By Stacey Becker

Prescott Elementary School has been deemed a persistently lowest-achieving school.

The designation, part of No Child Left Behind , could mean sanctions for Dubuque's only charter school. Although district administration anticipated the designation, it became official when the Iowa Department of Education released its list of 2011-12 persistently lowest-achieving schools Wednesday afternoon.

"This is a federally supported effort to try to get some extra help to schools that need improvement," said Phil Roeder, a spokesman with the department.

Dubuque Schools Superintendent Larie Godinez said in a news release that the Iowa Department of Education will provide the district a list of requirements and deadlines for compliance. "Until we know more fully what those requirements are, we cannot speculate on the actions that the Department of Education will take nor the changes that we will enact to respond," she said.

It's the first time Dubuque has had a persistently lowest-achieving school, which is typically a Title I school deemed a School In Need of Assistance that ranks in the bottom 5 percent of schools in Iowa. Roeder said district administration and the teachers' union will now have to decide whether to apply for funds through a grant program that would require the implementation of an intervention model that would carry strict requirements.

The U.S. Department of Education is expected to award Iowa around $18 million through the School Improvement Grant program to improve persistently lowest-achieving schools. It would require that schools implement one of four intervention models to receive funds:
*Turnaround model - Replace the principal, screen existing school staff and rehire no more than half the teachers. The school must adopt a new governance structure and improve the school through curriculum reform, professional development, extended learning time and other strategies.
*Transformation model - Replace the principal and improve the school through comprehensive curriculum reform, professional development, extended learning time and other strategies.
*Restart model - Convert a school or close it and reopen it as a charter school or under an education management organization.
*School closure - Close the school and send students to higher-achieving schools in the district.

If Prescott applies for and receives the three-year grant, the intervention model would be implemented next school year. Roeder said district administration and the teachers' union might decide to not apply for the grant. Both entities must come to an agreement to not apply and file that agreement with the department. Once it's filed, the district will have to determine what, if anything, will be done at Prescott. As for now, district administration has chosen to wait until it receives more information from the Iowa Department of Education.

"Our first commitment is to maintain a positive learning environment at Prescott for teachers, staff, students and parents," Godinez said in a press release. "Once we understand what the Department of Education wants, we will then communicate with those same groups of people to let them know how Prescott and the district will move forward."