From staff reports

DURHAM -- The Durham Public Schools announced Thursday the system will receive $1.9 million over three years to support an Academic Readiness Center that will offer dropout prevention and additional academic support for at-risk students.

The School Improvement Grant award is a federal grant dispersed through the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction. The center will be a partnership between the Durham Performance Learning Center (PLC) and the Holton Career and Resource Center.

Beginning with the 2010-11 school year, the PLC will be housed at the Holton Center. Educators from both schools will work together to:

n Offer small classes to meet student learning needs with a variety of learning options, flexible scheduling, and online learning.

n Connect school to career exploration.

n Connect school to the world of work.

n Provide students a life coach to support them throughout their learning experience.

n Provide "wrap-around" services to ensure that students have strong support for life issues that might compromise full participation in academic study.

"We are very excited and motivated by the School Improvement Grant and its promise to help keep more students in school and at or above their age-appropriate grade level," said Chris Bennett, DPS Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction. "The Performance Learning Center and the Holton Career and Resource Center already have helped so many young people, but this new partnership will greatly strengthen their collective impact and will heighten their ability to reach so many more students."

The Performance Learning Center has offered flexible scheduling and career guidance for students since its opening in 2007. The Holton Center, which opened last year, offers courses designed around specific career areas such as Information Technology, Construction and Small Business and Entrepreneurship.