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What is the School Improvement Grant?

“School Improvement Grants…are used to improve student achievement in Title I schools identified for improvement, corrective action, or restructuring so as to enable those schools to make adequate yearly progress (AYP) and exit improvement status.”
(www.ed.gov/programs/sif/index.html)
How much money is available?
FY 2009 School Improvement Grant appropriation: $546 million
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act: $3 billion
Total: $3.546 billion
Who is eligible to apply?
Formula grant to states, which make sub-grants to school districts.
What is the timing of the grant?
Application available: December 3, 2009
Application deadline (for states): February 8, 2010
Awarding and disbursement of School Improvement Grant funds
“FY 2009 school improvement funds are available for obligation by SEAs and LEAs through September 30, 2011. In its application for these funds, an SEA may request a waiver of the period of availability to permit the SEA and its LEAs to obligate the funds through September 30, 2013.” (www.ed.gov/programs/sif/applicant.html, click on “Application” link and go to page i)
Amount of LEA awards
LEA subgrants can range from $50,000 to $2 million.
(www.ed.gov/programs/sif/faqs.doc and www.ed.gov/programs/sif/guidance20100120.doc)
School Improvement Grant Requirements
“The secretary would require states to identify three tiers of schools:
[Recent legislation has allowed SEAs to use School Improvement Funds to serve “newly eligible” schools: certain low-achieving schools that are not Title I schools in improvement, corrective action, or restructuring. For more information, go to: www.ed.gov/programs/sif/guidance20100120.doc, pages 11-12.]
In its application to the state, each school district would be required to demonstrate its commitment to raising student achievement by implementing, in each Tier I and Tier II school, one of the following rigorous interventions:
Districts should choose the strategy that works best for each school. To ensure districts are choosing a variety of strategies, any district with nine or more schools in school improvement will not be allowed to use any single strategy in more than half of its schools.” (http://www.ed.gov/news/pressreleases/2009/08/08262009.html)
How do Fast ForWord® and Reading Assistant™ products fit with the School Improvement Grant?
Improve student achievement
To date, students in almost 6,000 schools have achieved gains in language or reading skills with the Fast ForWord products. Numerous independent studies as well as detailed research and outcomes data consistently confirm the effectiveness of the products. After using the Fast ForWord and Reading Assistant products, students have shown gains in achievement on a variety of standardized tests and state assessments. For example, Fast ForWord participants in Everett Publics Schools in Everett, Massachusetts, made significant gains in reading achievement following Fast ForWord product use during the 2007-2008 school year. Sixty-six percent of the students improved their MCAS Reading score in 2008 with an average improvement of 4.6 points. Scientific Learning has over 200 school based effectiveness and case reports documenting the substantial gains in achievement made by students after using the Fast ForWord and Reading Assistant products.
Help Title I schools identified for improvement, corrective action, or restructuring so as to enable those schools to make adequate yearly progress (AYP) and exit improvement status
With a background of over 30 years of neuroscience research and over 10 years of school site studies of effectiveness, Scientific Learning’s products have been shown to be proven intervention strategies for all schools, including those that are the lowest performing. The Fast ForWord Language and Fast ForWord Literacy series, with their cutting edge, neuroscience designed adaptivity and acoustically modified and enhanced sound, have been used successfully by students in low-performing schools in order to improve their cognitive, oral language, and reading skills. And both software series provide intensive support in a short period of time, from 4-16 weeks, depending on the scientifically validated protocol used.
Four Models of turning around schools:
Categories: Education Funding, Grants, and Stimulus, Fast ForWord®, Reading Assistant™, Scientific Learning® Research
When making a buying decision about educational software for a school or district, one of the most important questions to ask is whether the product is effective. Administrators considering the Fast ForWord® and Reading Assistant™ products want to know: Do they help students learn and succeed? Do they improve school test scores? Are they evidence-based?
The answer to all of these questions is yes. Scientific Learning products have been proven to improve language, reading, and cognitive skills as well as to improve school test scores on state assessments and other standardized tests for schools that follow the prescribed protocols. Our Scientifically Based Research page is your starting point for exploring the 200+ studies that have evaluated the effectiveness of the programs and that serve as evidence of improved learning outcomes.
On average, students see a 1-2 year improvement in reading level on school test scores in as little as 8-12 weeks. English language learners, struggling readers, and special education students have all been positively impacted. So have students performing at grade level and above.
Here are just a few examples:
Dallas Independent School District, TX (View PDF)
St. Mary Parish Public School System, LA (View PDF)
Bridges Academy, Winter Springs, FL (View PDF)
The benefits of Scientific Learning products go beyond improving state assessment scores. Researchers have measured improvements in self-esteem, communication skills such as vocabulary and pronunciation, improvements in listening and understanding, and stronger memory for things like phone numbers and event sequences. Review our scientifically based research for detailed information.
Categories: English Language Learners, Fast ForWord®, Reading & Learning, Reading Assistant™, Scientific Learning® Research, Special Education
Are you applying for Investing in Innovation (i3) funds and in need of some last minute help? I've received many questions about the difference between "demonstrated success" and "evidence of effect", so I've explained the difference in this short video.
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Categories: Education Funding, Grants, and Stimulus, Fast ForWord®, Reading Assistant™
It’s almost here! I’m happy to announce Scientific Learning’s Spring Webinar Series 2010 featuring five must-hear presentations by experienced, committed educators.
Register for one or all five of the webinars and stimulate your own brain while you absorb ideas and techniques that you can use with your own students.
1) Building Brain Fitness for Struggling Students to Succeed
Presenter: Dr. Deborah Kolonay, Superintendent at Penn Trafford SD
Date & Time: Wednesday, May 12 at 10:00am Pacific
2) Teaching Fluency: The Neglected Goal of the Reading Program
Presenter: Timothy Rasinski, Ph.D.
Date & Time: Wednesday, May 19 at 11:00am Pacific
3) Moving Students to Proficiency
Presenters: Dr. Mark Keen & Cindy Keever at Westfield Washington SD
Date & Time: Wednesday, May, 25 at 10:30am Pacific
4) Autism: Support and Interventions
Presenter: Ann Osterling
Date & Time: Thursday, May 27 at 10:00am Pacific
5) Autism: What is the Latest Research?
Presenter: Ann Osterling
Date & Time: Tuesday, June 15 at 10:00am Pacific
For a fuller description of each session, please visit our webinars page. And be sure to follow @scilearn on Twitter for updates as the webinar dates approach!
Categories: Brain Fitness, Brain Research, Education Trends, Fast ForWord®, Reading & Learning, Reading Assistant™, Special Education
Updated June 1, 2010
Language learning begins at birth and continues throughout early childhood. A child’s brain needs plenty of early language exposure to map the phonemes—or speech sounds—of her native language.
Without a good language background, a child is likely to struggle with reading. Children who are reading below grade level in the first grade are at risk for remaining below grade level in reading ability throughout their school years, and being poor readers as adults.
Early reading intervention gets better results than remediation provided later in life. Listen to our pre-recorded child reading development webinar with Cory Armes and Dr. Joseph Noble and find out how struggling students in an Iowa school district boosted their language skills from the 36th to the 59th percentile.
The latter half of the child reading development webinar addresses various funding sources—including Stimulus Package opportunities—that districts can apply for to bring similar results to their learners.
Categories: Brain Fitness, Education Funding, Grants, and Stimulus, Fast ForWord®, Reading Assistant™
More than 60 people from Utah's state legislature, school districts, and education organizations congregated in Salt Lake City recently to learn about literacy, neuroscience in education, and brain fitness at the March Brain Fitness Summit presented by Scientific Learning.
Dr. Martha Burns gave a presentation about brain plasticity and how boosting the brain's processing efficiency accelerates quality learning. Guest speakers gave insightful and often emotional presentations about their experiences and how they funded and implemented Fast ForWord® and Reading Assistant™ software.
If you are a Superintendent, District/School Administrator, or Legislator and are interested in attending a Brain Fitness Summit, or if you wish to be placed on the mailing list to receive further information, email our Events team at brainevents@scilearn.com.
Categories: Brain Fitness, Education Funding, Grants, and Stimulus, Education Trends, Fast ForWord®, Reading & Learning, Reading Assistant™

What is the Investing in Innovation Fund (i3)?
The Investing in Innovation Fund, known as i3, is a grant program developed by the US Department of Education as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act with $650,000,000 in funding. The purpose of the i3 program is to:
Refer to the i3 RFP (Request For Proposal), also called the Application Packet, for more details on the i3 program and the application process.
The RFP, Frequently Asked Questions, a summary of the program and additional information can be found at: www2.ed.gov/programs/innovation
What is the timeline?
i3 has several key dates to note:
You are strongly encouraged to submit an intent to apply if you believe you meet the eligibility requirements and plan to submit a proposal for i3. This information will allow the Department of Education to create a more effective and efficient review process, and will allow for more adequate time for securing matching funds on the part of those projects identified for funding.
Who is eligible to receive i3 funds?
To apply for i3 funds, you must be one of the following:
LEAs include public schools and public school districts. Private schools, colleges and universities are not LEAs, but may be included in i3 projects as partners.
Non-profit organizations can include colleges and universities, afterschool program providers, and others. (See the i3 glossary and RFP.)
Additional Eligibility Requirements
To be eligible for i3 funding, projects must:
Checklists for eligibility and definitions of the above can be found on the i3 website.
What will be funded under i3?
i3 is looking to fund projects based on several priorities within three types of projects, as described in detail in the RFP. At least one absolute priority must be met by each proposed project. It is anticipated that most projects involving Scientific Learning products and services will be Validation-type projects.
Types of Projects (Proposals must identify one of the following types):
Points = the basis for evaluating each proposal. Think of a rubric in a classroom – points are given for each criteria met. Those with the highest points will receive funding.
Absolute Priorities (At least one required):
Competitive Preference Priorities (Extra points awarded for each):
Examples of possible i3 projects from Scientific Learning:
Learn more:
Find out how Scientific Learning products fit with the i3 Fund.
See our Investing in Innovation (i3) Overview Booklet (PDF) for detailed information on eligibility requirements, preparing your i3 application, and getting help with your i3 application.
Categories: Education Funding, Grants, and Stimulus, Fast ForWord®, Reading Assistant™

Are you a Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent, Director, or District-level Administrator attending the 2010 ASCD conference in San Antonio?
Visit us March 6 - 8 at Booth #213 to learn about our research-validated Fast ForWord® and Reading Assistant™ reading interventions. Schools around the United States have increased state assessment scores after implementing Scientific Learning products.
And when you stop by, don't forget to pick up one of our ever-popular "squishy brains"—a reminder of the importance of brain fitness in learning, and a great conversation piece.
Categories: Brain Fitness, Fast ForWord®, Reading & Learning, Reading Assistant™
Photo courtesy PDPhoto.orgAre you a private provider of Scientific Learning products in the U.S. or Canada? Then mark your calendars for our upcoming Visionary Conference in San Diego Thursday - Saturday, March 18 - 20, 2010. Speakers include Dr. Mike Merzenich, Dr. Paula Tallal, Dr. Bill Jenkins, Dr. Steve Miller, and Dr. Martha Burns. Be sure to let us know if you'd like to participate!
Categories: Brain Research, Fast ForWord®, Progress Tracker, Reading & Learning, Reading Assistant™, Scientific Learning® Research
Over the last three years, Liberty Public Schools has steadily improved MAP scores and Franklin Elementary has achieved even greater gains. From 2008 to 2009, the percentage of Franklin Elementary students scoring at the proficient level or above on the MAP jumped from 65 percent to 82 percent in communication arts, and from 69 percent to 80 percent in mathematics. According to Dr. Barbara Wippich, curriculum and instruction intervention coordinator for the LPS, Fast ForWord® and Reading Assistant™ software have played a big role in the district's success. Click here to view case study
Categories: Fast ForWord®, Reading & Learning, Reading Assistant™