Lee County awarded $9 million for Race to the Top
Lee County Public Schools received notification from the Florida Department of Education that its full work plan has been approved and will receive more than $9 million to implement activities over the next four years to support Florida’s Race To The Top program.
“The fact that Lee County received full program approval for all 13 components of our plan reflects the very high level of work being done in our District,” said Dr. Lawrence Tihen, Interim School Superintendent. “More importantly, this grant provides additional opportunities for the school system to implement numerous, high quality educational initiatives for our students and teachers.”
In August of 2010, the Florida Department of Education was awarded a historic $700 million grant in the federal Race to the Top Fund competition. Chief Human Resources Officer Dr. Greg Adkins, District staff and the Teachers Association of Lee County worked together in developing the District’s plan for implementation.
“I am excited about the prospect of receiving the RTTT grant,” said Dr. Adkins. “I’m looking forwarded to getting started on the next phase, which we believe will significantly improve the educational experiences for students in Lee County.”
Lee County’s plan will support Florida’s RTTT goals of increasing the graduation rate and college attainment rate, reducing the achievement gap and increasing student proficiency and advanced level performance in reading and mathematics. This will be accomplished by creating an infrastructure that will help grow and support highly effective teachers and leaders that will positively impact student achievement. The project will support students through expansion of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM,) career and advance level courses and through improved instruction. The project will provide support for instruction through improved educator preparation, an improved evaluation system and through a focus on effective professional development.