$5.3 million in competitive grants awarded by State Board of Education

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - 
FOR MORE INFORMATION:

Phil Bacharach
Director of Communications
405-521-4894, 405-249-0746
phil.bacharach@sde.ok.gov

Tricia Pemberton
Assistant Director of Communications
405-521-3371, 405-431-7195-cell
tricia.pemberton@sde.ok.gov

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State Board of Education awards $5.3 in competitive education grants

OKLAHOMA CITY (July 23, 2014) – The State Board of Education today awarded more than $5.3 million in competitive grants to 16 applicants for use during the 2015 school year. 

The purpose of the competitive grant is to provide funding to programs and services that enhasupport the Oklahoma State Department of Education’s (OSDE) goal of ensuring that all children graduating from an Oklahoma high school will be college, career, and citizen ready by the year 2020.

The statewide competition was open to non-profit, for-profit, or government entities, as well as local education agencies (LEAs) that support Oklahoma’s goal by providing services to a significant number of students, teachers, administrators, and/or other stakeholders. Points were granted for programs that serve schools designated as the most in need of help to raise student academic achievement.

Examples of activities that may comprise awarded programs include, but were not limited to:

  • Innovative dropout prevention programs.
  • Enrichment, mentoring, tutoring, social and emotional skill-building, and other activities during or in addition to the regular school day.
  • Professional development for teachers and administrators on the use of the arts, behavioral skills, and/or character education to improve academic success.
  • Research and dissemination of best practices related to Oklahoma education reform initiatives.
  • STEM-related activities for students and/or educators.
  • Literacy-related activities for students and/or educators.
  • Professional development for teachers and administrators on implementation of Oklahoma Academic Standards and aligned assessments; use of data to differentiate instruction; best practices of effective teaching, leadership, and professional growth tools; use of accountability data and school status designations to drive instruction; and implementation of digital learning tools to build 21st Century skills.

The grants process was provided by the Legislature in the approval of the State Department of Education’s fiscal year 2015 budget request.

More than 40 applicants submitted requests totaling more than $14 million. State Education Board members awarded funding based on applications scored against a rubric using a blind evaluation process. Three individuals scored each application. An average score and total scores were provided to state board members to assist in their determinations.

Groups that received 2014 competitive grants, the amount received and the project:

  • OK Alliance For Geographic Education * $228,596 * OKAGE Geographic Literacy Initiative
  • KISS Institute for Practical Robotics * $75,000 * STEM in Action-Botball Educational Robotics
  • Street School * $200,000 * Street School
  • Air Force Association Gerrity Chapter * $5,000 * CyberPatriot
  • OK Council on Economic Education * $196,435 * OK Economics and Financial Literacy Education
  • Tools 4Reading * $695,487 * Project N2:20
  • OETA * $347,245 * Ready to Learn
  • Oklahoma Arts Council * $140,000 * Arts in Alternative Education
  • Great Expectations * $1,115,675 * Great Expectations
  • University of Central Oklahoma * $335,928 * Oklahoma A+ Schools
  • OU/Elementary STEM Leadership Academics * $87,000 * Elementary STEM Leadership Academics
  • US First * $70,000 * FIRST Robotics
  • Catapult Learning * $1,291,000 * Literacy First Framework
  • OU/OK Autism Center * $300,000 * OK Autism Center
  • University of Central Oklahoma * $189,901 * OK STEM Centers
  • East Central University * $100,000 * OK State Science & Engineering Fair

 

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