Hartford to Receive $13.3 Million to Create Student Success Centers, Increase High School Graduation Rate
For Immediate Release: October 1, 2010
Contact:
Paul Mounds, District Communications Director, U.S. Congressman John B. Larson
(860) 278-8888
HARTFORD TO RECEIVE $13.3 MILLION TO CREATE STUDENT SUCCESS CENTERS, INCREASE HIGH SCHOOL GRADUATION RATE
Hartford, CT – Today at the Hartford City Hall, U.S. Congressman John B. Larson (CT-01) joined Hartford Mayor Pedro Segarra and Hartford Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Steven J. Adamowski to announce that the Hartford School District will receive approximately $13.3 million over the next five years, including $2.7 million this year, to create Student Success Centers at Hartford Public High School, Weaver High School, and Bulkeley High School.
The funding, provided under the U.S. Department of Education's School Dropout Prevention Program, will be used to develop Student Success Centers that will provide off-track students and returning dropouts individualized support and academic instruction to allow them to catch up on their studies and qualify for graduation.
"We must provide our students every opportunity to succeed in life. This funding will create Student Success Centers that will put struggling students back on a path to earn their diploma," said Congressman Larson. "Our schools must live up to their mission of providing students with a quality education and the tools to reach their full potential. Initiatives like Student Success Centers, utilizing teams of teachers and graduation coaches, will place students in the best position to graduate and succeed in the future."
Mayor Segarra added, "Hartford is a poor city and education is a proven path out of poverty. It is essential that we provide our young people with the skills that are necessary for them to compete for the jobs of the future. This is vitally important because research shows urban areas like Hartford will produce a majority of this country's workforce. The City is committed to closing the Achievement Gap and having its youth seize this opportunity to succeed both in the classroom and in life."
"This award affirms our reform strategy of providing Hartford students with a high quality education. Hartford Public, Weaver and Bulkeley high schools have all been subdivided into smaller career-oriented academies, where student performance has improved," Dr. Adamowski said. "Student Success Centers will work in collaboration with partners across the city to ensure that thousands more students earn a high school diploma, go to college and become contributing members of society."
Congressman Larson, Mayor Segarra, and Dr. Adamowski also acknowledged and thanked the staffs of the Hartford Public School's Office of Secondary Schools under the direction of Assistant Superintendent Christina Kishimoto and the Office of Strategic Partnerships, headed by Kelvin Roldan, for their hard work to prepare and submit this grant application for approval.
Background on Student Success Centers
The Student Success Centers will be developed at Hartford Public, Weaver and Bulkeley High Schools, to provide off-track students and returning dropouts individualized support and academic instruction to put them back on a path to graduation. The Centers will give students the opportunity to recover credits at an accelerated pace through small-group instruction and online coursework. Along with the opportunity to participate in internships, students will be offered work readiness classes.
In addition, funding will also be used to identify and encourage dropouts to return to school through a communications initiative and to strengthen the summer bridge programs at each school to help ensure that students transition successfully from eighth to ninth grade.
Collaborating partners with the Hartford School District on the initiative include Capital Workforce Partners, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Hartford, the Compass Youth Collaborative, and the Village for Families and Children.
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