National Math and Science Initiative Named ‘Highest-Rated Applicant’ for Federal Investing in Innovation (i3) Grant
$15 million grant, contingent on $1.5 million in matching funds, will fund program expansion in Colorado and Indiana
DALLAS – The U.S. Department of Education announced today that the National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI) is a “Highest-Rated Applicant” for the Investing in Innovation (i3) grant program. The $15 million grant, contingent on NMSI raising $1.5 million in matching funds, will allow the organization to expand the highly successful Advanced Placement Training and Incentive Program (APTIP) to additional states.
NMSI plans to use the federal grant to implement AP math, science and English courses in two states – Colorado and Indiana – reaching approximately 30 schools in each state, for a total of roughly 90,000 students. This expansion would increase the national impact of the NMSI program to nearly 600,000 students in 14 states.
“We are committed to raising $1.5 million to match this grant, so we will look to corporate and foundation partners that understand the urgent need to improve math and science education to step forward,” said Dr. Mary Ann Rankin, President and CEO of NMSI. “This grant has created an opportunity for NMSI to expand its highly successful program and effect large-scale change in math and science education in more states.”
The i3 program, which was created as part of the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, was extended by Congress earlier this year as part of the federal fiscal 2011 budget agreement. The program is designed to encourage innovative and promising education strategies that also have a good record of success. The first round of grants in 2010 included $650 million in federal stimulus funding to support education programs.
This year’s $150 million second round of grants drew 587 applicants, who requested a total of $3 billion in funding for projects. Awards in the new round of grants ranged from $3 million for “Development” grants to as much as $25 million for “Scale-Up” awards. The bigger the award, the more evidence of past success was required. Failure to raise required matching funds for the 2011 grants will result in forfeiture of the funds.
“With this expansion into Colorado and Indiana, NMSI can dramatically expand its reach and bring college-level math and science coursework to many more students,” said Gregg Fleisher, National Director of NMSI’s APTIP. “We will help ensure that more students are better prepared for college and for success in today’s intensely competitive, highly technical world.”
About NMSI: The National Math and Science Initiative (NMSI) was launched in 2007 by top leaders in business, education, and science to reverse the troubling decline in American math and science education. NMSI is dedicated to dramatically impacting the U.S. public school system by bringing best practices to education and replicating programs nationally that have documented success in math and science education. These programs include the Advanced Placement Training and Incentive Program to prepare more high school students to succeed in college level courses, as well as the UTeach program to recruit and train more math and science teachers. Inaugural funding for NMSI was provided by the Exxon Mobil Corporation, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation.
About the Advanced Placement Training and Incentive Program: APTIP increases dramatically the performance of high school students in rigorous college-level courses in math, science, and English. The comprehensive APTIP approach increases teacher effectiveness and student achievement through content training, teacher and student support, vertical alignment of teachers, open enrollment, and incentives. Schools participating in APTIP for the last three school years showed a 124 percent increase in the number of qualifying scores earned by students on AP math, science and English exams, which significantly increases their chances of succeeding in college.
For more information, visit http://www.nationalmathandscience.org.
Contact: Rena Pederson, Communications Director, National Math and Science Initiative
(214) 665-2523 or rpederson@nationalmathandscience.org.
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