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.
New Online Resource Aligns Foundations with ARRA and Ed Reform
Last week, more than 150 Connecticut school districts were awarded $138 million to bolster special education programs.
Between September 22nd and 25th, the New York State Education Department (NYSED) posted a reporting document of questions and answers on ARRA reporting. The questions were posed at four online sessions conducted by NYSED. They are organized in the following sections:
- General ARRA Reporting
- ARRA Education Stabilization Fund
- ARRA IDEA
- ARRA Title I and McKinney-Vento Homeless Education
- ARRA Other Government Services
On September 24th, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) posted a new resource to maximize foundation funds for reform. "Foundations for Education Excellence," produced by the Foundation Center, is an online resource center to help funders align grant making with monies available through ARRA and thereby have maximum impact. The initiative's web portal, in cooperation with ED, includes interactive maps, updated weekly with details for each state, including foundations that have made grants for elementary/secondary school reform, total ARRA education dollars announced, available, and paid out, and key ARRA education funding resources; summaries of best and "promising" practices drawn from foundation-sponsored reports; weekly spotlights of current foundation initiatives on education reform; lists of top foundation funders and recipients in each education reform area, by state; and upcoming and archived events related to ARRA funding for education. The portal also features "What You Need to Know," a compilation of information from ED that includes daily news feeds, guidelines, major announcements, and grant deadlines.
For more information, visit these ARRA-related websites across the Northeast and Islands Region:
U.S. Department of Education
http://www.ed.gov/policy/gen/leg/recovery/index.html
State Recovery Sites
http://www.recovery.gov/?q=content/state-local-tribal-and-territorial-resources
State Education Agency Recovery Sites
Education Week’s “Schools and the Stimulus”
http://www.edweek.org/ew/collections/schools-stimulus/index.html
