Program Office: Academic Improvement and Teacher Quality Programs
CFDA Number: 84.938K
Program Type: Formula Grants

The purpose of the program is to provide funding to Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama to help recruit, retain, and compensate educators who commit to work for at least three years in an area in which a major disaster area was declared as a result of Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita. Consistent with the legislation, the U.S. Department of Education will base allocations on the number of public elementary and secondary schools in each state that were closed for 19 days or more during the period beginning on Aug. 29, 2005 and ending on Dec. 31, 2005, due to Hurricane Katrina or Hurricane Rita.

An SEA must use its allocation to award subgrants to eligible local educational agencies (LEAs) to support the recruitment, retention, and compensation of new and current educators. The SEA may also use the funds to award subgrants to: 1) build the capacity, knowledge, and skill of teachers and school-based school principals, assistant principals, principal resident directors, assistant directors, and other educators in such public elementary and secondary schools to provide an effective education, including the design, adaptation, and implementation of high-quality formative assessments; 2) establish partnerships with nonprofit entities with a demonstrated track record in recruiting and retaining outstanding teachers and other school-based school principals, assistant principals, principal resident directors, and assistant directors; and 3) pay release time for teachers and principals to identify and replicate successful practices from the fastest-improving and highest-performing schools.