SIG-School Improvement Grant

Our students are ready to Level the Playing Field thanks to the programs being offered by Greene County High School
and the School Improvement Grant. Join us as we prepare our students for endless opportunities and GO GREENE.

SIG - School Improvement Grant

Purpose of the SIG Program

The School Improvement Grants fund is authorized under Section 1003(g) of Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965. The U.S. Department of Education issues formula grants to each of the State Educational Agencies (SEA) that wish to participate. The School Improvement Grants (SIG) are then awarded to local school districts as competitive grants.

To receive a School Improvement Grant, a local school district (LEA) must submit an application to the State (SEA). From among the LEAs in greatest need, the State must select those LEAs that demonstrate the strongest commitment to ensuring that the funds are used to provide adequate resources to enable the lowest-achieving schools to meet, or be on track to meet, the LEA’s three-year student achievement goals in reading/language arts and mathematics. Before approving the application, the State must ensure that it meets the requirements, particularly with respect to:

     a. Whether the LEA has agreed to implement one of the four rigorous interventions identified in its application.
     b. The extent to which the LEA’s application shows the LEA’s efforts to:
          - Analyze the needs of each school and match an intervention to those needs, consistent with requirements for LEA applications.
          - Design and implement interventions consistent with the requirements.
          - Recruit, screen, and select external providers to ensure quality.
          - Embed the interventions in a longer-term plan to sustain gains in student achievement.
          - Coordinate with other resources.
          - Modify its practices, if necessary, to enable it to fully and effectively implement the interventions.
          - Sustain the reforms after the funding period ends.
     c. Whether the LEA has the capacity to implement the selected intervention fully and effectively .
     d. Whether the LEA has submitted a budget that includes sufficient funds to implement the selected intervention fully and effectively.

The State also reviews and approves the LEA’s three-year student achievement goals to ensure that they are sufficiently rigorous to hold the school accountable for meeting, or being on track to meet, those goals with respect to all students in the school, as well as each subgroup of students identified, and for making progress on the leading indicators.

Greene County High School was awarded a three year
School Improvement Grant - Transformation Model
2011-2014

How we are spending the School Improvement Grant funds:

The Greene County School System has won a competitive grant from Race to the Top funds (RTT) in the amount of $4.2 million to be spent over the next three years. These funds are being used for staff training and the purchase of technology devices for students and staff for support of high school program reforms in Greene County.

While these funds are federal and all taxpayers contribute to making them available, our district staff wrote the grant that brought those funds into this school district in this state. The appropriate name of the grant is School Improvement Grant (SIG). If the funds were not received here, then they would have been received by another school district in another state. We feel very good about the fact that we were rewarded for submitting a proposal for a strategy to improve educational outcomes for high school students in Greene County. This is another revenue stream for us - no ELOST, no Local taxpayer funds! However, as with most grants, the funds must be used, as specified in the grant. These dollars cannot be converted and used in operations not specified in or condoned by the grant design.

* In addition to purchasing iPads (an Apple product) for all teachers and students at our high school with the SIG funds; we hired three technology specialists to assist with implementation of the devices; we have also contracted for assistance from the University of Georgia to assist in implementation; we have hired a Reading Specialist; and contracted with the Southern Regional Educational Board to provide staff development in literacy and mathematics.

* This SIG money is also being used to train teachers in how to utilize test score information to improve student achievement; it is being used to order software for student remediation programs.

* Additionally, we are using the funds to operate the Ombudsman program, an alternative High School Choice open to all Greene County residents.

* Funds have been targeted for -use in training staff for the International Baccalaureate program; this will facilitate the IB program growth from middle school to high school.

* Over the next two years, these same grant funds will be used for funding a parent academy and a parent outreach program to bring resources and classes into our neighborhoods.

* There are also staff incentives for increasing the graduation rates and student performance rates.

For additional information on this grant, CLICK HERE to be redirected to our Board of Education Meeting from July 5, 2011. In section "G-Action Agenda", item number "4-School Improvement Grant", you will find the information that was presented to the BOE regarding this grant. You will also find a complete budget profile.

There have also been additional updates in the Board Meetings that have followed.

As always, please feel free to contact the Greene County District Office or Greene County High School with any additional questions that you may have regarding this grant.

Look at what is being made possible with this grant.

Student iPad - 1:1 Initiative

Our students are ready to Level the Playing Field thanks to the programs being offered by Greene County High School and the School Improvement Grant.

Join us as we prepare our students for endless opportunities and GO GREENE.

In January of 2012, Greene County School System implemented a major component of its School Improvement Grant (SIG) with the distribution of the iPad to all Greene County High School students.

“Our students have learning styles that are as unique as they are,” said Cynthia Brictson, Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction. “We are meeting each of our students where and when they learn best. Learning begins to transform and increase exponentially when students learn from each other and have the tools to individualize their learning.”

Click below to learn more about our student iPad 1:1 initiative.

Ombudsman Academy

The Ombudsman Academy is a school within a school. It was created with the help of a School Improvement Grant to meet the needs of the non-traditional student. The program design allows for flexibility for at-risk students who work, have children, or who want an alternative to traditional instruction in order to meet the requirements for successful high school graduation. The Ombudsman Academy offers flexible scheduling for small groups of students at an alternative campus. Students are divided into 2 groups of approximately 23 students each, and there will be two sessions each day. Each student attends one session consisting of four hours of academic instruction. Like all students in the school system, the Ombudsman Academy students will meet state and local requirements for promotion and graduation. To promote achievement, Ombudsman instructors differentiate instruction for students and provide multi-modal learning activities that include computer-assisted curriculum, group work, role-play, project-based learning, group discussion and team-building activities. The spiraled curriculum is aligned to Georgia Standards. The LEA provides NWEA testing to monitor growth. An Individual Learning Plan (ILP) is also developed for each student based on identified needs determined from entry assessments. Attainable goals are set, and each student works at his own pace to build skills and accelerate learning. Curriculum is adapted to meet each student's skill level. With this diagnostic-prescriptive, personalized, self-paced approach, every child begins at their instructional level (from remedial to advanced) and work to attain specific goals leading to completion of subjects/courses for promotion or graduation. Academy students take all state and local assessments; and Ombudsman staff provides targeted activities to prepare students for each experience, plus use assessment results to further define areas for remediation to be targeted in each student’s program.

Greensboro Location
1011 Founders Road
Suite B & C
Greensboro, Georgia 30642
Phone: (706) 999-0222
Fax: (706) 999-0223

CLICK HERE for more information on the Ombudsman Program.

Links and Resources

Additional Links

*This is the property of the Greene County School System and cannot be used or reproduced by any person or company without having the written consent of the Greene County School System. Reproduction request should be directed to: Greene County School System, Attention: Office of communications, 101 East Third Street, Greensboro, Georgia 30642.

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03/19/2012