NORRISTOWN SCHOOL DISTRICT SELECTED FOR NEW STATE INITIATIVE

 HARRISBURG, AUG. 25 – State Sen. Connie Williams said she admired Norristown School District’s willingness to participate in a new statewide initiative that will allow Pennsylvania to improve high school curriculum and increase graduation rates.

 “Project 720 is a new program that grew out of discussions on ways to improve high school – an area that generally has been untouched by education reform in the last few decades,” Williams said. “The project draws upon a valuable state resource – our educators – to share knowledge of strategies that they know work, as well as identifying barriers and policy issues. Norristown was one of 22 districts that will receive a full implementation grant.”

 Project 720 was named for the number of days in a high school student’s career. The project has three overall goals: increased rigor of educational programs; enhanced postsecondary access and credentialing for increasing number of students; and producing active and productive citizens.

 More than 150 school districts indicated interest in participation in the new program and of those 22 were selected for full implementation grants of between $50,000 and $150,000 (based on enrollment) and 19 for exploratory grants of $10,000 each. Norristown will receive a $150,000 grant. Implementation grants are to be used to develop plans for meeting the goals of Project 720. Schools selected for implementation grants also will receive technical assistance from the Pennsylvania Department of Education.

 Exploratory grants will enable schools to purchase expert assistance, materials and travel to related conferences and workshops. There were no schools in the 17^th Senatorial District selected for these grants.

 “Project 720 will allow Pennsylvania to thoroughly explore research-based practices in high schools and determine what is best for Pennsylvania high schools and students,” Williams said. “This is going to be a challenging project, but is certainly one that is worthwhile to the future success of all Pennsylvania students and to our economy.”