the time they spent to get the district extra funds. She said while board members were pleasantly surprised by the award, it was not completely unexpected. “That money is going to come in handy,” she said.