Competitive Grants
News Release, March 2, 2011
No-Interest Bonds Jump Start School Construction Projects – Projects Include Replacement of Collapsed Blacksburg High School
Additional federal stimulus funds from ARRA will be made available in fall 2009 through competitive grants. Competitive grants are financial awards for which the U.S. Department of Education (USED) and other federal agencies have the discretion to:
- Select recipients from among eligible recipients;
- Make or deny awards based on the programmatic, technical and scientific content of an application; and
- Determine the amount of funding awarded.
Information about PK-12-related competitive grants awarded by USED and other federal agencies is available in weekly Virginia Liaison Office ARRA Competitive Grant Alerts on ARRA.Virginia.Gov.
- See ARRA.Virginia.Gov - Grant Information with latest Competitive Grant listing.
Uses of Funds
- July 30, 2009 (Office of the Governor) – Executive Order 85 (PDF) requires employers to post recruitment notices for positions fully or partially funded by ARRA on the Virginia Workforce Connection.
Impact Aid Discretional Construction Program
Eligible school divisions have until October 1, 2009, to apply for ARRA Impact Aid Discretionary Construction Program funds for emergency repairs and modernization of school facilities. Specific eligibility requirements and additional information.
Qualified School Construction Bonds
Qualified School Construction Bonds (QSCBs) are authorized by ARRA for school construction and renovation projects. School divisions and localities apply for allocations of QSCBs issued by the Virginia Public School Authority (VPSA). Successful applicants receive a direct federal subsidy to offset interest payments. Divisions and localities issuing bonds are responsible for repayment of principal.
VDOE announced the commonwealth’s final allocation of $229.5 million QSCB allocation on March 2, 2011. The allocations fully or partially fund 41 new construction, renovation and expansion projects in 33 school divisions. The application process gave priority to consolidation projects, projects eliminating overcrowding, projects in economically stressed localities, projects replacing facilities more than 35 years old, projects creating school-wide, high-speed networks, and projects in divisions not receiving prior QSCB allocations. Priority was also given to projects related to health and safety and projects on the July 2010 first-priority waiting list for literary fund loans.
- November 22, 2011 (Office of the Governor Executive Order #42) – Additional Qualified School Construction Bonds Awarded for Calendar Year 2011
- August 3, 2011 (Department of the Treasury) – Announcement of the Fall Series of the 2011 Qualified School Construction Bond Issue (PDF)
- June 10, 2011 (Office of the Governor Executive Order #34) – Qualified School Construction Bonds Awarded for Calendar Year 2011
- News Release, March 2, 2011 – No-Interest Bonds Jump Start School Construction Projects
- October 13, 2010 (Department of the Treasury and VDOE) – Letter from state treasurer and superintendent of public instruction (PDF) announcing competition for allocation of Qualified School Construction Bonds. Letter includes questions and answers on the bond program.
- October 13, 2010 (VDOE) – Qualified School Construction Bond Program Application (XLS) (revised 11/4/10)
- June 10, 2010 (Office of the Governor Executive Order #12) – Amended and Restated Additional Qualified School Construction Bonds Awarded in CY 2009
- Prior 2009 Qualified School Construction Bond Allocations
Race to the Top
Round Two
On May 26, 2010, Governor Robert F. McDonnell sent a letter (PDF) to US Department of Education indicating that Virginia would not apply for Race to the Top program round two funding.Round One
Virginia’s Race to the Top round one application proposed initiatives to build on the success of the commonwealth’s Standards of Learning program by increasing the rigor and relevance of instruction for all students and preparing them for postsecondary education and careers.Application Documents
January 21, 2010 –
August 28, 2009 –
Investing in Innovation (i3)
In 2008, USED released a grant application for the $650 million Investing in Innovation Fund (i3). School divisions or groups of divisions can apply for the i3 grants. Nonprofits can join with school divisions or a consortium of schools to submit applications.
2011 Investing in Innovation (i3) grant competition
This is the second round of i3 grants that continues support for evidence-based practices in education. The i3 grants will make $150 million available to individual school divisions, consortia of divisions, and nonprofit organizations in partnership with divisions or groups of schools. Grants will be available within the same three categories as in round one:
- Up to $25 million each for scale-up grants to applicants with the strongest evidence and track record of success
- Up to $15 million each for validation grants to verify effectiveness of programs with moderate levels of evidence
- Up to $3 million each for development grants to support new, high-potential practices whose impact should be studied further.
To qualify for the competitive grants, applications must address one of the following five areas:
- Supporting effective teachers and principals
- Implementing high standards and quality assessments
- Turning around persistently low-performing schools
- Increasing achievement and high school graduation rates in rural schools
- Promoting science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education.
Competitive preference will be given to applications addressing one or more of the following priorities:
- Demonstrating support for improving early learning outcomes
- Increasing college access and success
- Addressing the unique needs of students with disabilities and limited English proficient students
- Improving productivity or technology.
Applications are due on August 2, 2011. Awards will be made no later than December 31, 2011. Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit a notice of intent to apply by June 23, 2011.
Jobs for Virginia Graduates
The Virginia General Assembly continues to allocate funds to Jobs for Virginia Graduates (JVG) for programs in local school divisions using the Jobs for America’s Graduates (JAG) national model. VDOE serves as fiscal agent for these programs. The primary mission of the JVG program is to assist high school students who are at risk of dropping out, or have other barriers to graduation and provide additional supports that enable these students to graduate, secure, and retain quality jobs.
Three programs are being offered independently or in combination:
- Senior-only model
- Multi-year model for grades 9-12
- Middle school model for grades 7-8
School divisions use grant funds to employ a job specialist who will work directly with the students meeting the program criteria. Job specialists are required to attend national training seminars each summer in the month of July. The JVG model is presently serving students in 17 school divisions.
The General Assembly has provided JVG $373,776 for the 2010-2011 school year to offer grants in amounts up to $21,000. Program information is available at the JVG Website. If additional monies are available for the 2010-2011 school year, divisions receiving 2009-2010 grants will have preferred status for that money.
View VDOE's Expenses