| Recessionary Funding and the Obama Administration Two huge, once-in-a-lifetime recessionary funding packages have been established by the Obama administration in 2009: Race To The Top (RTTT) funding ($4.3 billion); and Investing in Innovation (i3) funding ($650 million). Both target improving K-12 education. Race to the Top (RTTT) Funding Available: $4.3 billion in competitive grants Who Can Apply: States and Local Education Agencies (LEAs) Applications Due: First round - January 2010; second round - June 2010 Awards Announced: September 30, 2010 The Race to the Top Fund [i] provides $4.3 billion in competitive grants to encourage and reward States that are creating the conditions for education innovation and reform; implementing ambitious plans in the four education reform areas described in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA);[ii] and achieving significant improvement in student outcomes that include making substantial gains in student achievement, closing achievement gaps, improving high school graduate rates, ensuring that students are prepared for success in college and careers. In addition, schools must implement ambitious plans in four core education reform areas: adopting internationally-benchmarked standards and assessments that prepare students for success in college and the workplace; recruiting, developing, retaining, and rewarding effective teachers and principals; building data system that measure student success and inform teachers and principals how they can improve their practices; and turning around our lowest-performing schools. Awards are made only to States and at least 50% of the award money is subgranted to Local Education Agencies (LEAs) including public charter schools identified as LEAs under State law, based upon LEAs’ relative shares of funding under Part A or Title I of the ESEA act of 1965, as amended. The first round of applications closed (January 2010) but the second round doesn’t close until June 2010 with awards announced September 30, 2010. CALL TO ACTION! NDEO encourages every dance educator and administrator to contact their own State Superintendent’s office and their own State Arts Consultant (State Education Agency Director of Arts Education) to ask what their State Education Agency plans are for including dance as a part of the arts in the RTTT funding. It is unlikely dance will get another chance like this in our lifetime. Call the NDEO office if you need more information. Investing in Innovation Fund (i3) Funding Available: $650 million in competitive grants Who Can Apply: LEAs, nonprofits working in collaboration with LEAs, or a consortium of schools Applications Due: anticipated early 2010 Awards Announced: September 30, 2010 The purpose of the Investing in Innovation (i3) Fund [iii] is to provide $650 million in competitive grants that expand implementation and investment in innovative and evidence-based practices, programs and strategies that significantly improve K-12 achievement and close achievement gaps, decrease dropout rates, increase high school graduation rates, and improve teacher and school leader effectiveness. These are highly competitive grants that are heavily based in research and require, at the time of this writing, 20% matching funds with grants of $1 million, $30 million, and $50 million. The strength of evidence-based research for the proposal idea determines the category for which one can apply (scale-up, validation, or development). Awards are made to Local Education Agencies (including charter school LEAs), and nonprofit organizations working in collaboration with LEAs, or a consortium of schools. The Department of Education anticipates accepting applications in early 2010, with all applications due in early spring of 2010. The department will obligate all i3 funding by September 30, 2010. CALL TO ACTION! Again, NDEO encourages every dance educator and administrator to contact their own State Arts Consultant to find out what the different LEAs within their state are doing to include dance as a part of the arts in i3 funding. Again, this is a chance in a lifetime to integrate dance into the arts within your state. |