Archives

Find Your Congressman & Senators

View the current Government Relations Committee Members

States Start Naming Partners and Preferred Providers for Stimulus Grant Money

February 2, 2010—Applications for the first round of Race to the Top (RTT) funding have been submitted, and states are currently working on their School Improvement Grant (SIG) proposals. In many of the RTT applications, states named partners to help them reach their goals. For example, California discusses the state's support of the Common Core Standards Initiative, and the Parent Institute for Quality Education is named as key partner. In addition, states are also putting out RFPs for preferred providers to help with SIG. At the recent AEP government relations committee meeting, participants asked several questions about what opportunities they still have to work with schools on the stimulus grants.

• Can we see a list of preferred providers and partners?
  The Race to the Top applications are usually available on each state's website--some more accessible than others. The Dept. of Ed. said it will be posting the applications online, but doesn't foresee that happening until the end of February. Some School Improvement Grants may be online on the individual state websites. Bernice Stafford, Vice President of Implementation and Education Partnerships for Evans Newton Inc. and chair of AEP's government relations committee, said, "The provider vetting process for SIG has just begun and Colorado and Illinois were early out of the starting gate...I assume others will soon provide lists of approved providers."
   
• If we didn't get on the preferred provider list now, should we?
  Charles Blaschke, President of Education Turnkey Systems, said being a preferred provider could be beneficial for larger companies and those willing to undertake the RFP process. Bernice added that there is no single place where to locate all the RFQ/RFI requests. Her company subscribes to an RFP service to keep them in the loop and their schools/districts have also been very active in keeping them informed.
   
• What is the timeframe for being a preferred provider? Have I missed out on the money?
  Charles also reminded the committee that the School Improvement Grants are $3.5 billion over the next 3-4 years (depending on how the state's run their programs.) Even if a state's RFP is closed now, it could open again. Moreover, it is unclear if schools and districts are closed to outside sales if their state selects preferred providers. Publishers should remain in close communication with their school and district contacts to get a better understanding of the individual situations.
   
• How else can we access the funding?
  The best point of entry would be a partner organization. Go to them and tell them you want to form a relationship.
   
• How can we see a list of schools identified for improvement?
  This is also a very fluid situation. At the recent Title I conference Charles learned that some states are redrawing their lists. The schools could be included in the SIG applications.

Anyone interested in participating on the AEP Government Relations Committee should contact Stacey Pusey. The AEP California Legislative Event, sponsored by Teacher Created Materials, will take place March 10-11 and will give publishers the opportunity to open a dialogue with key education committee officials about the value of supplemental materials. Read more details and register online.

More Information

"Colorado Department Of Education Announces Initial List Of Approved Educational Service Providers To Assist with School Transformation And Turnaround"
Colorado Department of Education

Race to the Top Fund
U.S. Department of Education

© 2010 The Association of Educational Publishers
300 Martin Luther King Blvd., Ste. 200 • Wilmington, DE 19801
P: 302-295-8350 • F: 302-778-1110 • Email: mail@AEPweb.org
 
Satellite Offices:
Two Bala Plaza, Suite 300 • Bala Cynwyd, PA 19004
C/O Knowledge Alliance • 1 St Matthews Court NW • Washington, DC 20036