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by Dana Laursen, Director, Education Strategy and Evaluation — September 04, 2009
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Do you have a technology project that fits your students’ needs but is outside your school’s current budget? Do you see opportunity in a start-up extended-day learning project such as afterschool or weekend learning "camps" or online courses for anytime/anywhere learning for your students? Do you believe learners could benefit from online curriculum options to support traditional classroom instruction?
Everyone has dreams of what they would do, could do, to improve education—if only they had the resources. Well, keep those imaginations working, because the funds are here. All of the above—and many other innovative opportunities—are projects that are supported by federal funding sources such as Enhancing Education Through Technology (E2T2) competitive grants that are posted on state education web sites this summer and fall.
Funds to Pay Attention To
- A total of $650 million in E2T2 funds under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) were released to states on July 27, 2009—allowing states to progress in developing and publishing grant applications.
- Look for funds for targeted projects such as afterschool programs, dropout prevention, or other state-level grant applications.
- Don't forget local sources such as foundations, non-profits, and companies that are interested in building collaborative partnerships with schools (and which could take advantage of $650 million in new i3 funding).
Knowing about funding opportunities is half the battle. Ensure that you’re "in the know" by building an e-mail alert system for national, state, and local funding sources. Or, bookmark and regularly visit a favorite grant alerts web site. PLATO Learning can also provide resources and information about our solutions for your grant submissions.
The money stream is flowing—now is the time to put your research and grant-writing skills to use to fund those innovative and life-altering projects you would do, could do, with the right funding source. And it’s time to build a community of likeminded educators to share successes and best practices so that all our nation's students succeed. What examples of successes or pitfalls have you been a part of?
