A r c h i v e d  I n f o r m a t i o n

Achieving the Goals: Goal 4 Teacher Professional Development - August 1996

Finding the Resources - Discretionary Grant Programs

Federal discretionary grant programs are another potential source of both financial and technical support for a school or district's professional development activities. However, unlike formula grant programs that are broad in scope and provide funding to all districts meeting basic eligibility requirements, discretionary grant programs typically are narrowly focused. Federal agencies use their discretion to support only outstanding applicants, and increasingly seek to fund only activities that reflect best practice or are most likely to yield significant results. Thus, the agencies tend to make awards under discretionary grant programs to institutions, schools, or teachers with clear ideas on how they would use additional funds to improve teaching and learning.

Discretionary grant programs generally are much smaller in size than formula grant programs. However, since program funding generally is spread among very few recipients, those that receive awards will have more money at their disposal. For school districts, this means that while winning a discretionary grant competition may be difficult, those who receive awards typically get far more funding than they would under a formula grant program.

The following program descriptions reflect the federal government's principal discretionary grant programs that can support professional development activities. Many are programs that can provide financial support for particular kinds of professional development activities. Others such as the regional technology in education or Eisenhower regional mathematics and science consortia that the Department of Education is supporting, can provide significant technical assistance. Still others can provide materials in very specific curriculum content areas. For the benefit of the wider audience, these program descriptions include programs at all levels of the education spectrum that support professional development, teacher preparation and improved skills and knowledge of individual teachers. Programs that may have particular usefulness at the school or school district level have been designated with an asterisk (*).

Most of these programs are administered directly by the U.S. Department of Education or another federal agency, although a few are administered directly by a state agency. The administrator of the program regularly announces application due dates, project duration, and any special conditions or requirements governing the grant competition and use of funds. More information on each program can be obtained through the contact identified, and general information on federal agency procedures for making discretionary grant awards can be found in the Appendix I.
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