Every school is benefiting from new initiatives for the upcoming school year as the system undertakes a comprehensive strategy that spans the entire educational program from Kindergarten through high school.

A summary of these initiatives described in a new publication, entitled "Investing in the Call to Action: Highlights from the New Educational Initiatives for Fiscal Year 2001." See the link below to the publication as a PDF file.

The initiatives respond to "Our Call to Action" issued last year and reflect the collaboration of a great many people to usher in a new era of progress in the school system. Altogether, the initiatives add an unprecedented $26.2 million in new improvements. The improvements provide more school-based assistance for teachers and principals.

The goals of the new funding are to provide greater opportunities to raise the standards for student achievement throughout the school district and close the performance gap by race and ethnicity.

The total approved operating budget for Fiscal Year 2001 is $1.2 billion, including grants and enterprise funds, an overall increase of $111.7 million or 10 percent more than the current year.