Two University of South Florida education professors have received a $1.29-million grant from the state Department of Education to continue their work in a statewide project to improve K-12 student achievement.

George Batsche and Michael Curtis, professors in the Psychological and Social  Foundations Department and the Institute for School Reform in USF’s College of Education, have been working since March 2006 to raise achievement of at-risk students and to seek ways to narrow the achievement gap for struggling learners.

The new grant brings total funding for the project to more than $4-million.

“This funding enabels us to move into the second of three years of collaboration with our eight demonstration districts and 40 pilot schools, as well as the second year of statewide training in the knowledge and skills needed in this major systems change initiative,” said Curtis (at left).

Fifty school districts are participating in the statewide training component of the Florida Problem-Solving/Response to Intervention project. For more information about the project, go to www.floridarti.usf.edu/.

Donna Winchester, higher education reporter

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