A.V. SCHOOLS TO SHARE $1 MILLION FUNDS PART OF STATE PROGRAM TO RETAIN TEACHERS, SUPPORT STUDENTS.

Byline: KAREN MAESHIRO Staff Writer

LANCASTER -- Eight Antelope Valley school districts will get more than $1 million to pay for tutoring students, training teachers, cleaning campuses and recruiting and keeping highly qualified teachers at low-performing schools.

The funding is part of $46.5 million in grants given to 338 school districts by the state as part of the Teacher Recruitment and Student Support Program.

``We are focusing the money on two major areas of student preparedness and student performance. Some schools will offer extra tutoring, some schools will be able to offer things they haven't before,'' said Phil Rosell, director of curriculum, instruction and assessment in the Lancaster School District where 11 schools will receive funds.

``On school cleanliness and safety, sites will have the ability to spend money how they choose. It could be additional custodial time. Every school never has enough of those because there's never enough time and money,'' Rosell said.

The districts receiving funds are: Antelope Valley Union High School District, $193,901; Eastside Union School District, $72,828; Keppel Union School District, $53,618; Lancaster School District, $269,969; Mojave Unified School District, $54,698; Palmdale School District, $344,392; Southern Kern Unified School District, $4,063; and Wilsona School District, $17,256.

``This much-needed funding comes at a time when we are asking more of our teachers and students in terms of accountability and meeting rigorous standards,'' state schools Superintendent Jack O'Connell said in a written statement. ``These grants will help California attract and retain good teachers, especially in low-performing schools where they are needed the most. The key factor in helping students succeed is a good educator.''

The money must be used to help schools that score in the bottom third of the state's academic ranking system. The grants amount to $25.71 per pupil.

School districts must focus on the recruitment and retention of educators who are highly qualified as spelled out in the federal education reform law, the No Child Left Behind act.

In the Antelope Valley Union High School District, Antelope Valley High School and Palmdale High School qualified for the funds.

High school officials plan to spend $110,000 by giving $2,000 signing bonuses to teachers who sign up to work at the two schools.

``It's obvious better teachers don't go to sites that have problems. We are trying to correct that,'' trustee Al Beattie said earlier.

High school officials also plan to spend $15,000 to provide additional hours of tutoring and counseling for students and $5,000 for forming school clubs to improve school climate and prize money to school clubs that help keep campuses clean.

In the Palmdale School District, 15 schools will be getting program funds.

Nearly $167,000 will be spent on additional tutoring, textbooks, materials and programs for students, and about $76,500 will be spent on providing more than 150 teachers with English-language development training.

Several of the schools will use money to buy radios and replace damaged marquees. Cactus School will spend about $3,000 for a power washer.

``Cactus is an older site and needs to provide a clean environment for their school community,'' the district's plan said.

The 338 school districts awarded the funds contain 2,039 of the 2,408 schools eligible to apply for the $46.5 million in grants.

The funds will be released in three installments: 50 percent upon receipt of signed documents, 25 percent in November, and the final 25 percent after approval of the year-end expenditure report.

karen.maeshiro(at)dailynews.com

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