The Harold K.L. Castle Foundation announced today it will give the state Department of Education $10 million over the next four years to push forward reforms for public schools.

The grant money will go to recruiting and training "turnaround principals" and beefing up professional development and mentor opportunities for teachers.

"Now is the time to transform our system into one that truly puts children first, builds teaching into a respected and effective profession, and recruits, trains and supports principals and complex area superintendents to create an organizational culture based on high performance," said Mitch D’Olier, president and CEO of the Castle Foundation.

The Castle grant represents a doubling of the foundation’s support in recent years. Over the last eight years, Castle has given the DOE $10 million, mostly for teacher and principal development.

Last August, Hawaii won a highly competitive $75 million federal Race to the Top grant to overhaul public education in the islands. Improving teacher and principal effectiveness is a key pillar of the state’s plan aimed at boosting student achievement and ensuring Hawaii’s high school graduates are ready for college or careers.