Doña Ana County schools receive $1.9 million from Family Income Index

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| Las Cruces Sun News

LAS CRUCES – The Department of Public Education has provided $ 15 million in targeted aid to 108 schools in New Mexico based on the new Family Income Index developed to help tackle concentrated poverty in schools.

Schools in Doña Ana County will receive US $ 1,934,737 to fund seven schools in the area.

This is the first round of funding in a two-year pilot project approved by legislators to provide extra help to schools for the most economically disadvantaged students. An additional $ 15 million will be distributed to qualified schools in fiscal 2023.

“Unlike most programs that channel money through school districts, the Family Income Index gets extra help straight to the schools that need them most to help offset the effects of concentrated poverty,” said Secretary of State for Public Education Ryan Stewart , in a press release. “Schools will specifically use these additional funds for evidence-based programs that are known to improve academic outcomes.”

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Awards ranged from the legal minimum of $ 20,000 given to 13 schools with fewer than 50 students to $ 434,174 given to El Camino Real Community School in Santa Fe with 840 students.

Funding was distributed to 69 of New Mexico’s 89 districts and 10 of 98 state-approved schools. Overall, 42% of local educational institutions in New Mexico qualified for funding under the rules of the legislative pilot program.

The New Mexico Department of Public Education first proposed a family income index in December as a partnership with Taxes and Finance and Human Resources. The aim is to compensate for known differences in academic performance in schools with concentrated poverty. Legislature passed it as Senate Law 17, which Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham signed on April 5th.

The funds must be used for reading and math interventions; Employment of school counselors and social workers; Creation of family information and resource centers; Adoption of culturally and linguistically diverse teaching texts; Offering innovative professional learning opportunities for educators; and extracurricular enrichment programs.

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The project began by using income and census data to determine the household income of every student at a public school in New Mexico. Next, the Public Education Department calculated each school’s Family Income Index, which is the percentage of students in extremely low or very low income families. A family of four making less than $ 34,000 a year would fall into one of these categories.

To distribute the $ 15 million, the PED identified half of all New Mexico schools with the highest income index, effectively creating a list of the schools with the highest levels of poverty. Any district with at least one school on this list will receive funding for that school; those with multiple schools on the list will receive funding for up to 10% of all district schools. No qualifying school will receive less than $ 20,000.

As with many awards, schools can start issuing the award after July 1, 2021 and then apply for a refund with the Public Education Office.

Schools in Doña Ana County receive the following funds from the Family Income Index:

• Booker T. Washington Elementary School received in Las Cruces $ 210,422 for the enrollment of 346 students and the family income index of 0.6387.
• Conlee elementary level received in Las Cruces $ 298,018 for the enrollment of 433 students and the family income index of 0.7229.
• Hermosa Heights Elementary School received in Las Cruces $ 250,411 for the enrollment of 404 students and the family income index of 0.6510.
• Valley view basic level received in Las Cruces $ 264,693 for the enrollment of 391 students and the family income index of 0.7110.
• Rio Grande Elementary School received in Hatcht Valley $ 153,294 for the enrollment of 277 students and the family income index of 0.5812.
• Chaparral center received in Gadsden $ 433,221 for the enrollment of 597 students and the family income index of 0.7621.
• Wüstenblick elementary school received in Gadsden $ 324,678 for the enrollment of 445 students and the family income index of 0.7663.

source https://collegeeducationnewsllc.com/dona-ana-county-schools-receive-1-9-million-from-family-income-index/