Yorktown and Cortlandt region

The Ossining school district has received a $529,000 grant from the state Education Department to support teacher and leader effectiveness, according to a press release from the district.

“We are a community of learners and we value professional development, so we’re very excited to have received this grant,” said Dep-

uty Superintendent Ray Sanchez. “The grant will enable us to build on our success by providing enhanced support to our teachers and leaders as we meet the requirements of the common Core standards and other changes in education.”

Ossining was among 49 school districts and charter schools to receive grants under the “Strengthening Teacher and Leader Effectiveness” program. Districts and schools with at least 25 percent of students from low-income families were eligible for the grants. The grants and activities are supported, in whole or part, by New York State’s Race to the Top federal funds.

State Education Commissioner John King said the grants were part of the Board of Regents’ statewide efforts to strengthen educator effectiveness at all levels, with special emphasis on supporting high-need students, improving learning among English language learners, advancing STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education and improving the equitable distribution of effective teachers and leaders.

“We’ll be using these grant funds to provide professional development that we would otherwise not be able to offer,” Sanchez said.

Among other things, the district plans to train 60 teachers in a research-based approach to making content comprehensible to English language learners. Thirty teachers will be trained in co-teaching to improve effectiveness in inclusion and collaborative classes where two teachers work together to instruct students with various needs.

In addition, the grant will allow the district to provide stipends for teachers to meet after school in professional learning communities where they can share strategies and practices for helping struggling students. Novice teachers will also receive increased support as a result of the grant as will early career principals.