Deputy Assistant Secretary for Rural Outreach John White will visit DePue High School in DePue, Ill., on Tuesday, May 17, to learn about the school's early progress in transforming student achievement using a federal School Improvement Grant (SIG). In the afternoon, he will visit Illinois Valley Community College (IVCC) in nearby Oglesby, Ill., where he will lead a discussion with students and educators about the U.S. Department of Education's national TEACH campaign, which is aimed at recruiting the next generation of high-quality teachers to join those already in the classroom. He will also learn about IVCC's dual credit program that allows students at DePue and other area high schools to simultaneously earn high school and college credits, and its other partnerships with local communities and businesses.
DePue Unit School District 103 was awarded a three-year $4.7 million Title I SIG in 2010. Illinois is receiving $22.1 million this year to turn around its persistently lowest achieving schools. The funds are part of $546 million available to states for the SIG program in fiscal year 2010. Illinois received an additional $146.6 million in SIG funding in fiscal year 2009 from a total of 3.5 billion distributed nationally. Nearly 20 percent of all U.S. schools eligible for the SIG program are in rural areas.
The Obama administration has begun a national campaign to elevate the teaching profession and meet the expected need for approximately one million new teachers over the next five years. The national TEACH initiative is dedicated to inspiring young students and adults considering a career-change to pursue the teaching profession, while celebrating the important work of America's teachers. For more information, visit www.TEACH.gov.