Ak-Chin Gives District $3.2 Million in Grant Money (AZ)

July 30, 2010

The Maricopa Unified School District’s goal to turnaround its failing schools received a well-timed boost thanks to a $3.2 million grant from the Ak-Chin Indian Community.

Superintendent Jeff Kleck said the grant will last for two years – the first being the 2010-11 school year – and is aimed to aid the turnaround efforts for five district schools: Maricopa High School, Maricopa Wells Middle School, Maricopa Elementary School, Butterfield Elementary School and Saddleback Elementary School.
“For our efforts to help those schools, especially the schools that feed into Maricopa Wells, it (grant) is very important,” Kleck said.

Of the five schools targeted by the grant, only Butterfield met Adequate Yearly Progress, or AYP, standards for the 2009-10 school year.

Maricopa Wells has not passed AYP since the 2005-06 school year, while Maricopa Elementary School has not met the standards since the 2007-08 school year. Maricopa High School did not meet the standards last year.

The grant will provide the schools additional teachers to help reduce class sizes, monitors, turnaround coaches to help with the schools’ efforts, as well as a gifted coordinator that will serve the entire district.

In addition, the grant funds the creation of a turnaround director, who will oversee the process and will act as a liaison to the Arizona Department of Education for the next two years.

The hiring of the additional positions will occur once the fundi ng is finalized, which will not take place until after the start of the 2010-11 school year.

Although all five schools will receive the benefits of the grant, Kleck said the money will be parsed out after discussions with the schools’ principals to see where the money would have the most affect.

“The allocation is based on need,” he said, adding the money may not be parsed out equally.

The grant funding comes from Proposition 202, which provides a grant process where 12 percent of the profits made by tribal casinos could be attained by public bodies, for example school districts, said Ak-Chin Tribal Council chairman Louis Manuel in an earlier interview.

Kleck said the district appreciates the help from Ak-Chin, especially its efforts to help the community at large.