Money, Money, Money

Most of the federal funding talk over the last few months has focused on Race to the Top, but there are some other significant federal funding opportunities that have the potential to help Delaware’s schools.

First off is the School Improvement Grant (SIG) funding that will begin flowing to our state in the next month or so. The federal stimulus package, or ARRA, increased Delaware’s share of these funds to a bit more than$10 million for this year.  This funding is targeted toward the lowest performing 5% of schools, making significant resources available to those schools to make significant improvements over the next few years.

Next is the Investing in Innovation fund (i3).  A total of $650 million in competitive grants is available for states, school districts, and non-profits working with districts to create and grow innovative programs that lead to increased student achievement.  The final guidance for this has just come out and applications are due in mid-May.

Finally, the Teacher Incentive Fund (TIF) has been reinvigorated with about $600 million in funding from ARRA and the FY10 federal budget.  This program supports states and school districts that want to implement model teacher compensation systems thatfocus on improving student achievement.  Draft guidance was released a few weeks ago and applications are expected to be due in July.