Newsgroups: bit.listserv.erl-l
Date:         Sun, 26 Jul 1992 10:36:00 CDT
From:         P30JWP1@NIU.BITNET
Subject:      OERI: FIRST Status Report (112 lines)

The following is provided by the Office of Educational Research
and Improvement, U.S. Department of Education.  Please feel
welcome to distribute.

         OFFICE OF EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH AND IMPROVEMENT

                         PROGRAM REPORTS

  FUND FOR THE IMPROVEMENT AND REFORM OF SCHOOLS AND TEACHING
The mission of the Fund for the Improvement and Reform of Schools
and Teaching (FIRST) Office is to identify, support, and
disseminate information about projects which demonstrate proven
innovative educational approaches to improve the education of
children at the preschool, elementary, and secondary levels.  In
fiscal year 1991 (FY 91), the Office funded 77 new projects and
193 continuation grants.  The FIRST Office administers four major
discretionary grant programs:

THE FUND FOR THE IMPROVEMENT AND REFORM OF SCHOOLSIO/
PROGRAM The Fund for the Improvement and Reform of Schools and
Teaching (FIRST) Program, authorized under the Augustus F.
Hawkins-Robert T. Stafford Elementary and Secondary School
Improvement Amendments of 1988, is intended to promote needed
improvement in schools.  The authorizing legislation directs
FIRST to encourage educational opportunities that will benefit
elementary and secondary school teachers and students, especially
educationally disadvantaged or at-risk children, and to increase
the involvement of families in the improvement of the educational
<{achievement of their children.

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continuing projects.  Four competitions are being held for new
grants under FIRST.  Under the Schools and Teachers Program there
are competitions for Schools and Teachers Projects and
School-Level Projects.  The closing date for these two
competitions was March 6, 1992.  A third competition under the
Schools and Teachers Program focuses on the need for linkages and
cooperation across the elementary, secondary, and postsecondary
education levels.  The closing date for this competition is March
18, 1992.  The fourth competition is for new projects under the
Family-School Partnership Program.  The closing date for this
competition was March 6, 1992.  An additional competition that
addresses issues similar to those described in the FIRST
competition focusing on the need for linkages and cooperation
across the elementary, secondary, and postsecondary education
levels is being conducted by the Fund for the Improvement of
Postsecondary Education (FIPSE).  (Contact:  Bryan Gray,
219-1496)

THE SECRETARY'S FUND FOR INNOVATION IN EDUCATION
The Secretary's Fund for Innovation in Education (FIE)
complements the President's and the Secretary's efforts to spur
school-based reforms and innovations in education.   FIE supports
a wide range of activities including assessments, experiments,
demonstrations, dissemination, and replication of promising
educational reforms.  In FY 92, the FIE appropriation is
$24,000,000 ($1,975,000 of this amount is administered by the
Office of Elementary and Secondary Education for an Alcohol and
Drug Abuse Education Program) for new and continuing grants and
for Secretarial Initiatives.

In FY 92, $6,000,000 has been set aside by Congress to fund a
high-technology demonstration grant.  Decisions on the remaining
discretionary funds will be announced in early spring 1992.
(Contact Shirley Steele, 219-1496)

The Comprehensive School Health Education Program has set aside
$2.6 million for new awards.  The competition focuses on
activities related to improving health education for elementary
and secondary students.   The closing date for applications was
February 14, 1992.  (Contact:  Shirley Jackson, 219-1556)

THE DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER NATIONAL PROGRAM FOR MATHEMATICS AND
SCIENCE EDUCATION Authorized by the Dwight D. Eisenhower
Mathematics and Science Education Act of the Augustus F.
Hawkins-Robert T. Stafford Elementary and Secondary School
Improvement Amendments of 1988, this program is designed to
improve the quality of teaching and instruction in mathematics
and science, and to increase the access of all students to that
instruction.  The national program supports innovative projects
of national significance directed at certain urgent priorities in
mathematics and science education in elementary and secondary
schools.

In FY 92, $16,000,000 is available for new and continuing grants.
Congress has set aside $3.5 million of this appropriation to
establish a National Clearinghouse on Mathematics and Science
Education.  A "Request for Proposals" will be issued in early
spring 1992 with a tentative closing date for proposals in
June.

Decisions on the remaining discretionary funds will be announced
in early spring 1992.  (Contact:  Allen Schmieder, 219-1496)

THE DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER REGIONAL SCIENCE AND MATHEMATICS
EDUCATION CONSORTIUMS Authorized by Public Law 101-589, the
"Excellence in Mathematics, Science, and Engineering Education
Act of 1990" is designed to establish and operate regional
mathematics and science education consortia for the purpose of

instructional materials and for providing technical assistance
for the implementation of teaching methods and assessment tools
for use by elementary and secondary school students, teachers,
and administrators.

In FY 92, $12,000,000 is available to fund a minimum of 10 new
awards.  No closing date has been established for this
competition at this time.  (Contact:  Allen
Schmieder, 219-1496)
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