Grant Details

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Summary

History of Funding

Previous awardee information is available at https://oese.ed.gov/offices/office-of-discretionary-grants-support-services/innovation-early-learning/education-innovation-and-research-eir/awards/

The EIR program replaced the Investing in Innovation (i3) grant program funded under NCLB. For previous i3 awardee information see: https://www2.ed.gov/programs/innovation/awards.html

Additional Information

The FY22 Early-phase competition includes four absolute priorities and two competitive priorities. All Early-phase applicants must address Absolute Priority 1. Early-phase applicants are also required to address one of the other three absolute priorities. If an applicant chooses to address one or both competitive preference priorities, the applicant must identify in the project narrative section of its application its response to the competitive preference priorities it chooses to address.

• Absolute Priority 1 - Demonstrates a Rationale. Under this priority, projects must demonstrate a rationale based on high-quality research findings or positive evaluation that any proposed activity, strategy, or intervention is likely to improve student outcomes or other relevant outcomes. All Early-phase applicants must submit prior evidence of effectiveness for the proposed project aims.
• Absolute Priority 2 - Field-Initiated Innovations—General. Projects that are designed to create, develop, implement, replicate, or take to scale entrepreneurial, evidence-based, field-initiated innovations to improve student achievement and attainment for high-need students.
• Absolute Priority 3 - Field-Initiated Innovations Promoting Equity in Student Access to Educational Resources and Opportunities: STEM. Under this priority, projects must be designed to:
  • Create, develop, implement, replicate, or take to scale entrepreneurial, evidence-based, field-initiated innovations to improve student achievement and attainment for high-need students, and;
  • Improve student achievement or other educational outcomes in one or more of the following areas: science, technology, engineering, math, or computer science.
  • Promote educational equity and adequacy in resources and opportunity for underserved students in one or more of the following settings—
    • Early learning programs, elementary school, middle school, high school, CTE programs, out-of-school-time, alternative schools and programs, or juvenile justice system or correctional facilities.
• Absolute Priority 4 - Field-Initiated Innovations Meeting Student Social, Emotional, and Academic Needs. Under this priority, an applicant must propose projects that are designed to:
  • Create, develop, implement, replicate, or take to scale entrepreneurial, evidence-based, field initiated innovations to improve student achievement and attainment for high need students; and
  • Improve students' social, emotional, academic, and career development, with a focus on underserved students, through one or more of the following priority areas:
    • Develop and support educator and school capacity to support SEL that:
      • Fosters skills and behaviors that enable academic progress;
      • Identifies and addresses conditions in the learning environment, that may negatively impact social and emotional well-being for underserved students, including conditions that affect physical safety; and
      • Is trauma-informed, such as addressing exposure to community-based violence and trauma specific to military- or veteran-connected students.
    • Creates education or work-based settings that are supportive, positive, identity-safe and inclusive through one or more of the following activities:
      • Developing trusting relationships between students (including underserved students), educators, families, and community partners.
      • Providing high-quality professional development opportunities designed to increase engagement and belonging and build asset-based mindsets for educators working in and throughout schools.
      • Engaging students (including underserved students), educators, families, and community partners from diverse backgrounds and representative of the community as partners in school climate review and improvement efforts.
      • Developing and implementing inclusive and culturally informed discipline policies and addressing disparities in school discipline policy by identifying and addressing the root causes of those disparities, including by involving educators, students, and families in decision-making about discipline procedures and providing training and resources to educators.
      • Supporting students to engage in real-world, hands-on learning that is aligned with classroom instruction and takes place in community-based settings, such as apprenticeships, pre-apprenticeships, work-based learning, and service learning, and in civic activities.
    • Providing multi-tiered systems of supports that address learning barriers both in and out of the classroom, that enable healthy development and respond to students' needs and which may include evidence-based trauma-informed practices and professional development for educators on avoiding deficit-based approaches.
    • Develop or implement policies and practices, consistent with applicable Federal law, that prevent or reduce significant disproportionality on the basis of race or ethnicity with respect to the identification, placement, and disciplining of children or students with disabilities.
    • Provide students equitable access that is inclusive, with regard to race, LGBTQI+, ethnicity, culture, language, and disability status, to social workers, psychologists, counselors, nurses, or mental health professionals and other integrated services and supports, which may include in early learning environments.
    • Preparing educators to implement project-based or experiential learning opportunities for students to strengthen their metacognitive skills, self-direction, self-efficacy, competency, or motivation.
    • Create and implement comprehensive schoolwide frameworks (such as small schools or learning communities, advisory systems, or looping educators) that support strong and consistent student and educator relationships.
    • Foster partnerships to provide comprehensive services to students and familes that support students social, emotional, mental ehalth, and academic needs, and that are inclusive with regard to race, ethnicity, culture, language, and disability status.
• Competitive Preference Priority 1: Promoting Equity in Student Access to Educational Resources and Opportunities (up to 3 points) Projects designed to promote educational equity and adequacy in resources and opportunity for underserved students in middle school or high school that examine the sources of inequity and inadequacy and implement responses, including rigorous, engaging, and well-rounded (e.g., that include music and the arts) approaches to learning that are inclusive with regard to race, ethnicity, culture, language, and disability status and prepare students for college, career, and civic life, including one or more of the following:
  • Student-centered learning models that may leverage technology to address learner variability and provide high-quality learning content, applications, or tools.
  • Middle school courses or projects that prepare students to participate in advanced coursework in high school.
  • Advanced courses and programs, including dual enrollment and early college programs.
  • Project-based and experiential learning, including service and work-based learning.
  • High-quality career and technical education courses, pathways, and industry-recognized credentials that are integrated into the curriculum.
• Competitive Preference Priority 2: Addressing the Impact of COVID-19 on Students, Educators, and Faculty (up to 3 points). Projects designed to address the needs of underserved students and educators most impacted by COVID–19 through—
  • Conducting community asset-mapping and needs assessments that may include an assessment of the extent to which students, including subgroups of students, have become disengaged from learning, including students not participating in in-person or remote instruction, and specific strategies for reengaging and supporting students and their families; and
  • Using evidence-based instructional approaches and supports, such as professional development, coaching, ongoing support for educators, high quality tutoring, expanded access to rigorous coursework and content across K-12, and expanded learning time to accelerate learning for students in ways that ensure all students have the opportunity to successfully meet challenging academic content standards without contributing to tracking or remedial courses.

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