Education's Stimulus Package: Resources

If you search the words "stimulus package" and "education," you'll find results for more than 14 million Web sites. Of course, most people don't scroll past the first or second page, but even then, you're digging through about 20 possible resources.

The following resources explain how President Barack Obama's American Recovery and Reinvestment Act will affect education. They include:

• documents from federal and local governments;
• government-run Web sites;
• blogs from members of the education community; and
• citizenry Web sites dedicated to helping improve education.

WEB SITE: U.S. Conference of Mayors' Mainstream Economic Recovery

This Web site, which is the official nonpartisan organization of cities with populations of 30,000 or more, lists individual projects that are ready to be completed in cities across the country. Visitors can view a list of school projects according to city and state as described by 779 cities. The Web site lists 1,066 proposed school modernization projects, requiring more than $7 billion and estimated to generate more than 100,000 jobs.

WEB SITE: Stimulus Watch

Similar to the U.S. Conference of Mayors' Web site, this one is created by volunteers who are not affiliated with any group or organization. This Web site also lists the same projects -- but in an interactive format. For each project listed, visitors can vote whether the project is critical or not critical. You can see the overall ratio vote, and if you have more information about the project, you can provide it to the wiki. The Web site states:

President Obama ... has promised to spend stimulus dollars only on critical projects. StimulusWatch.org was built to help the new administration keep its pledge and to hold public officials to account. We do this by allowing you, citizens around the country with local knowledge about the proposed projects in your city, to find, discuss and rate those projects.

WEB SITE: Recovery.org

Calling itself the "centerpiece" of transparency and accountability for the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, this Web site was created to allow taxpayers to track the progress of their money. As of now, there is not specific information listed for any of the key areas, including education; however, the site states:

The money is being distributed by Federal agencies, and soon you'll be able to see where it's going -- to which states, to which congressional districts, even to which Federal contractors. As soon as we are able to, we'll display that information visually in maps, charts, and graphics.

BLOG: Convergemag Twitter

Dedicated to providing strategy and leadership for the bigger conversations surrounding education, following Converge on Twitter will keep you posted with up-to-date news about the stimulus package, with case stories from school districts and higher education institutions as they start receiving money.

BLOG: Eduwonk

Written by Andrew Rotherham, co-founder and co-editor of Education Sector, an independent think tank that challenges conventional thinking in education policy, Rotherham has found himself focusing on what the stimulus money can do to propel education. The blog is updated daily -- often, multiple times a day -- with the latest education news.

PDF: Economic Stimulus Title I Allocations to Local Educational Agencies

The U.S. Department of Education provides tables, organized by state, that show preliminary local educational agency allocations under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Within each state PDF, there is a break-down of how much each school district in that state may receive from the stimulus package.

PDF: Stimulus Allocations to State Departments of Education

This document provides preliminary estimates that will be given to each state for:

• Title I grants;
• educational technology;
• Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) grants;
• vocational rehabilitation grants;
• independent living grants;
• services for older individuals who are blind;
• federal work study; and
• state fiscal stabilization fund

Related stories:

• Stimulus Update: Education Recipients Give Mixed Reviews
• Stimulus Package Update: Education Department Receives $44.6 Billion
• Stimulus Could Give North Carolina Schools $2 Billion