Schools chosen for program

• By DEBRA LEMOINE
• Advocate Florida parishes bureau
• Published: Oct 7, 2009 - Page: 4B

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AMITE — The state Department of Education selected two Tangipahoa Parish middle schools for a pilot program to help adolescent readers, a staff academic officer told School Board members Tuesday night.

Called the Louisiana Striving Readers project, the pilot program is a three-year research study to look at ways to improve reading skills for older readers in public schools, Chief Academic Officer Melissa Stilley told the board.

Nesom Middle School in Tickfaw and Independence Middle School were among the 10 schools selected across the state for the pilot program, Stilley said.

This school year will focus on providing professional development for the teachers at these schools, Stilley said.

Starting in August 2010, sixth- and seventh-graders, whose reading skills are below what is expected for their grade level, will be placed in reading programs in addition to their regular reading classes, she said.

The researchers will track the progress of those students for three years and review the outcomes, she said.

“The results of this project will no doubt impact adolescent reading in this parish and in this state,” Stilley said.

In other business, the board learned that it would receive more than $500,000 in grants from the Federal Emergency Management Agency to upgrade four schools.

Parish President Gordon Burgess made the announcement during the School Board meeting because the parish government applied for grants on behalf of the School Board.

The Hazardous Mitigation Grant program provides up to 75 percent of the cost of upgrading a public building to make the structure better able to withstand disasters such as hurricanes, Burgess said.

The grants include $85,000 for Hammond Westside Elementary School’s multipurpose building, $275,000 for a new roof over the Sumner High School gymnasium, $55,000 for roof straps at the Amite High School gymnasium and $111,256 for Hammond Junior High School, Burgess said.

Some of these schools are used as public shelters during hurricane threats, and others received the funds to help the buildings withstand storms, Burgess said.

The parish sent another application to seek grants for additional schools, such as Kentwood High School and Natalbany Elementary School, Burgess said.