DOE i3 Grantees Announced

On August 5, 2010, the Department of Education announced the final awardees for the Investing in Innovation (i3) grants.

Some characteristics of grantees:

• 49 school districts, nonprofit education organizations and institutions of higher education were selected from among nearly 1,700 applicants.  
• Grantees will serve 42 states and 2 territories with more than half intending to serve students with disabilities and limited English proficient students and 37 percent intending to serve rural school districts.
• Award type: 4 in Scale-Up, 15 in Validation, and 30 in Development.
• Absolute Priority:
• 12 (24 percent) of the highest-rated applications addressed Absolute Priority 1 (Innovations that Support Effective Teachers and Principals), including two Scale-Up, four Validation, and six Development applications;
• 9 (18 percent) of the highest-rated applications addressed Absolute Priority 2 (Innovations that Improve the Use of Data), including two Validation and seven Development applications;
• 15 (31 percent) of the highest-rated applications addressed Absolute Priority 3 (Innovations that Complement the Implementation of High Standards and High-Quality Assessments), including five Validation and 10 Development applications; and
• 13 (27 percent) of the highest-rated applications addressed Absolute Priority 4 (Innovations that Turn Around Persistently Low-Performing Schools), including two Scale-Up, four Validation, and seven Development applications.
• Competitive Preference:
• 13 (27 percent) of the highest-rated applications addressed Competitive Preference Priority 5 (Innovations for Improving Early Learning Outcomes), including three Scale-Up, three Validation, and seven Development applications;
• 20 (41 percent) of the highest-rated applications addressed Competitive Preference Priority 6 (Innovations that Support College Access and Success), including one Scale-Up, five Validation, and 14 Development applications;
• 28 (57 percent) of the highest-rated applications addressed Competitive Preference Priority 7 (Innovations to Address the Unique Needs of Students with Disabilities and Limited English Proficient Students), including four Scale-Up, three Validation, and 19 Development applications; and
• 18 (37 percent) of the highest-rated applications addressed Competitive Preference Priority 8 (Innovations that Serve Schools in Rural LEAs), including three Scale-Up, eight Validation, and seven Development applications.

Significantly, in recognition of the enormous interest and quality of applications the Department of Education has promised to host a summit in November 2010, "to continue to support innovation and evidence based practices" for other "promising" applicants.  The Department plans to invite potential funding partners that may be able to support the efforts that the Department was not able to. More information on the event will be provided. It is also important to note that the Administration has requested an additional $500 million in funding for this program in FY 2011.