NINTH GRADE SUCCESS INITIATIVE

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NINTH GRADE SUCCESS INITIATIVE
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Program Goals

• Increase graduation rates by
• Reducing disproportionately large percentage of
  students who are retained in ninth grade and
• Reducing similarly large percentage of students
  who drop out of school at the ninth grade

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Project Description

• The Ninth Grade Success Initiative provides that
  a school district may apply for funding of
  programs specifically designed for students in
  grade 9
• (a) who are at risk of not earning sufficient
  credit to advance to grade 10, and who fail to
  meet minimum skills levels established by the
  commissioner or
• (b) who have not earned sufficient credit to
  advance to grade 10, and who fail to meet minimum
  skills levels established by the commissioner.

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Note

• Current eighth grade students who become ninth
  graders in June 2000 may be eligible to receive
  services at that time if they meet the criteria
  for eligible students.

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Amounts of Grants

• The amounts of the grants will be awarded based
  on
• the quality of the proposed program design
• the school districts demonstrated need for the
  program, and
• the number of identified eligible students to be
  served

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• Grant funds from the Ninth Grade Success
  Initiative may be used to
• (a) create new programs
• (b) enhance existing programs, or
• (c) expand existing programs

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For expansion or enhancement of existing
programs, the following conditions must be met

• the intent to enhance or expand existing
  program(s) is clearly defined in the description
  and intent section of the grant application
• the program includes and implements the
  requirements of this initiative
• the program accounts for all fiscal concerns in
  accordance with stipulations of each funding
  source and
• the program is in compliance with the appropriate
  local, state, and federal regulations.

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Eligibility of Students

• A student is eligible if he/she meets criterion
  (a) and fails to meet 1, 2, or 3 of criterion (c)
  or meets criterion (b) and fails to meet 1, 2, 3
  of criterion (c) as described below

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• (a) Any of the following attributes will suffice
  to qualify a first-time ninth grade student as
  at risk of not earning sufficient credit to
  advance to grade 10
• failure to pass one or more parts of TAAS
  (including science and social studies) in grade 8
• retention in one or more grade levels between
  grades 6 and 8
• failing one or more classes in a reporting period
  in grade 9
• a grade below 75 in any class in a reporting
  period in grade 9
• excessive absences in grade 9
• (b) Ninth grade students who have not earned
  sufficient credit to advance to grade 10 or those
  who have been retained in grade 9 for a second or
  third year.

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• (c) For the purposes of this initiative, three
  criteria for minimum skills levels have been set
  for ninth grade students
• mastery of all the eighth grade level TAAS exams
  or
• mastery of all eighth grade classes in which the
  student was enrolled or
• earning a grade of 75 or better in current grade
  9 courses

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Funding

• The range is as follows
• an application from a district or a consortium of
  districts with total district enrollments
  exceeding 50,000 students is eligible to apply
  for a grant not to exceed 6,000,000 for each of
  the two years of the project
• for enrollments between 5,000 and 49,999
  students, the grant may not exceed 360,000 for
  each project year
• for enrollments between 100 and 4,999 students,
  the grant may not exceed 100,000 for each
  project year
• for enrollments of fewer than 100 students, the
  amount is not to exceed 50,000 for each project
  year

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Additional Funding Issue

• For districts with a total enrollment of fewer
  than 100 students, the program may be addressed
  through an arrangement of shared services among
  districts.

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Budget Schedules

• Budget schedules must provide evidence that
• Project costs are reasonable in relation to
  expected results and the number of eligible
  students to be served
• (a) the amount requested might realistically be
  expected to have an impact on the stated needs,
  and
• (b) the expected results are sufficient to
  justify the amounts requested

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• If the district chooses to coordinate funding
  from several sources to fund a program that meets
  all of the requirements for the Ninth Grade
  Success Initiative, the program will identify the
  sources of funding and how they will be
  coordinated.
• All expenditures are pertinent to and appropriate
  for the objectives/activities stated.