OWENSBORO, KY (WFIE) -
Some school districts in western Kentucky are part of a group that will be splitting a $40 million grant in the Race to the Top competition.
Two of those districts are actually located in Daviess County.
Daviess County Public Schools and Owensboro Public Schools are just two of the districts that are sharing the grant.
School officials say they couldn't be more thrilled about the news.
"Sort of shocked, but definitely, definitely happy about it and just can't wait to get into the details and start working," said Matthew Constant, Owensboro Public Schools.
"It feels great, and most of all, because it's gonna impact students and ultimately that's our number one goal. We want students to benefit," said Owens Saylor, DCPS Superintendent.
They'll be able to do that with some of the ways the districts plan to use the money.
"Primarily, we're going to be focusing on innovation. That's been sort of the word and flavor of the day in our school district for a while now," said Constant.
Daviess County Public Schools have a similar goal. They'll focus on technology training for teachers.
"They can learn how to flip their classroom, so that they can increase the amount of real technology that can make instruction better, not just different," said Owens.
College and career readiness is also a focus.
"It really does fit very well into our Great Expectations program, where we are working very hard to fill in the gaps for college and career readiness across the district," said Owens.
Both districts are anxious to see how much this will allow them to grow.
"It's gonna give us opportunities that we would never have had without these funds," said Constant.
"It's up to us now to make this really pay off," said Owens.
The two districts are part of the green river regional educational cooperative, which actually won the grant.
The money will be used in 22 school districts in central and southern Kentucky.
Union County Schools will receive funds as well.
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