Who Shouldn't Bother Applying for i3?
Those who don't know what the terms "internal validity" and "external validity" mean.
That's the message that came through loud and clear at Friday's technical assistance planning seminar in Baltimore, which the U.S. Department of Education put on to help folks navigate the Investing in Innovation, or i3, grant application process.
This $650 million grant program is open to school districts, and nonprofits that partner with a school district or a consortium of public schools. Applications are due May 11, with awards announced in September. And if attendance at Friday's seminar was any indication, the department is going to need a ton of peer reviewers to handle all of the applications. More than 400 people attended, with 1,000 online, and a crowd of wait-listed people gathered outside the hotel ballroom just in case there were no-shows. My sense was the audience was
Houses Passes Loans Bill, Minus Early Ed.
Obviously, this is the biggest news out of Congress this weekend. But, as we've mentioned before, a major change to the student lending program is hitching a ride with the health care overhaul.
The most important details for K-12 folks are that a) the bill shores up and provides an increase for Pell Grants, which expand access to college for low-income students, and b) in shoring up the Pell program, this bill may indirectly help appropriations for other key K-12 programs, including new Obama priorities.
The bill's supporters told me that if it didn't pass, they would have to find the