Funding - White House Initiative for Education Excellence for Hispanics Grants

U.S. Department of Education, Hispanic Outreach & Resources - March 8, 2010

Investing in Innovation (i3) Program - Application Available Now on ED.gov

Today, the Department of Education announced the availability of the grant application for the highly anticipated Investing in Innovation (i3) Program.  These grants will support local districts and nonprofit organizations—working in partnership with several districts and/or several schools—as they seek to implement educational innovations with promising or demonstrated effective outcomes for students.

Through this program, competitive grants will be awarded to applicants with a record of improving student achievement and attainment to expand the implementation of, and investment in, innovative practices that are demonstrated to have an impact on:
improving student achievement or student growth;
closing achievement gaps;
decreasing dropout rates;
increasing high school graduation rates; or
increasing college enrollment and completion rates.

Applicants will have 60 days to develop applications. There are three types of grants for which funding is available under the i3 Program:  Scale-up grants, Validation grants, and Development grants.  Interested local parties should carefully review the specifics regarding each of these grant types, as they look to determine which grant category is most suited to the specific progress level of their local activities.

Individual school districts or groups of districts can apply for the i3 grants, and entrepreneurial nonprofits can join with school districts or a consortium of schools to submit applications. To qualify for the competitive grants, applicants will need to address one of the four areas that are driving the Obama Administration’s school reform agenda: supporting effective teachers and principals; improving the use of data to accelerate student achievement; complementing the implementation of standards and assessments that prepare students for success in college and careers; and turning around persistently low-performing schools.

Applicants will receive a competitive preference if their project addresses one or more of the following priorities: improving outcomes for young children; expanding students’ access to college and preparing them for success in college; addressing the unique needs of students with disabilities and of limited English proficient students; and serving schools in rural areas.

Registration for the upcoming i3 Pre-Application Workshops or Pre-Application Webinars: http://www.fsaregistration.ed.gov/profile/web/index.cfm?PKwebID=0x9192363b1&varPage=agenda.
i3 Application: http://www.ed.gov/programs/innovation/index.html
Press Release: http://www2.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2010/03/03082010.html

‘Stand and Deliver’ Inspiration and Long-Time Educator Jaime Escalante Battling Cancer

It is with a heavy heart that the White House Initiative announces the terminal illness of Jaime Escalante, mathematics educator and the inspiration for the movie “Stand and Deliver,” starring Edward James Olmos. The native Bolivian and education veteran is now battling bladder cancer without the benefit of health insurance.

To read more about his phenomenal career and current struggles, view the following articles:

KTLA article: http://www.ktla.com/news/landing/ktla-jaime-escalante-cancer,0,3839418.story
Los Angeles Time article: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-escalante7-2010mar07,0,6159259.story

Remarks of Assistant Secretary Thelma Melendez to the National Association for Bilingual Education

A few weeks ago, following a video message from Secretary Arne Duncan, Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education Thelma Melendez spoke to some 2,300 members of the National Association for Bilingual Education.  In her remarks, speaking as a former English learner, she explained why the success of this diverse and fast-growing student group is vital to this nation’s prosperity.  She also noted that roughly 1 in 10 students in the U.S. are English learners, that 78 percent of English learners are born in the U.S., and that these English learners speak more than 400 languages.  The administration’s FY 2011 budget requests $800 million for English Language Learner programs.

Speech: http://www2.ed.gov/news/speeches/2010/02/02032010.html.

Education Department Launches Portal for Innovation – A Tool to Help Improve Proposals and Find Matching Funds and Partners and More

A new place on ED.gov is enabling education leaders to share their ideas and collaborate to transform those ideas into reality. The Open Innovation Portal is a site where innovators can: highlight areas of need; propose and suggest improvements to solutions; and fund, implement and improve these solutions in and outside the classroom.

Although the Department is aware of many uses for the Open Innovation Portal—including as a tool to help improve proposals and find matching funds and partners for the Department’s $650 million Investing in Innovation (i3) Fund—it is expected that the Latino community will discover on its own how best to leverage the portal’s capabilities.

Join Now: https://innovation.ed.gov
Blog Entry: http://www.ed.gov/blog/2010/02/new-open-innovation-portal-awaits-ideas/

White House Initiative on Education Excellence for Hispanics – Feb 9. Budget Call Recap and Recording

On Feb. 20, the White House Initiative hosted a conference call to explain President Obama’s proposed 2011 budget and its impact on education for Latinos. This call discussed early learning, K-12, higher education, and adult learners. The budget is designed to promote Hispanic achievement through reform and more competitive funding, more flexibility, and focus on the achievement gap.

Following are several resources related to the budget and other news at the Department of Education, including a link to the recorded conference call:

Fact Sheet : The Federal Budget 2011: Opportunities for Latino Families (attached)
Press Release with Key Links: http://www2.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2010/02/02012010.html
Feb. 9 Conference Call: http://ncc.conferencehost.net/conferences/conf720403-625181.0.wav

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Juan A. Sep√∫lveda, Jr.
Director, White House Initiative for Education Excellence for Hispanics

Ida R. Eblinger Kelley
Director, Hispanic Outreach and Communications
U.S. Department of Education