Department of Education to Award Second Round of 'Investing in Innovation' Grants

The U.S. Department of Education has announced that $150 million will be made available to school districts and nonprofits in partnership with districts or school consortia through a second round of Investing in Innovation Fund (i3) grants.

As in its initial funding round, the i3 program will award funds in three categories: Scale-up grants to applicants with the strongest track records of success; Validation grants to verify the effectiveness of programs with moderate levels of evidence; and Development grants to support new and high-potential practices whose impact warrants further study. Grant amounts have been adjusted, however, to ensure that awardees have adequate funding to achieve their goals while enabling the department to fund as many high-quality applications as possible.

The department also announced that in addition to the fund's efforts to support effective teachers and principals, implement high standards and quality assessments, and turn around persistently low-performing schools, it will focus on improved achievement and high school graduation rates in rural schools as well as promoting science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education. All applicants in this funding round must address one of the five key areas areas of reform. Applications for each category are due by August 2, and recipients will be announced before the end of the year. To assist applicants, the department plans to offer workshops and several webinars on key i3-related topics in the coming weeks.

"Extraordinary work is happening throughout the country with the potential to not only transform our education system but invest in our economy and ensure equal access to a high-quality education for thousands more students," said DOE assistant deputy secretary for innovation and improvement Jim Shelton. "The Investing in Innovation fund will continue to support promising and proven projects that elevate student performance, close achievement gaps, increase graduation rates, and attract, support, and retain high-quality teachers and principals."

“Second Round of i3 Provides $150 Million to Continue Scaling-Up, Validating and Developing Effective Education Innovations.” U.S. Department of Education Press Release 6/03/11.