Operation Public Education’s framework addresses all four of the Department of Education goals outlined below. The availability of funds specifically for education reform creates an unprecedented opportunity for the collaborative creation of a new and better school system, one that ensures high standards of achievement and opportunity for all students. Operation Public Education provides technical assistance for policy development to support districts interested in implementing and evaluating the OPE framework or its individual components. For information about partnering with OPE to implement a pilot, please contact us.
The following section provides an overview of the education goals associated with the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) and a brief introduction to the funds available.
Stimulus Goals
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) provides education funds that are intended to jumpstart school reform and improvement efforts while saving and creating jobs. The government states that these one-time resources should be spent in ways most likely to lead to improved results for students, long-term gains in school and school system capacity, and increased productivity and effectiveness.
ARRA emphasizes the importance of improving student achievement and closing the achievement gap so that all students graduate from high school prepared for college or a career. In order to meet that goal, ARRA has identified four core reforms:
- Adopt rigorous college- and career-ready standards and high-quality assessments. World-class education systems are built upon college- and career-ready standards, rich and engaging curricula based on those standards, and high-quality, aligned assessments to measure student learning.
- Establish data systems and use of data for improvement. At the heart of improving schools and school districts are systems to gather and analyze data and provide feedback to educators, students, families, and the community in order to continuously improve student and teacher performance.
- Increase teacher effectiveness and equitable distribution of effective teachers. Teacher effectiveness is a major influence on students’ academic success. Districts and school leaders can improve teacher effectiveness and address inequitable teacher distribution through how they recruit, hire, induct, develop, evaluate, advance, and compensate teachers. Moreover, they can create the school conditions that foster teacher effectiveness and retention such as excellent school leadership, time for collaboration, and a culture of continuous improvement.
- Implement effective interventions for the lowest-performing schools. Turning around persistently low-performing schools is likely to require a significant overhaul of school staff, leadership, instructional program, and calendar. For the most distressed schools, closing or consolidation may be necessary.
For an in-depth discussion of how the stimulus money could be used toward each of these goals, see this document provided by the Department of Education.
Available Funds
ARRA represents an approximately $53.6 billion investment in improving public education in America. The majority of the money ($48.6 billion) will be awarded directly to states. This money is divided into two categories – 81.8% ($39.8 billion) for use in public elementary, secondary, and institutions of higher education and 18.2% ($8.8 billion) for education, school modernization, public safety, and other government services. An additional $5 billion is to be dispersed at the discretion of the Secretary of Education – $4.35 billion as part of the Race to the Top Program and $650 million for the Invest in Innovation Program. These two funds specifically target the implementation of comprehensive school reforms.
- Race to the Top. These funds will be dispersed by the Secretary of Education as part of a national competition among states. The funds are intended to improve education quality and results statewide by helping states drive substantial gains in student achievement and dramatic progress on the four reform goals described above.
- Investing in Innovation. These grants will be awarded to eligible local education agencies or partnerships between non-profit organizations and local education agencies that have made significant gains in closing the achievement gap. The money will allow these entities to expand their work and serve as models for best practices, to work in partnership with the private sector and the philanthropic community, and to identify and document best practices that can be shared and taken to scale based on demonstrated success.
For additional information about available funds, eligibility requirements, and instructions for applying, see the resources section.
The following resources provide additional information on how to apply for stimulus funds and use these funds to drive reform efforts.
Applying for Stimulus Funds
- For links to detailed information about the stimulus money and instructions for applying, visit the U.S. Department of Education website.
- For a basic overview of the stimulus and available funds, along with descriptive charts and other graphics, see this presentation from the Department of Education. The presentation provides a concise list of the available funds and their intended uses.
Recommendations for Using Funds
- This list of publications provides resources and information about the effective use of data, improving teacher quality, and turning around low-performing schools. The page contains links to databases that track education policy by state and numerous publications addressing the three topics above.
- This page provides a list of publications and resources from various organizations that offer ideas for how to spend the education stimulus money. Two of these publications are highlighted below.
- The Coalition for Student Achievement wrote a report that urges districts and states to use the stimulus money to: develop common American standards; provide data and information that educators, policymakers, and parents can use; conduct meaningful teacher evaluations; turn around low-performing schools; and help struggling students. The report and supplement include detailed recommendations, examples of success, and links to additional resources.
- The Center for American Progress wrote a report that provides concrete ideas for strategic spending in three key areas - taking stock of current practices, focusing on support for quality instruction, and making transitional investments - to give some guidance to those districts seeking to balance the act’s short-term focus on preserving jobs with its long-term goals of promoting student achievement.