The ARRA of 2009 provides $115 billion to schools across the country. Of the $115 billion, $13 billion is allotted for Title I, $12.2 billion allotted to Special Education budgets, and $650 million for Educational Technology. To find out the dollar amount your district is expected to receive, click here.
According to the United States Department of Education, decision makers should consider whether they can answer "yes" to these five questions when considering what to purchase with stimulus funds:
1. Drive results for students? Will the proposed use of funds drive improved results for students, including students in poverty, students with disabilities, and English language learners?
Find out how Ignite! Learning drives results for students.
- Ignite! Learning is committed to improving education for all students. Our engaging multimedia curriculum accommodates diverse learning styles, including students in poverty, students with disabilities, and English language learners.
- A study conducted at a large urban school district that has a high concentration of Title I campuses showed that 47% of campuses using Ignite! Science increased their test scores, and 55% of campuses using Ignite! Social Studies increased their test scores. Schools with increased scores saw gains of 1.9 to 2.2 NCE points from 2007 to 2008. Read the full study
- A study published in the peer-reviewed Winter 2008-2009 Journal of Research on Technology in Education, an ISTE publication, shows students who used Ignite!'s multimedia curriculum increased achievement by twice as much as those who did not. Read more.
2. Increase capacity? Will the proposed use of funds increase educators' long-term capacity to improve results for students?
Find out how Ignite! Learning increases educators' long-term capacity to
improve results.
- The professional development offered by Ignite! Learning increases teachers' capacity by providing a range of useful strategies teachers can use to improve results for students. Read more.
- A study conducted at a large urban school district that has a high concentration of Title I campuses showed that 47% of campuses using Ignite! Science increased their test scores, and 55% of campuses using Ignite! Social Studies increased their test scores. Schools with increased scores saw gains of 1.9 to 2.2 NCE points from 2007 to 2008. Read the full study.
- A study published in the peer-reviewed Winter 2008-2009 Journal of Research on Technology in Education, an ISTE publication, shows students who used Ignite!'s multimedia curriculum increased achievement by twice as much as those who did not. Read more.
3. Accelerate reform? Will the proposed use of funds advance state, district, or school improvement plans and the reform goals encompassed in ARRA?
Find out how Ignite! Learning accelerates reform.
- The 21st Century classroom is one that promotes interactivity, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity. Our technology-based multimedia curriculum is to achieve the following principles: accommodate diverse learning styles, challenge students to learn by doing, help students learn in context by unifying big-picture ideas, and challenge students to demonstrate learning in a variety of ways.
- Ignite! Learning provides comprehensive, engaging, standards-aligned content that maximizes the potential of 21st Century learning tools such as interactive whiteboards and learner response systems.
- Ignite! Learning provides schools with digital content that keeps pace with the movement of relying solely on print-based classroom resources.
4. Avoid the cliff and improve productivity? Will the proposed use of funds avoid recurring costs that states, school systems, and schools are unprepared to assume when this funding ends?
Find out how to avoid the funding cliff with Ignite! Learning.
- An investment in Ignite! Learning curriculum is a sustainable one. Make a one-time purchase to experience long term benefits.
- Ignite! Learning provides valuable online updates free to customers to maximize a school's investment in our curriculum. Hide this section.
5. Foster continuous improvement? Will the proposed use of funds include approaches to measure and track implementation and results and create feedback loops to modify or discontinue strategies based on evidence?
Find out about formative assessment available from Ignite! Learning.
- Ignite! Learning is committed to data-driven decision making and the importance of formative assessment in the classroom. Teachers using our curriculum in combination with a learner response system (LRS) receive access to valuable reports of what students understand, what needs to be reviewed or who's struggling.
Read more about using ARRA funds to drive school reform and improvement.
Direct questions to State.Fiscal.Fund@ed.gov.
Title I provides funding on a formula basis to assist schools with high numbers or high percentages of economically disadvantaged children to help ensure that all children meet state academic standards. Some uses of funds include: instructional materials, professional development, and before and after school programs. Funds are generally used to improve academic achievement in reading and math, but funds can be used to improve student achievement in all of the core academic subjects.
Ignite! Learning meets Title I grant requirements through:
- Engaging multimedia that appeals to all types of learners including students in poverty, students with disabilities, and English language learners
- Research-based, standards-aligned curriculum that supplements other materials being used in the classroom
- Driving results for students and accelerating reform by advancing state, district, or school improvement plans
- Bringing the 21st century classroom to life through integration of technology into the classroom
- Comprehensive professional development that gives educators strategies for meeting the needs of all students in the classroom
IDEA funding supplements and/or increases the level of special education and related services provided to eligible students with disabilities. Some uses of funds include: technology; instructional materials; technical assistance, personnel preparation, and professional development and training; and transportation for students with disabilities.
Ignite! Learning meets IDEA grant requirements through:
- Instructional design that takes into account there are significant differences in how individual students learn most effectively, and providing lessons that appeal to all learning styles
- Using music; animation; first-person, immersive, video-game style, and problem-solving interactivity to hold student attention, so that every student is focused on the day's lesson
- Addressing the need for response to intervention resources
- Bringing the 21st century classroom to life through integration of technology into the classroom
- Comprehensive professional development
Learn more about Special Education funding.
The purpose of Ed Tech grants is to improve student academic achievement through the use of technology in elementary and secondary schools. Some uses of funds include integrating technology with curriculum and promoting technology literacy. Twenty-five percent of Ed Tech funds must be reserved for professional development.
Ignite! Learning meets Ed Tech grant requirements through:
- Providing technology-based curriculum that appeals to 21st century learners
- Maximizing the potential of 21st Century learning tools such as interactive whiteboards and learner response systems with engaging, standards-aligned digital content
- Comprehensive professional development
Learn more about Ed Tech.
Title II, Part B grants support improved student achievement in mathematics and science through enhanced training for science and math teachers. Some uses of funds include professional development and teacher recruitment.
Ignite! Learning meets Mathematics and Science Partnerships grant requirements through:
- Comprehensive professional development
- Providing teachers with cutting-edge mathematics curriculum that is research-based and aligned to state standards
Learn more about Title II, Part B.
The Teaching American History grant funds programs that enhance teachers' knowledge, understanding and appreciation of American history.
Ignite! Learning meets Teaching American History grant requirements through:
- Comprehensive professional development
- A comprehensive Early American History course that is research-based and aligned to state standards
Education Department: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009
U.S. Department of Education, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, No Child Left Behind: A Desktop Reference, Washington, D.C., 2002.
