For the current fiscal year, which ends on September 30, 2014, the Office of Innovation and Improvement is conducting 13 grant competitions in five program areas: Arts in Education, Charter Schools, Investing in Innovation, Full-Service Community Schools, and Teacher Quality Partnerships. Four of the competitions are underway, with announcements of the other nine slated for later this spring.
Arts in Education grants are available in two categories: Arts in Education Development and Dissemination and Professional Development for Arts Educators, both of which help schools and districts to partner with community-based organizations to increase the quality and effectiveness of arts teaching and learning, including integration of the arts with other core academic subjects.
The three Investing in Innovation (i3) grant competitions — Development, Validation, and Scale-up — support school districts and nonprofits to expand the implementation of, and investment in, innovative practices. Development grants are for new and promising practices that should be studied further; Validation grants verify the effectiveness of programs with moderate levels of evidence; and Scale-up grants support applicants with the strongest evidence and track records of success. (Note: While the rest of OII’s 2014 grant competitions will make grant awards by September 30, 2014, the i3 grant awards will be made by December 31, 2014.)
Two Charter Schools Program (CSP) competitions will support Non-State Education Agencies in the planning, program design, and implementation of new charter schools, as well as in the dissemination of best practices of existing charter schools. The Replication and Expansion of High Quality Charter Schools program expands enrollment in existing charter schools and supports opening of new charter schools based on established, successful models. Two CSP grant programs will help states or local charter school operators with the costs of starting up schools or expanding enrollments: Credit Enhancement Grants help charter schools to secure financial capital to buy, construct, renovate, or lease school facilities, and State Charter Schools Facilities Incentives Grants stimulate increased per-pupil aid by states to achieve enrollment increases. The National Leadership Activities grant competition supports projects of national significance that will improve charter school quality, as well as to disseminate information about the projects. Click here for an overview of the CSP’s grant programs and additional links to the six competitions.
Full-Service Community Schools grants support comprehensive academic, social, and health services for students, students’ family members, and community members to achieve improved educational outcomes for children.
Teacher Quality Partnership (TQP) grants improve the quality of new teachers by creating partnerships among institutions of higher education and high-need school districts and their high-need schools and/or high-need early childhood education programs. The TQP Grants Program may also support school leadership programs to train superintendents, principals, early childhood education program directors, and other school leaders in high-need or rural districts.
In addition to the above links to specific grant programs, click here for a forecast of ED funding opportunities, and visit this home page regularly to learn about OII program competitions as well as the accomplishments of currently funded projects.
