Every Thursday, REL-NEI highlights state-based resources, press releases, and news around the Northeast and Islands Region related to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). For a listing of REL Issues & Answers Reports categorized under ARRA topics and domains, click here.
States Launch Maps, Timelines to Track Spending
Last week, Connecticut launched an interactive map to track allocated stimulus dollars by town, and Maine developed a similar map to track funds by county.
Similarly, Massachusetts created a Federal Stimulus Timeline; Recovery activity in the state may be viewed as a timeline, a flipbook, a list, or a map.
On, May 28th, the New York State Education Department announced its plan to maintain the 2009–10 Federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) Application materials for regular IDEA. The department also announced that IDEA ARRA funds are now available.
On May 28th, in Puerto Rico, the jurisdiction’s application for Part 1 of the State Stabilization Funds was approved, and $434 million in Recovery funds became available to “save teaching jobs and drive education reform.” To date, Puerto Rico has received $259 million in education stimulus funds, representing a combination of funding for Title I, IDEA, Vocational Rehabilitation Grants, and Independent Living Grants. Read the entire press release.
On June 2nd, the Vermont Department of Education, posted a Flexible Funding Matrix to its Recovery website highlighting some of the multiple funding resources that may be combined to assist schools in implementing or expanding transformative practices. (Download the matrix in PDF.)
Vermont’s Education Transformation Policy Commission added a policy development resource to its website. The Transformation Policy Commission, a State Board–appointed group that will work on policy recommendations to advance education transformation efforts in the state over 12 months, posted one resource to its policy development resource page, Renzulli Learning Systems: “Renzulli Learning is a Web-based learning coach that allows teachers to use differentiated curriculum in the classroom by creating individualized assessments of each child’s interests and preferred methods of engagement learning. It also delivers customized learning experiences to help them think and learn based on their personal strengths.” Learn more about Renzulli Learning Systems or read an FAQ.
In a related topic, 46 states (including all nine jurisdictions in the Northeast and Islands Region) have formally agreed to create common academic standards in math and English language arts through an effort led by the National Governors Association and the Council of Chief State School Officers. In all 46 states, both the governor and the chief education officer signed a memorandum of agreement committing to the process and development of voluntary, common standards.
For more information, visit these Recovery.gov websites across the Northeast and Islands Region:
Connecticut
http://www.recovery.ct.gov/recovery/site/default.asp
http://www.sde.ct.gov/sde/cwp/view.asp?a=2703&Q=322296
Maine
http://www.maine.gov/recovery/
http://www.maine.gov/education/recovery/index.html
Massachusetts
www.mass.gov/recovery
http://www.doe.mass.edu/arra/
New Hampshire
http://www.nh.gov/recovery/
http://www.ed.state.nh.us/education/recovery/index.htm
New York
http://uspeny.nysed.gov/arra/
Rhode Island
http://www.recovery.ri.gov/
http://www.ride.ri.gov/Finance/Funding/ARRA/
Vermont
http://education.vermont.gov/new/html/dept/recovery_act.html
Puerto Rico
http://www.buengobiernopr.com/arra/index.html
U.S. Virgin Islands
http://www.governordejongh.com/recovery/index.html
US Department of Education
http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/leg/recovery/index.html
Knowledge Alliance
http://www.knowledgeall.net/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=87&Itemid=34
Council of State Governments: StateRecovery.org
http://www.staterecovery.org/education
