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WVDE announces Innovation Grants

The West Virginia Board of Education voted Wednesday (January 13, 2010) to award $500,000 to 19 schools or consortiums in 16 counties seeking to become the state’s first School Innovation Zones. At least one school in all eight Regional Education Service Agencies was selected for funding.

The School Innovations Zones Act, adopted last year, encourages pilot projects at schools around the state. The law allows for waivers to certain state laws, rules and policies to give teachers and principals greater local control over the curriculum, schedule and staffing in their schools. Schools designated as Innovation Zones essentially become learning laboratories with the flexibility to try innovative teaching strategies.

The board approved funding for the following projects:

  1. Berkeley County: Berkeley Heights Elementary, $9,100
  2. Boone: Nellis Elementary, $43,825
  3. Braxton: Braxton County High School, $17,320
  4. Cabell: Cabell County Elementary Schools Consortium (eight schools), $50,000; Cabell County Secondary Schools Consortium (three schools), $45,000
  5. Jefferson: Page Jackson Elementary, $6,915
  6. Harrison: Lincoln County High School, $6,990
  7. Kanawha: Piedmont Elementary, $27,798; Westside Elementary (consolidated school formed from Chandler and Glenwood elementaries), $33,750
  8. Marshall: Cameron Elementary/High School, $49,000
  9. Mercer: Mercer County Technical School, $30,000
  10. Morgan: Warm Springs Intermediate, $28,255
  11. Nicholas: Cherry River Elementary, $7,625
  12. Ohio: Wheeling Park High School, $11,172
  13. Pleasants: Belmont Elementary, $45,000
  14. Putnam: Hometown Elementary, $10,900; Putnam County High Schools Consortium, (five schools), $24,000
  15. Randolph: Beverly Elementary, $42,500
  16. Webster: Hacker Valley School, $10,850

Applications for funding were evaluated by a committee, which looked at many factors including creativity and innovation; staff commitment; parental and community support; sustainability; and potential for success. WVEA President Dale Lee served on the committee.
 
“All of the applications were really well thought out and merited consideration.  It was difficult to select only 19,” stated Lee.  “The timeline for application was short this year.  Hopefully we will have many more schools apply next year.”

 

To view the applications submitted by the 19 awardees visit: http://wvde.state.wv.us/innovationzones/awardsmap.html

 

To view all the applications considered visit: http://wvde.state.wv.us/innovationzones/espptdocs.html

Innovation Zones Policy Approved by WVBE

The following are the WVDE's answers to Frequently Asked Questions posed by participants attending regional Innovation Zones sessions hosted by the WVDE in October.

1.  What is the purpose of the School Innovation Zones Act?

 

The intent and purpose of the act is to improve educational performance; provide principals and teachers greater flexibility by removing certain policy, rule, interpretive, and statutory constraints; provide a testing ground for innovative education programs at the school level; provide information regarding the effects of those innovations; document educational strategies that enhance student success; and increase the accountability of public schools for student achievement as measured by the state assessment and local assessments.

 

2.  What are the benefits of an Innovation Zone?

 

  • flexibility from policy and/or code
  • an opportunity to receive funds to study and develop new and original ideas
  • support to pilot unique reform ideas on a small scale
  • enhanced teacher leadership and collaboration in and among schools
  • an opportunity to participate in a statewide team of like-minded innovators willing to support each other and take risks on behalf of students

 3.  What ideas could be considered?

 

West Virginia schools are led by teachers and principals with the collective wisdom and imaginative ideas on how to prepare students for their future.  An Innovation Zone provides the opportunities for faculties or teams to refine those ideas with resources and support from the West Virginia Board of Education.  These ideas could include a range of topics from how to restructure time, configure staff, and modify school-wide programs to more specific ideas that may relate to a particular grade or content level.

 

Creativity can be applied to any aspect of the schooling experience as long as it has promise to improve student achievement and well-being.  This could include such things as:

 

  • creating improved processes for teacher leadership
  • improving processes for school-based professional development
  • enhancing the rigor and relevance of curriculum and instruction
  • improving student support systems
  • emphasizing 21st century curriculum components of personal wellness, fiscal literacy, civil literacy and global awareness
  • enhancing 21st century skills
  • improving classroom assessments for learning
  • promoting student responsibility and self-direction
  • and more …

 

4.  Who is eligible to apply?

 

  1. Any West Virginia public school
  2. Any group of West Virginia public schools
  3. Any subdivision of a group of West Virginia public schools (i.e. the 9th grades of several high schools.)
  4. Any department of a group of West Virginia public schools (i.e. the math department of several schools.)
  5. Any subdivision of a West Virginia public school
  6. Any department of a West Virginia public school
  7. A state institution of higher education (IHE) with approval of the county Board of Education in which a school the IHE creates is planned to be located.

 

5.  What are the steps of the application and the plan?

 

Phase 1 (Application)

 

  1. Complete the application for Innovation Zone designation.
  2. Gain approval of 80 percent of faculty (those affected by Innovation Zone proposal).
  3. Submit a record of support from parents, LSIC, business partners, students.
  4. Submit a record of county board report (Support and Concerns) on application.
  5. Applicants may mail their applications to the name/address above, hand deliver, or submit electronically at the Innovation Zone Web site: http://wvde.state.wv.us/innovationzones.

 Completed Grant Application must be received by e-mail, hand delivery, or mail by December 29, 2009

  

Phase 2 (Plan)

 

WVDE technical assistance will be provided in completing the plan, if desired.

  1. Complete the four components of the planning process (Phase 2).
  2. Gain approval of 80 percent of faculty (those affected by Innovation Zone Plan).
  3. Submit a record of county board report (support and concerns) on plan.
  4. Applicants may mail their applications to the name/address, (see page 5-6), hand deliver, or submit electronically at the Innovation Zone Web site: http://wvde.state.wv.us/innovationzones.

  

6.  What is the difference between the plan and the application and how does  

            that relate between the two phases?

 

  • The application is the paper or electronic documents submitted during Phase one.  It contains the applicant's initial plan for becoming an innovation zone, request for waiver of county and state board rules, policies and interpretations, subject to the limitations of 18-5B-4(a)(2)(B), and other information required for the state Board of Education to efficiently review the application, designate the applicant an Innovation Zone and administer the award of grants.  This is due December 29, 2009.

  • Phase two is the fully developed plan.  If waivers are requested, when the plan is approved the waiver to policy or interpretation is granted.  The plan is the applicants' fully developed written description of the innovation that will be implemented after receiving technical assistance from the West Virginia Department of Education.  This is due in June 2010.

  

7.  Need additional information?