June 2014 Monthly Update
Innovation Fund Grant Opportunities
Beginning August 1, 2014, GOSA will post guidelines for new Innovation Fund Grant Opportunities. The Innovation Fund supports local education authorities, schools, institutions of higher education, and nonprofit organizations in planning, implementing and scaling innovative education programs that advance student achievement throughout Georgia. The Innovation Fund began as a $19.4 million fund under Georgia’s Race to the Top plan.
To continue the Innovation Fund's work beyond Race to the Top, Governor Deal appropriated $5 million in state funding for Fiscal Year 2015. GOSA will administer grants for the following four priorities:
- Applied Learning with a Focus on STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) Education,
- Development and Replication of Blended Learning School Models,
- Development and Replication of Innovative Resource Management Models, and
- Teacher and Leader Induction and Development.
Click here to learn more about these grant opportunities.
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Connections for Classrooms Grant Program
On June 16, 2014, GOSA opened the application process for the Connections for Classrooms Grant Program. The program joins multiple state agencies around the common goal of ensuring Georgia schools and classrooms have the high-speed broadband access required for digital and blended learning. The program is part of a broader statewide effort to expand classroom high-speed broadband access in response to Governor Deal’s Digital Learning Task Force recommendations as well as the Georgia Department of Education’s efforts to enable personalized learning for Georgia students.
For more information on the grant program, click here.
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2012-13 IE2 Results
The results of the 2012-13 Investing in Educational Excellence (IE2) evaluation are now available on GOSA's website. IE2 Partnership Contracts provide local school districts with greater governance flexibility as a means to increasing student achievement. On an annual basis, GOSA monitors districts' progress toward meeting IE2 goals and reports the results to the State Board of Education.
Currently, three districts participate in IE2:
- Gwinnett County
- Forsyth County
- Rabun County
Click here to view the 2012-13 evaluation results.
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Innovation Fund a “Standout” in Race to the Top
A recent article in EdWeek called Georgia’s Innovation Fund a “standout” in the national Race to the Top program. The author notes that the Innovation Fund "is often cited in federal reports as a high point" in Georgia's Race to the Top grant. The article specifically highlights the success of the STEP Academy at Moore Middle School in Gwinnett County and GOSA’s Innovation in Teaching Competition.
To access the article, click here.
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