07.19.12

Cantwell Announces $150,000 Federal Grant for Math Learning Program in Kalama School District

Senator visits Kalama Junior-Senior High School classroom, meets with teacher who made grant application

KALAMA, WA – Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) today announced a $150,000 federal grant for a math program in the Kalama School District. Cantwell made the announcement at Kalama Junior-Senior High School while visiting with students and teacher Paul Huddleston, who made the grant application.

“This federal grant will go a long way towards helping students improve math skills in the Kalama School District,” Cantwell said. “I am pleased that Kalama School District is adopting this innovative strategy to use technology to help students improve their math skills.”

The grant will fund the statewide “No Limits” (New Outcomes: Learning Improvement in Mathematics Integrating Technology) program in five classrooms for two years in the Kalama School District. The “No Limits” program focuses on providing teacher training and incorporating technology in the curriculum to improve math skills and is administered statewide by the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI). The Kalama School District will receive $75,000 each in the first and second years of the grant.

Cantwell authored a key provision of the federal legislation that funds the “No Limits” program. Working with Senators Jim Jeffords (I-VT) and Mike Enzi (R-WY), Cantwell helped rewrite title II(d) of the No Child Left Behind Act to consolidate and streamline separate competitive grant programs into a single, more efficient program called “Enhancing Education Through Technology.” The consolidation of the programs has resulted in more local school districts receiving federal education technology funds. In addition, Cantwell’s amendment focused the program on training teachers in the use of technology and developing curriculum using technology in the classroom as a learning aid. Under the new program, the state’s funding level under Title II(d) increased by nearly 50 percent, from $5.6 million in FY01 to $8.3 million in FY03.

Half of the state’s $8.3 million of Title II(d) funds OSPI’s “No Limits” program in 224 classrooms statewide. The program focuses on working with teams of sixth and seventh grade teachers to improve teaching practices in mathematics through the integration of technology. A report released in September 2002, by Western Washington University concluded that the No Limits project has made a significant difference in increasing access to technology for teachers and students.

Cantwell also announced Cowlitz County as a whole would receive $440,000 over the next two years in Title II(d) funding, $270,000 of which would go towards the “No Limits Program,” including Kalama’s program. As a whole, SW Washington will receive $1.138 million over the next two years in Title II(d) funding, $480,000 of which will go towards the “No Limits Program.”

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