District Administration - November 2009 - (Page 18)

Br iefings Stimulus Monitor the BiLL AnD MeLinDA gAtes Foundation, which announced in August that it was giving up to $250,000 each to 15 states to help them with their race to the top applications, has decided to extend the offer to the other states—but only if they meet certain criteria. in a memo to Dane Linn, director of the education Division of the national governors Association Center for Best practices, and gene Wilhoit, executive director of the Council of Chief state school Officers, the foundation’s education director in its United states program, Vicky phillips, says that this change was the result of “much discussion and careful consideration of your feedback.” phillips outlines eight criteria the remaining states will need to meet in order by Don Parker-burgard Gates Offers Help on “Race” Application —But with Strings Curiously, two of the original 15 states that the gates Foundation selected for funding themselves don’t fully meet these criteria. new York prohibits using student assessment data in tenure evaluations for teachers, and texas is one of only three states not to have joined the common standards effort. phillips says in her memo that these two states “will need to make additional, explicit progress on common standards and removing barriers to linking student and teacher data” if they wish to be eligible for future funding. But why would states need funding just to fill out some paperwork in the first place? According to the Department of education’s own estimate, it will take an average of 642 hours to complete the application. to be eligible for funding. These criteria—including no prohibition on linking student assessment with teacher evaluation, having an alternate route to teacher certification, having a system for placing the most effective teachers with the most disadvantaged students, and participating in the Common Core state standards initiative—mirror the DOe’s own guidelines for race to the top. Next on the ARRA Agenda: The i3 Fund As stAtes Are prepAring their applications for the race to the top fund, local education agencies (LeAs), consortia of schools, and nonprofit partners of these groups are getting ready for the next big competitive grant program from the Department of education’s piece of the ArrA—the investing in innovation, or i3, fund—which will provide dollars for projects that address one or more of the following: raising student achievement and closing achievement gaps, improving teacher effectiveness, raising graduation rates, and reducing drop-out rates. in formally announcing the i3 fund in October, secretary Arne Duncan outlined three separate grants the $650 million fund will provide: • Development awards. given to proven programs that are poised to expand, 18 November/December 2009 these grants will top out at $50 million per award. • Validation awards. Up to $30 million will be given to successful programs that need further research in order to expand. • Scale-up awards. recipients will receive up to $5 million per award for new, promising ideas. Duncan also introduced a requirement that award recipients secure at least 20 percent matching funding from private sector sources. in a conference call with reporters on the same day the i3 fund was announced, Duncan explained that the DOe added the matching funds requirement in order to ensure that recipients put together “a broad set of stakeholders that are going to support this effort after the federal funding runs out.” The DOe plans to provide an ap- Jim Shelton is the DOE’s point person for the i3 fund. plication in early 2010 and obligate all funds by sept. 30. Duncan noted in the conference call, however, that grant money will be disbursed over time. “These are multiyear grants, and we’ll be monitoring progress on an ongoing basis,” he said. “if someone isn’t hitting their marks, we’re prepared to stop funding them. And so all the money is not going out the door on day one.” District Administration

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of District Administration - November 2009

District Administration - November 2009
Contents
Advertiser Index
From the Editor
Letters
News Update
Facilities & Construction
Stimulus Monitor
Administrator Profile
District Profile
Conversations
Mobile Learning Guide
The New Writing Pedagogy
Staying Ahead in Education
Tightening the Purchasing Process
Minding Your E-mail
New Books
How Well Does This Web Site Work?
Problem Solution
New Products
Professional Opinion
Crisis Response

District Administration - November 2009