Maine Receives National Governors Association Grant Award

July 14, 2005

Media Contact: Lynn Kippax 287-2531

Patrick R. Phillips 624-6612

The National Governors Association (NGA) announced Thursday that Maine is the recipient of an Honor States Grant Program award which will support the improvement of high school graduation and college readiness rates throughout the state. Although no dollar figure was disclosed by the NGA, it is believed that grant awards of this type are in excess of one-million dollars. The Honor States Grant Program is supported by funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.

The NGA award to the State will enable Maine’s secondary educators to continue their efforts to improve Maine’s high schools and Career and Technical Education centers; an effort that began in 1998 with the release of Promising Futures; A Call to Improve Learning for Maine’s Secondary Students.

Maine Governor John Baldacci said that Maine was one of only ten states selected to receive the grant. “I am pleased that we succeeded in winning this grant—competing as we did with 31 other States across the country. For me, it shows that our education reforms are working and are recognized nationally as successful. Maine is a demonstrated leader in education reform. I want to thank the Gates Foundation for their support and Education Commissioner Susan Gendron for her leadership. ”

In the grant, Maine proposes the creation of a seamless PK-16 public education system in which the State will evaluate whether the standards and assessments linked to the high school diploma reflect college and work-readiness expectations; redesign low-performing high schools particularly through literacy supports and early college programs; set accountability targets for student success in the Community College and University of Maine systems; support the streamlining of PK-16 governance; and develop a statewide media and public information campaign.

The NGA, in a statement, said the program provides two-year grants to the selected states to continue work begun under NGA Chairman Virginia Gov. Mark Warner’s Redesigning the American High School initiative. The work also builds on ideas to improve America’s high schools outlined in the NGA/Achieve Action Agenda released in conjunction with the 2005 National Education Summit on High Schools held in Charleston, S.C. in February. The grants will fund Governors’ comprehensive state plans to raise high school graduation and college readiness rates.

After a thorough evaluation process, a committee, independent of NGA, selected the grantees who will implement new policies and tools to help more young people graduate from high school prepared for college and work success. The committee unanimously recommended 10 states receive grants: Arkansas, Delaware, Indiana, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Rhode Island and Virginia. The selected states are required to, at least, match their grant amounts dollar-for-dollar.