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Hartford Schools To Get Extra $4.8M In State Money As Alliance District

By VANESSA DE LA TORRE

October 26, 2012

HARTFORD — — The city school system will get an extra $4.8 million from the state for reform efforts, the largest grant among $39.5 million set aside for Connecticut's "alliance" districts in 2012-13, state and school officials said this week.

Hartford has been counting on the grant and plans to use the new funds toward assigning "school quality officers" to help principals, hiring specialists in student intervention, "deploying K-3 literacy assessment teams to improve instructional strategies" and preparing for a new teacher evaluation system, officials said.

The money stems from a major piece of Gov. Dannel P. Malloy's education reform bill that lawmakers approved in May.

Thirty low-performing school systems that the state Department of Education is calling alliance districts are eligible to receive millions more in annual education cost-sharing grants to implement reform models over the next five years.

Each district submitted a proposal in August explaining how it planned to raise achievement at schools that have particularly struggled on standardized tests.

The approval of Hartford's application was announced Thursday. So far, the state has approved plans for 24 school systems, including Bloomfield, Bristol, Derby, Killingly, Manchester, Stamford and Waterbury, said Jim Poliites, the education department spokesman.

Manchester, for example, is receiving $1.34 million this year toward initiatives such as teacher training and literacy coaching. New Britain will get $2.65 million.

The state will review the plans annually, Polites said, but funding in years two to five will be dependent on legislative approval.