State Education Department Announces $2.2 Million in Replication Grants to Fifteen Schools in Thirteen Districts to Replicate "Commissioner’s Schools" Best Practices

State Education Commissioner John B. King, Jr. today announced thirteen school districts will receive Replication Grants for Low-Performing Schools to replicate the best practices of the Commissioner’s Schools Dissemination Grant award recipients. The grants, totaling approximately $2.2 million, will go to the following districts: Broadalbin-Perth, Central Square, Cobleskill-Richmondville, Harpursville, Ithaca, Lansing, Long Beach, Margaretville, Monroe-Woodbury, Olean, Rochester, William Floyd, and Yonkers.

"Last year, we awarded Commissioner’s Schools grants that are designed to help successful schools identify and share their best practices," King said.  "Replication Grants are the second piece of the puzzle.  These grants will help struggling schools implement those best practices.  It’s another step toward giving students in struggling schools more opportunities to succeed."

In the State’s Race to the Top application, the State Education Department (SED) set aside $3 million in federal funding to support the "Commissioner’s Schools" program.  The Request for Proposals (RFP), as designed in 2010, consists of two separate but related competitions.  SED designed the Dissemination Grant competition to identify traditional public school districts with highest performing or high progress schools and invited them to submit applications in partnership with identified schools in their districts in response to an RFP.

In October 2012, SED awarded Commissioner’s Schools Dissemination Grants to Carle Place; Gorham-Middlesex (Marcus Whitman); Hamilton; New Hyde Park—Garden City Park; and Saratoga Springs. The five schools designated by SED in this grant competition demonstrated innovative practices, a culture of accountability for student learning, and high performance.  The schools are required to use their grant funds to disseminate their best practices, mentor low-performing schools (up to maximum of four) and refine their own best practices.

The Replication Grants for Low-Performing Schools are companion grants to the Commissioner’s Schools Dissemination Grants.  The purpose of these grants is to enable selected school districts to replicate the best practice(s) of the Commissioner’s Dissemination Grant Schools at a low-performing school in their district.  The Replication Grant applicants chose the best practice model they wanted to replicate from the five Commissioner’s Schools.

Of the twenty-five applications received, fifteen schools are approved to receive nearly $2.2 million for the April 1, 2013 to August 31, 2014 project period.

The RFP for the 2012-2014 Commissioner’s Schools Dissemination Grant can be found at:

http://usny.nysed.gov/rttt/rfp/ta-06/home.html.

The RFP for the 2013-2014 Replication Grant can be found at:

http://usny.nysed.gov/rttt/rfp/ta-07/home.html.