Beyond the Department of Education, the federal government offers a cornucopia of opportunities for school improvement providers:
• Two independent school systems
• Competitive grant programs open to schools that could be vehicles for sales no less than their ED counterparts
• K-12 and youth-oriented program evaluations
• Direct grants to support providers’ own basic research and program development and capacity building activities
• International education and youth development in developing countries
Again, hot-linked examples instead of a long essay.From K-12Leads and Youth Service Markets Report
Basic Research - National Institutes of Health
• Mathematical Cognition and Specific Learning Disabilities (R01) Due October 29 (Jul 23)
Applied Research - Department of Defense
• Bootstrapped Learning (develop an “electronic student” that can be taught complex concepts incrementally over a very wide range of problem domains) Due November 29 (Nov 14)
Product Development – National Science Foundation
• Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer Programs Phase I Solicitation FY-2008 Due December 4 (Sep 4)
Program Evaluation – Department of Labor
• Workforce Investment Act Random Assignment Evaluation (of Adult, Dislocated Worker, and Youth formula programs) Due October 5 (Sep 20)
Curriculum – Department of Defense Education Agency
• 7-12 English Language Arts (ELA) Due October 9 (Aug 31)
Vocational Education - Agriculture
• Secondary and Two-Year Postsecondary Agriculture Education Challenge Grants Program Due January 11 (Sep 25)
School Management – National Aeronautics and Space Administration
• NASA Explorer Schools Support Services (manage project operations nationwide) Due December 20 (Sep 5)