Breakthrough Schools receives $3.3 million federal grant

Charter schools operator Breakthrough Schools in Cleveland said it has been awarded a two-year, $3,326,441 grant from the U.S. Department of Education's Teacher Incentive Fund.

The Teacher Incentive Fund provides money to schools to design and implement performance-based compensation systems. Thirty-five organizations across the country, including only four charter school organizations, received a Teacher Incentive Fund award, according to Breakthrough.

Breakthrough is the only organization in Ohio to receive money this year.

"This is a big win for Cleveland," said John Zitzner, president of Friends of Breakthrough, a group that supports the school operator. "This award and initiatives like The Cleveland Plan are building our city's reputation as a championship city for urban education."

The Cleveland Plan is Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson's effort to remake the operations of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District. It's an initiative that includes providing money from the operating levy of the city's school district to certain charter schools.

Breakthrough Schools started in 2010 as a collaboration of three of Cleveland's charter school organizations: Citizens Academy, E Prep/Village Prep and The Intergenerational School. Since then, Breakthrough has opened five new schools across Cleveland, in partnership with the Cleveland Metropolitan School District. The district sponsors seven of Breakthrough's nine schools, one of which shares a building with the school district's Garrett Morgan School of Science.

http://www.crainscleveland.com/article/20120928/FREE/120929843