A total of 18 schools will receive federal School Improvement Grants for the 2010-11 school year, the Office of Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) announced Tuesday. In Tacoma, three schools were awarded grants: Giaudrone Middle School; Jason Lee Middle School; and Stewart Middle School.

In all, a total of 41 schools from 21 districts applied for the grants.

Recipients are required to use one of four intervention models: turnaround, restart, closure or transformation. The overall goal of the program is to understand which practices produce the most significant improvements in student achievement, particularly in diverse schools serving low-income students, children of color and English language learners.

The 18 schools represent nine districts. Initially, 19 schools were identified, but the Yakima School District opted to serve three of their four eligible schools.

The grants total $50 million for three years, or about $47.7 million after administrative costs are subtracted. That amount is being disbursed as follows: 40 percent in the first year (2010-11), 35 percent in the second and 25 percent in the third year. For the 2010-11 school year, the total money awarded is about $19 million.

Districts that will not receive grants will work with OSPI to find services that might be available to help them, such as district-level reviews, math and reading program reviews, coaching for instructional leaders and online classroom data collection.

View the list of School Improvement Grant Awardees and Unfunded District Applications at http://www.k12.wa.us/Improvement/SIG/default.aspx . Visit the School Improvement Grant program for more information at http://www.k12.wa.us/improvement/FederalGrants.aspx .