– The Obama administration announced Wednesday that Missouri been awarded nearly $8 million to improve low-performing Missouri schools.

The funds were marked from the Department of Education’s School Improvement Grant program. Those grants are awarded to state educational agencies that make their own sub-grants to local school district, where the funds are appropriated to specific school buildings.

“When schools fail, our children and our neighborhoods suffer,” U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan said. “Turning around our lowest-performing schools is hard work but it’s our responsibility. We owe it to our children, their families and the broader community. These School Improvement Grants are helping some of the lowest-achieving schools provide a better education for students who need it the most.”

Missouri received $7.7 million from the program on Tuesday, while Maine and the District of Columbia received smaller disbursements. According to administration numbers, the SIG program has spent “up to $2 million per school at more than 1,300 of the country’s lowest-performing schools.”

A spokesperson for the Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education on Wednesday was not sure whether there were yet plans for how the funds would be spent.