District Improvement Grant Program
District Improvement Grants are made available from reallocated Title IA funds to eligible districts identified for Title I improvement or corrective action. Each district that is awarded a district improvement grant receives up to $200,000 of reallocated school improvement funds over a two-year period. The District Improvement Grant program is structured upon a continuous improvement cycle similar to the School Improvement Grant program. The district improvement grant of up to $200,000 (depending on the district’s size and improvement needs) provides funds for a Comprehensive Appraisal for District Improvement (CADI) review (a comprehensive needs assessment), facilitated improvement plan development, and additional activities related to the CADI report findings. The lowest performing districts receive additional funds to support the implementation of the district improvement plan strategies and evaluation of the impact at the completion of the grant cycle.
These funds must be spent according to the following criteria:
- Expenditures that build the district’s capacity for leadership and system improvement;
- Expenditures that are tied to the findings in the CADI report;
- Expenditures that supplement district funding and do not supplant; and
- Implementation of the district improvement plan strategies related to the grant has the full commitment of the district staff and community.
2011 District Improvement Grant RFP:
Targeted District Improvement Partnership Program
The Colorado Department of Education has designed the Targeted District Improvement Partnership program as part of the Statewide System of Accountability and Support. The CDE has prioritized partnering with eligible struggling districts in a strategic improvement planning, implementation, and progress monitoring process to significantly increase student achievement.
Each district and CDE are working together to analyze the district needs through an in-depth needs assessment, conduct a root cause analysis of each priority need, and develop a Unified District Improvement Plan to address those needs. Once the plan is complete, the district may or may not choose to commit to a three year partnership with CDE to implement the plan.
The following districts have been invited to participate in the Targeted District Partnership program and are currently engaging in the planning process: Aguilar RE-6, Alamosa RE-11J, East Otero R-1, Englewood, Fort Morgan RE-3, Huerfano RE-1, Ignacio 11JT, Karval RE-23, Montezuma-Cortez RE-1, Rocky Ford R-2, and Westminster 50. The final list of districts that will participate in the partnership will be released in June.
Note to Providers:
The districts will be making a selection of service providers upon completion of their Unified District Improvement Plans. Since the Unified District Improvement Plan will be completed by early June, the district has not yet determined its targeted needs. The CDE team along with the district leadership team will work together to research and select appropriate providers. As such, we ask you to refrain from contacting the districts until the official list of partnering districts has been released.