Manchester High School Awarded $450,000 Grant

Manchester Public Schools will receive a $450,000 grant from the Nellie Mae Education Foundation, which school officials said will be used to fund programs and new initiatives at Manchester High School in an aim to close the achievement gap. 

The 20-month grant came from the Nellie Mae Education Foundation (NMEF), the largest charitable organization in New England focused exclusively on education, and was announced Wednesday by school officials. 

“The grant provides an exciting and unique opportunity for the teachers to focus their effort on practices that will allow our students to achieve at high levels through a student-centered and outcome based approach to teaching and learning,” Superintendent Richard Kisiel said in a release Wednesday. 

Manchester was one of seven districts throughout New England to receive the grant; the others include Hartford, Meriden, New Haven, Chelsea, MA, Revere, MA, and Providence, RI. 

The grant will help Manchester High "build capacity to enable more students to achieve at a higher level, and meet the Common Core State Standards through the implementation of systemic approaches to student-centered learning," according to Manchester High School Principal Matthew Geary. 

"The funding priorities for this systems change initiative are Culture and Leadership, Teaching and Learning, and Public Understanding and Support," Geary said in a statement. "Our work will focus on increasing collaboration within and across disciplines using our new Professional Learning Communities. Funds from this grant will be used to support high level professional development, through a blend of workshops, coaching, and attendance at conferences, for teachers in all content areas to apply best instructional practice in their classrooms. The grant will also support that development of a plan to narrow the persistent achievement gap at Manchester High School and across the Manchester Public Schools by expanding both new and existing interventions to support struggling students and establishing more rigorous standards."