TPS gets $1.1M to aid at-risk male students

11/6/2007

Toledo Public Schools received a $1.1 million state grant to create a plan to close the achievement gap of ninth-grade at-risk male students, the district announced yesterday.

The funding for the program covers a two-year time frame, said Patty Mazur, district spokesman.

At-risk male freshman students at Libbey, Scott, and Woodward high schools have been identified as benefiting from a Closing the Achievement Gap program, the district said.

The program s goals include preventing students from dropping out or failing, increasing graduation rates with a focus on the needs of black, Hispanic, and poor white students, and promoting and rewarding responsible behavior.

Students who participate in the program will be assigned an upper-class mentor and will have a tutor.

The district is looking for 15 people, groups, and organizations willing to organize and run after-school activities, services, or presentations to students in the program.