Head Of School Note***** On the morning our state learns that we did NOT win round two of the Obama administration's Race to the Top education funding process, I wanted to post this release from CDE regarding Colorado being awarded a three-year, $40.8 Million Federal Grant To Expand Charters And Public School Options! Although CO. struck out at the federal level with Race to the Top, CO Charters continue to be well provided for at the federal level. We are not sure how much or when Durango will see this money. But, we know that more support is coming our way!
Colorado Department of Education – Communications Office
201 East Colfax Ave.
Room 207
Denver, CO 80203
Phone: 303-866-3898
Fax: 303-866-6938
Aug. 18, 2010
News Release
Colorado Awarded Three-Year, $40.8 Million Federal Grant To Expand Charters And Public School Options
Denise Mund, director of the Schools of Choice Office at the Colorado Department of Education announced today that Colorado will receive a $40.8 million charter school grant to increase public school options in Colorado. The state will be awarded $13.6 million each year for three years.
The U.S. Department of Education announced Monday the award of 12 charter school grants, totaling $136 million per year to state education agencies in Arkansas ($3.4 million), California ($51.8 million), Colorado, the District of Columbia ($1.3 million), Georgia ($13.1 million), Indiana ($10.9 million), Michigan ($16.7 million), Missouri ($2.2 million), New Hampshire ($1.3 million), Rhode Island ($2.4 million), South Carolina ($5.7 million) and Texas ($13.8 million).
The purpose of the Charter Schools Program is to increase financial support for the startup and expansion of these public schools, to build greater national understanding of the public charter school model and to increase the number of high-quality charter schools across the nation.
“Ninety-five percent of these funds will go directly to new charter schools in their first three years of operation,” said Mund. “The grant will fund curriculum, professional development, administrative costs, desks and classroom supplies, office equipment, furniture and technology.”
The remaining 5 percent of the grant funds the Schools of Choice Office and provides development opportunities for charter school leaders. Numerous trainings are offered throughout the year, including a finance seminar, business manager network meetings, mentoring opportunities, online board training modules and a variety of other online resources.
CDE’s Schools of Choice Office is recognized for its support of developing charter schools and received a very good monitoring report from the federal government in 2009. Last year Mund provided technical assistance to 14 states and was a featured presenter at a national conference and webinar. Colorado, which has seen an overall increase in charter school funding since 1998, received $7.4 million in grant funding last year.
Through the Colorado Charter School Startup and Implementation grant, CDE’s Schools of Choice provides technical assistance to charter schools and authorizers, processes waiver requests for the Colorado State Board of Education, collects data on charter schools, produces special topical studies, performs the state evaluation of charter schools, and responds to questions from the general public. For more information, visit www.cde.state.co.us/cdechart/index.htm
More information about the Charter Schools Program is available from the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Innovation and Improvement at www.ed.gov/programs/charter/index.html
For more information, contact Mark Stevens, 303-866-3898, or Megan McDermott, 303-866-2334, in the CDE Office of Communications. To sign up for the CDE e-mail news service, please visit http://www.cde.state.co.us/Communications/index.html.
Follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/codepted