The N.C. Education and Workforce Innovation Commission invites interested districts and schools to apply for grant support through the Education and Workforce Innovation Fund. The grant program is aimed at developing innovative programs that will lead to more students graduating career and college ready.
This competitive grant is to be used by schools and districts to leverage a partnership with a public or private university or community college and regional businesses and business leaders to foster innovation in education that combines academic rigor and skills development. Grants of up to $60,000 will be awarded for each of the years 2019-20 and 2020-21 or a total maximum of $120,000 for the two-year grant cycle. Successful applicants must prove the ability to provide a 50% match of grant funding for both school years. Matching funds shall not include other state funds, but may include in-kind contributions.
Awarded plans will include accelerated strategies in five core areas:
- Align public schools with business and industry and colleges/universities.
- Provide greater choice for parents/guardians among high-quality education options.
- Enhance teacher and principal effectiveness.
- Ensure all students possess job-ready skills.
- Leverage technology to drive both student and teacher learning.
Applications are due Feb. 28. Applicants may be individual schools, local school administrative units, or regional partnerships of two or more local school administrative units.
Any grants awarded by the Commission may be spent during a five-year period from the initial award. Grants may be awarded for new or existing projects. No later than Sept. 1 of each year, a grant recipient must submit to the Commission an annual report for the preceding grant year that describes the academic progress made by the students and the implementation of program initiatives.
An advisory committee will use the attached scoring rubric in its evaluation of applications for recommendation to the Education and Workforce Innovation Commission.
The application can be found here: https://forms.gle/bG63dA62C9dwa5tS6
Legislation on the grant can be found here: https://www.ncleg.net/EnactedLegislation/Statutes/HTML/ByArticle/Chapter_115C/Article_6C.html
For questions or additional information, please contact Jacqueline Wyatt, Career Readiness Specialist, Career and Technical and Education, NCDPI, at jacqueline.wyatt@dpi.nc.gov