April '10 Nevada Government—U.S. Congresswoman Shelley Berkley Column

Berkley Announces $23 Million In Recovery Act Funding For Nevada Schools

*** Added Resources Will Help Transform Underperforming Clark County Schools ***

April 15, 2010 – Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Shelley Berkley (NV) today announced that Nevada will receive $23.4 million in federal education funding under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

“Every Nevada child deserves a quality education and this funding will be targeted directly at improving schools that have consistently failed to meet required standards. These young minds are one of Nevada’s greatest assets and steps must be taken to ensure that our schools are truly serving the educational needs of students in Las Vegas and across the state. At a time when budgets are tight, this Recovery Act grant funding will help Nevada improve student performance and increase graduation rates through changes designed to lift achievement at underperforming schools,” said Berkley.

The funding awarded to Nevada under the School Improvement Grants (SIG) program will be distributed by the state to local school districts. In order for a school district to apply for funds, it must have either a “persistently lowest achieving” or a Tier III school. Schools in Tier III have failed to meet annual yearly progress for two years, but are not identified as “persistently lowest achieving” schools.

Districts applying for funding must indicate that they will implement one of the following four models in persistently low achieving schools:

TURNAROUND MODEL: Replace the principal, screen existing school staff and rehire no more than half the teachers; adopt a new governance structure; and improve the school through curriculum reform, professional development, extending learning time and other strategies.

RESTART MODEL: Convert a school or close it and re-open it as a charter school or under an education management organization.

SCHOOL CLOSURE: Close the school and send the students to higher-achieving schools in the district.

TRANSFORMATION MODEL: Replace the principal and improve the school through comprehensive curriculum reform, professional development, extending learning time and other strategies.

Nevada’s application, which includes its list of persistently lowest-achieving schools, as defined by the state, can be found here: www2.ed.gov/programs/sif/summary/index.html.

Berkley Joins House In Extending Sympathies To Poland

April 11, 2010 – Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Shelley Berkley today expressed her sympathies to the nation of Poland in a speech from the chamber of the U.S. House of Representatives and joined her colleagues in unanimously passing a resolution of condolence. Berkley serves on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and is Chair of the American-European Transatlantic Legislators Dialogue. Video of Berkley’s speech can be viewed at www.youtube.com/watch?v=6EPmdgDeVMs and her remarks are below:

“Madame Speaker, I rise today to join with Polish-Americans, our nation and indeed, the whole world, in expressing our deepest sympathies to the people of Poland following this weekend’s tragedy that killed their president, the first lady and a number of other Polish military and civic leaders and dignitaries. We remember these men and women who gave their lives while in the service of Poland and we send our sincerest condolences to those families who have lost a loved one. President Kaczynski fought for freedom during the Cold War and brought our two nations closer together during his tenure in office. His legacy will not be forgotten. America stands with our ally Poland and we pledge our continued support during this time of transition. As a member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee and Chairman of the Transatlantic Dialogue, I call on my colleagues to ensure U.S. support for Poland’s needs after this heartbreaking and breathtaking incident and to support this resolution expressing our condolences to the people of Poland.”

Berkley Statement Of Sympathy To The Nation Of Poland

April 11, 2010 – Washington, D.C. – Congresswoman Shelley Berkley today released the following statement of sympathy extending condolences to the nation of Poland and its people. Berkley serves on the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and is Chair of the American-European Transatlantic Legislators Dialogue:

“I join with Polish-Americans, Nevadans and our nation in expressing our deepest sympathies to the people of Poland following this weekend’s tragedy that killed President Lech Kaczynski and a number of other Polish civilian and military leaders.

“We remember these men and women who gave their lives while in the service of Poland and we send our sincerest condolences to those families who have lost a loved one. President Kaczynski was a fighter for freedom during the Cold War and brought our two nations closer together during his tenure in office. His legacy will not be forgotten.

“America stands with our ally Poland and we pledge our continued support during this time of transition. As a Member of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs and the chair of the Transatlantic Legislators Dialogue, I will work to ensure U.S. support for Poland’s needs after this heartbreaking incident.”