Jason Snyder, deputy assistant secretary for policy in the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, will visit Costano Elementary School in Palo Alto, Calif., on Thursday, Oct. 11 followed by a visit to Everett Middle School in San Francisco on Monday, Oct. 15. California has awarded both schools grants to improve school climate and student achievement through the U.S. Department of Education's School Improvement Grant (SIG) program. Visits will include meetings with Palo Alto Superintendent Maria De La Vega of Ravenswood School District and San Francisco Unified School District Superintendent Richard Carranza to discuss each school’s turnaround efforts. Snyder will tour school facilities and be available to address press questions on-site before departing from each school.
The SIG program provides financial assistance and other support to help states and districts turn around their lowest-performing schools. Funds made available to states through SIG are distributed by formula to the state and then competed out by the state to school districts.
California has received a total of more than $547 million in SIG funding from the U.S. Department of Education since the program was revamped in 2009 under the Obama administration.