Triangle Coalition For Science And Technology Education

Just prior to the end of the year, Congress came to a compromise and passed a consolidated appropriations bill (H.R. 2055) for FY 2012, totaling $915 billion. The bill cut the Department of Education’s budget by $153 million over last year, putting its FY12 funding at $71.3 billion. Despite the House’s proposed elimination of funding for the Math and Science Partnerships, the program survived at $150 million for FY12, a decrease of $25 million from FY11. In his budget request, President Obama had proposed replacing the MSP with a $206 million comprehensive STEM program, “Effective Teaching and Learning: STEM.” This program was not funded, but the MSP will continue this year.

The President’s key programs – Race to the Top, Investing in Innovation (i3), School Improvement Grants, the Teacher Incentive Fund, and Promise Neighborhoods, were all included in the budget, although some received cuts. RTTT received $549 million in FY12 funding, which is $150 million less than last year and much less than the Administration’s $900 million request. Funding for i3 remained at last year’s $149 million. Both of these programs have strong STEM emphasis.

Prior to the bill’s passage, the government had been operating under continuing resolutions since October 1, 2011. The omnibus spending bill now funds the government through September 30, 2012.

The U.S. Department of Education announced that STEM education is one of the new “absolute priorities” in the Investing in Innovation (i3) grants. The i3 competition was created under the Recovery and Reinvestment Act to encourage districts, along with community partners, to explore evidence-based, innovative approaches to improving student achievement. The first round in 2010 drew nearly 1,700 applications competing for a slice of $650 million.

The second round of i3 will be much smaller, providing a total of $150 million and awarding up to 22 winners. While the previous round required grant winners to secure 20% matching funds from the private sector, the matching requirements will be lower and scaled to the type of grant awarded.  According to the Department of Education, the smaller matching fund requirement, along with fewer selection criteria are part of “simplifications” made in response to feedback from prior applicants and other stakeholders.

Grants will be available to the same three categories as in the previous round: scale-up grants, validation grants, and development grants. Individual school districts, groups of districts, and nonprofits in partnership with districts or a consortium of schools are eligible to compete.

All applicants are required to select and address one of the following “absolute” priorities: Teachers and Principals; Standards and Assessments; Low-Performing Schools; Promoting science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, or STEM, education; Improving Rural Achievement. The last two are new to this round of i3 and reflect key areas of the administration’s agenda for education reform.

For applicants that compete under the new STEM education absolute priority, the Department will be looking at funding projects that are designed to address one or more of the following areas:

1. Students’ access to rigorous and engaging coursework in STEM
2. The number of students prepared for advanced study and careers in STEM
3. Professional development and/or high-quality preparation of STEM educators
4. The number of traditionally underrepresented minorities in advanced study and careers in STEM
5. The number of traditionally underrepresented minorities who are STEM educators and have access to high-quality professional development and/or preparation opportunities.

While little else has changed from the competition, here is a quick side-by-side comparison of i3 in 2010 and 2011.

Applications for the FY2011 i3 competition are due on August 2, 2011 and awards will be made no later than December 31, 2011. The Department of Education is offering pre-application workshops and webinars to those interested in applying.

The Department is also seeking peer reviewers for the FY2011 i3 grant competition from various backgrounds and professions including: PK-12 teachers and principals, college and university educators, educational evaluators, social entrepreneurs, strategy consultants, grant makers and managers, and others with education expertise. The selected reviewers must have expertise in at least one of the program’s five absolute priorities, (which include STEM education expertise), or in educational evaluation. To learn more, review the FY 2011 i3 Call for Peer Reviewers, which describes the necessary qualifications. Peer reviewer applications are due by Friday, July 8.

Yesterday, Congress passed the FY2011 spending bill (H.R. 1473) to fund the federal government, including the agencies, through September 30th. The bill passed in the House by a vote of 260 to 167 and the Senate by 81 to 19. The measure makes historic spending cuts totaling nearly $40 billion, the largest non-defense cut ever.

The passage comes after a long, painstaking and highly partisan battle that almost forced a full government shutdown. The shutdown was narrowly avoided by an agreement that was reached just minutes before the deadline last Friday night.

While education did see its share of cuts, STEM education programs fared rather well considering the overall reductions. The Department of Education saw a $1 billion cut from levels enacted in FY2010. The budget of the National Science Foundation’s Education and Human Resources division was reduced by $10 million. It’s Research and Related Activities is also down $43 million. NASA Education’s budget was cut by $38 million. The Department of Energy’s Office of Science also saw a reduction of $35 million.

The White House reports, “We protected funding for critical programs that invest in science programs, our kids’ education, and critical health programs… Even though we will no longer double the funding of key research and development agencies, you will still see strong investments in National Institute of Standards and Technology, National Science Foundation and the Office of Science.”

The measure does continue two of the administration’s key education priorities, which were both initiated in the Recovery Act. The Investing in Innovation (i3) program is slated to continue with another $150 million. Although surprising to some, the Race to the Top will continue another round with $700 million. While Obama had hoped to see districts compete in the next round, the measure only allows for states to enter.

Several of the Department of Education’s programs were eliminated, including the $100 million Education Technology State grants. Unfortunately, the legislation also cut $138 million from Perkins by eliminating Tech-Prep and cutting back the Perkins Basic State Grants by $35 million.

National earmarks including Teach for America, National Writing Project, and the National Board of Professional Teaching Standards will now have to compete for funding through a 1 percent set-aside within the Teacher Quality State Grants program.

With the FY2011 budget settled, Congress can finally move onto the FY2012 budget, which will likely see the same arguments in the weeks and months to come.

The Department of Education announced the winners of its Investing in Innovation (i3) grant program, selecting 49 winning proposals out of nearly 1,700 applicants to share the $650 million fund.

i3 was designed to encourage and reward school districts, nonprofits, and consortia of schools that are developing fresh ideas, growing promising programs, and scaling what works in an effort to reform education. Along with other recent Department-sponsored, competitive grant programs like Race to the Top, the i3 fund stemmed from the $10 billion investment in education under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

Overall, the i3 winners represent 42 states and 2 territories and place heavy emphasis on serving students with disabilities, English language learners, and reaching rural areas. Programs focusing on education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) are also well-represented.

Existing programs with proof of success were eligible for up to $50 million under the “scale-up” category. Teach for America, Ohio State University, the Success for All Foundation, and Ohio State University are the four scale-up winners. Previous speculation had supposed that Project Lead the Way might be included in this group, but the well-known STEM education program failed to score as high as its competitors.

Promising programs looking to strengthen their reach could request up to $30 million in “validation” grants. Fifteen groups were chosen, including STEM-focused programs: ASSET Inc.’s Regional Professional Development Centers for Advancing STEM Education, George Mason University’s Virginia Initiative for Science Teaching and Achievement (VISTA), and Smithsonian Institution – National Science Resources Center‘s LASER program.

The third category, “development,” enabled applicants with new, innovative ideas to apply for up to $5 million. Out of thirty development grant winners, several STEM programs were chosen including: Bellevue School District’s “STEM, Rigor, and Equity in a Comprehensive High School,” ARCHES (Alliance for Regional Collaboration to Heighten Educational Success) – STEM Learning Opportunities Providing Equity, Education Connection’s STEM Education for the 21st Century, Erikson Institute’s Mathematics: A Whole Teach approach to Professional Development, and Exploratorium – Institute for Inquiry’s “Integrating English Language Development and Science.”

In order to actually receive any money, winners are required to secure 20 percent matched funding from private sector donors by September 8, or be granted a waiver by the Department. To help applicants connect with potential funding sources, the Department of Education has created the Open Innovation Portal and the Foundation Registry i3.

Jim Shelton, assistant deputy secretary for innovation and improvement, said in a statement yesterday, “We were really struck by the number of high quality applicants and winners who were not among the usual suspects.”

The administration hopes to continue the i3 grant program and requested an additional $500 million in the FY2011 budget proposal.

Check the Department of Education’s website for additional information on i3, including a detailed list of the 2010 highest-rated applicants, a summary of these applicants’ characteristics, and reviewers’ comments and scores.  

The Investing in Innovation (i3) Fund is still seeking peer reviewers, extending the application deadline through April 1. Reviewers are sought from various backgrounds and professions: PK-12 teachers and principals, college and university educators, researchers and evaluators, social entrepreneurs, strategy consultants, grant makers and managers, and others with education expertise. Reviewers should have expertise in at least one of the following areas: education reform and policy, evidence, innovation, strategy, and application review. Reviewers will receive an honorarium and be able to conduct the reviews electronically from their location, except for one set of reviews that may be conducted in Washington, D.C.

i3 is designed to encourage and reward school districts, nonprofits, and consortia of schools that are developing fresh ideas, growing promising programs, and scaling what works in an effort to dramatically improve schools. The program received $650 million under the Recovery Act.

The i3 grant application and final priorities were released earlier this month and are available on the Department of Education’s website. For those interested in applying for the grant, the Department is currently holding a series of informational workshops accessible over the web, with the next one being held March 30th in Atlanta. Notice of Intent to Apply is due by April 1, applications are due May 11, and awards will be made in September.

In order to facilitate educational innovation and collaboration between entrepreneurs, education stakeholders of all types, and funders, the Department of Education has created an online community, the Open Innovation Portal. Through this portal, the Department hopes to encourage partnerships by convening like-minded individuals to accelerate the development of innovative products, practices, and processes to improve education in schools.

“As I have said many times before, the innovative ideas that will transform our education system will not come from Washington, D.C.” said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan. “They will come from communities across the country. The Department of Education will play a role as convener of these diverse ideas and facilitator of partnerships. The Innovation Web Portal is the first of a number of initiatives that the Department will launch over the coming months as we work to build these partnerships that will drive innovation in education.”

To find out more information about the Investing in Innovation (i3) Fund, visit the Department’s website.