Two small schools on SeaTac's Tyee High campus and Tukwila's Foster High are eligible to receive federal school reform grants because of persistently low academic achievement.
This is Foster’s second year on the list.
If the schools receive the grants-- at a minimum-- they would have to replace their principals and undergo big changes. However, the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction estimates there will only be enough federal funding for nine of the 50 schools named to the list statewide.
The SeaTac schools are Academy of Citizenship and Empowerment (ACE) and Odyssey-The Essential School.
Highline School District administrators had hoped to improve school performance by changing the district's high schools from comprehensive schools to small learning academies grouped together on campuses.
The traditional comprehensive model features students moving from classroom to classroom during the day with different teachers and classmates.
In small learning communities of 200-300 students, the students stay together with the same core group of teachers in a more personalized approach.
While the change has not had the desired effect on standardized test scores, Highline staffers say fewer students are dropping out and more students are going on to college.
Tyee and White Center's Evergreen campus have fully embraced the concept while Burien's Highline High and Des Moines' Mt. Rainier High use hybrid models.
The district received federal reform grants of $1.8 million each for White Center's Cascade and SeaTac's Chinook Middle schools for the 2010-2011 school year. The grants run for three years.
The two middle schools chose a transformational model, which is the most moderate of four reform options.
Below is the press release from the Office of the State Superintendent of Public Instruction (OPSI) announcing the grant eligibility:

Washington state has released its annual list of schools eligible for money under a federal school improvement grant program, which is part of President Obama's agenda on education reform.
The 50 schools on the list are eligible to apply for School Improvement grants ranging from $50,000 to $2 million annually for three years, depending on federal funding availability. The Department of Education will give Washington about $7.3 million for the grants in 2011.
The schools, known federally as the "persistently lowest-achieving schools," were ranked using a variety of factors, such as reading and math scores from 2008-10; that school's Adequate Yearly Progress, as defined by the federal No Child Left Behind Act; and graduation rates for secondary schools. The schools were identified through methodology aligned to federal guidelines.
"I want to stress that this is a great opportunity," said Randy Dorn, state superintendent of public instruction. "Some of the schools that have been struggling will be given a great chance to improve on their achievement."
Schools wishing to participate in the grant program must choose one of four intervention models:
Turnaround model. Replace the principal, rehire no more than 50 percent of the staff and grant the new principal sufficient operational flexibility (including in staffing, calendars/time and budgeting) to implement fully a comprehensive approach to substantially improve student outcomes.
Restart model. Convert the school or close and reopen it under a charter school operator, a charter management organization or an education management organization that has been selected through a rigorous review process. Washington does not currently authorize charter school operators or charter management organizations. The restart model can only be used through an education management organization.
School closure. Close the school and enroll the students who attended that school in other schools in the district that are higher achieving.
Transformation model. Replace the principal and take steps to increase teacher and school leader effectiveness; institute comprehensive instructional reforms; increase learning time and create community-oriented schools; and provide operational flexibility and sustained support.
"Schools were identified using both academic performance of all students and improvement trends over the past three years," said Tonya Middling, Director of Project Management of District and School Improvement and Accountability at the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction.
"The four federal models require significant changes to ensure high staff and student expectations for rapid improvement."
Dr. Kristina Mayer, State Board of Education member and lead on the Board's accountability work, is hopeful that the combination of federal funds, comprehensive school improvement plans, and increased accountability will make a dramatic difference for students.
"Requiring schools to create improvement plans to address persistently low student achievement, ensuring those plans are adequately funded and holding those schools accountable are essential for students at our lowest-achieving schools who have been for too long under served," Dr. Mayer said.
Districts and schools will be notified about their applications by the end of March. By the start of the 2011-12 school year, schools will begin implementing their chosen intervention model.