Every Thursday, REL-NEI highlights state-based resources, press releases, and news around the Northeast and Islands Region related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). For a listing of REL Issues & Answers Reports categorized under ARRA topics and domains, click here.
State Teams Head to DC to Pitch for Race to the Top
This week, teams from the three states in the Northeast and Islands Region selected as Race to the Top (RTTT) Phase 1 finalists are in Washington, D.C., telling a panel of judges why they should get a share of the $4.35 billion RTTT education-reform pie. Each presentation team is limited to five people and gets 30 minutes to make its pitch before answering judges’ questions for 60 minutes. In Rhode Island, state lawmakers on March 16th passed a bill to expand the cap on charter schools from 20 to 35, just in time to strengthen the state’s $126.6 million application, which was presented on Wednesday, March 17th. Read more in The Providence Journal. The other two RTTT finalists in the region are Massachusetts and New York. Phase 1 winners will be announced in April. Applications for Phase 2 are due on June 1st, with finalists announced in August and winners in September. To learn more, visit the U.S. Department of Education (ED) website.
In other RTTT news, the Maine Department of Education announced on March 10th that it is hosting five meetings throughout the state to seek public input as it develops its Phase 2 RTTT application for $75 million or more. Remaining meetings are on March 24th in Machias and March 25th in Presque Isle. Vermont Deputy Education Commissioner Rae Ann Knopf on March 10th released an update on her state’s RTTT application. Vermont also plans to submit a Phase 2 application by June 1st and potentially could receive up to $75 million over four years to support state education-reform goals.
On March 9th, Maine Education Commissioner Sue Gendron released a list of the state’s 10 most “persistently lowest-achieving schools,” a new requirement for states to receive their full allocation of Title I School Improvement Grants (SIGs) under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). These identified schools in Maine are now eligible for a share of $12 million in federal grants, provided they agree to an aggressive and approved plan for turning around. On March 10th, the Vermont Department of Education announced its 10 most “persistently lowest-achieving schools,” making them eligible for $8 million in additional SIG funding. On March 4th, the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education released its list of the state’s 35 most “persistently low-performing” or “Level 4” schools. Each identified school must develop a three-year redesign plan, which will serve as its application for the federal funding. These schools could receive an estimated $76 million over the next three years from the SIG program.
In all states, under ED regulations, schools identified as the “persistently lowest-achieving” must agree to one of four strictly defined models for school improvement in order to receive the federal grants. These models are: (1) close the school and reassign the students to higher-achieving schools in the district; (2) close the school and reopen under a charter or education management organization; (3) replace the principal and 50 percent of the teachers; or (4) implement a comprehensive “transformation” model.
The New York State Education Department this month posted several documents related to ARRA Quarterly Reporting Requirements and the Supplemental Education Stabilization Fund.
On March 8th, U.S. Education Secretary Arne Duncan announced the final priorities
and grant application for the $650 million Investing in Innovation Fund (i3), part of the ARRA education package. Designed to support and scale up path-breaking new ideas in education reform, the competitive i3 grants are available to individual school districts, groups of districts, and nonprofits working with districts. Applicants must address at least one of four key areas driving President Obama’s school-reform agenda and submit evidence that their “innovation” works. Applications are due mid-May and grants will be awarded in September. Read the ED press release or an article in Education Week.
For more information, visit these ARRA-related websites across the Northeast and Islands Region:
U.S. Department of Education
http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/leg/recovery/index.html
State Recovery Sites
http://www.recovery.gov/?q=content/state-local-tribal-and-territorial-resources
State Education Agency Recovery Sites
Education Week’s “Schools and the Stimulus”
http://www.edweek.org/ew/collections/schools-stimulus/index.html
