Schools here to get grant to aid immigrant kids
The Madison Metropolitan School District will receive $100,000 as part of a state grant to support instructional programs for immigrant children.
According to the Department of Public Instruction, more than 2,600 immigrant students in 14 school districts across the state will benefit from the Immigrant Children and Youth Grants, which total $868,316 for the 2008-09 school year.
To qualify for the grants, school districts must have experienced at least a 25 percent increase in immigrant youth numbers over the previous two years. A student is considered an immigrant if he or she was not born in any U.S. state and has been attending school for less than three academic years.
"These grants will help break down the cultural or language barriers that may impede the education of young people who have immigrated to our state and nation with their families," state Superintendent of Public Instruction Elizabeth Burmaster said in a press release.
The grants are intended to fund supplemental instructional materials and services, tutoring and counseling activities as well as training activities to help parents of immigrant students become active participants in the education of their children.
