Information on Grants for Schools in Florida
Educational Assistance for High Schools and Colleges
Jul 19, 2009
May 31, 2007 the United States Deputy Security of Education announced a $13.6 million Teacher Incentive grant scheduled to be awarded to Florida high schools over the course of the next five years. The Teacher Incentive Fund is one of several educational grants awarded to high schools in the state.
Florida has over 200 public and private high school and more than 50 colleges, universities, medical, law and technical postsecondary institutions. In addition to federal and state government funded grants, private and publicly owned non-government organizations like the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Motorola Foundation and the Verizon Foundation also provide grants for area secondary and postsecondary schools and students.
TAP’s National Institute for Excellence in Teaching
The National Institute for Excellence in Teaching grant is funded by the United States Department of Education. The grant is part of the Teacher Advancement Program (TAP) and is designed for schools in Florida that have large percentages of academically under performing students.
The educational grant is also used to develop a principal compensation program. Professional development for teachers and clear paths to student achievement are funded under the grant. Lake County first piloted a TAP initiative at Gray Middle School in 2005. Since its inception the program has seen the school’s rating improve from an overall "C" to an overall "A". As part of TAP’s 2007 plan, Lake county schools were designated to receive $1,219,957 during the initial year of the National Institute for Excellence in Teaching grant and a total of $20.5 million over five years.
Succeed Nursing Education Grant
The Succeed Florida Nursing Education Grant is administered through the Florida Center for Nursing. The grant provides financial resources that attract and train new nursing students. The purpose of the funding is to meet the shortage of nurses in the state. The Florida Department of Education has oversight for the award which is part of the President’s Community-Based Job Training Grant which is administered through the United States Department of Labor and Training Administration.
The grant goes to eligible nursing schools like Barry University, Florida International University, Pensacola Junior College and the University of Miami that are approved by the Board of Nursing. Goals of the grant are to train and license 765 new nurses for employment in the state, healthcare professionals who will provide valued services to area residents. The grant also strives to provide financial assistance to over 170 new nursing training facility faculty members.
Performance Optimized with Effective Rewards (POWER)
The United States Department of Education funded Performance Optimized with Effective Rewards grant program provides funds and resources to Hillsborough county public schools, the eighth largest school system in the United States with more than 115 schools in the district.
The grant purpose is to encourage teachers and students to raise academic performance levels. The initial year of the grant will give the district’s schools $3,088,827. Total amount of the grant is $15.4 which is to be paid out over the remaining four years.
Dream in Green Grant
Florida’s Dream in Green grant funds inquiry-based learning. The learning must focus on finding ways to improve state, national and international environmental issues like conservation and greenhouse gas emissions. Training, coaching and tracking and testing systems can be paid for with the grant.
Other academic initiatives the grant can be used for include the study to discover ways to reduce carbon footprints at schools and at private residences by using energy measuring devices. Total annual amount of the grant that is administered through the Environmental Protection Agency is $41,200.
Improving Florida’s Education
Florida educational grants like the Teacher Advancement Program’s National Institute for Excellence in Teaching, Succeed Nursing Education Grant and Dream in Green provide financial access to resources that equip teachers, administrators and students with the training and professional development necessary to improve education levels in Florida.
Many of the grants like the Access to Better Learning and Education Grant require that recipients of large grant programs be residents of the state. Other grant programs like the Florida Center for Nursing program are distributed to schools as a whole and allow students with a permanent residence outside the state to benefit from the grant as long as they attend a school in Florida.
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