In response to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), which was signed into law on February 17, 2009, by President Barack Obama, the Great Lakes East Comprehensive Center and the Great Lakes West Comprehensive Center—both administered by Learning Point Associates—have been working to find ways to provide information, tools, and resources to help educators and policymakers in the Great Lakes region track ARRA developments and establish a regional network of information sharing. Great Lakes East and Great Lakes West began by reaching out to state education agency (SEA) staff and launched a series of monthly Web conferences, each looking at a different aspect of ARRA.

May 28, 2009: On Communication Strategies

Hosted on May 28, 2009, the first Web conference, titled “Communication Strategies for State Education Agencies,” featured two guests who helped provide a look at communications from the state perspective and the district perspective.

Jann Jencka, educational advisor with the Michigan Economic Recovery Office, shared information from a state perspective. She discussed the creation of the Michigan Economic Recovery Office, described its specific purposes, and shared examples of specific methods it is finding effective to communicate ARRA information to the field. Mary Kusler, assistant director for advocacy and policy at the American Association of School Administrators, spoke from a district perspective. She shared information about needs and concerns from the field related to the communication of ARRA information.

The Web conference also gave the participants the chance to highlight and discuss a number of effective communication strategies in the Great Lakes region and provided some specific examples from the Colorado and the Oregon departments of education.

• ARRA Communication Strategies for State Education Agencies Summary ( Adobe^® Reader^® PDF 56 KB)
  
  
• ARRA Communication Strategies for State Education Agencies Powerpoint ( Adobe Reader PDF 272 KB)

June 16, 2009: On Waiver Strategies

Based on the feedback from the May Web conference, the second Web conference, held on June 16, 2009, and titled “Waiver Strategies for State Education Agencies,” was designed to assist SEAs in increasing their general knowledge about ARRA and waivers. The event provided specific examples of state approaches to waivers, responded to specific SEA questions and concerns regarding waivers, and continued to foster conversations across the states through an informal network.

Discussing ARRA waivers were three featured guests. Andrew Brownstein, editor of the Title I Monitor at Thompson Publishing, provided an overview of the current administration’s view onwaivers as well as his personal thoughts on what is likely to be offered in the near future. Participants then heard from Trish Boland, Ph.D., Title I coordinator of the Office of Federal Program Administration, and Cheryl Miller, Ed-Flex coordinator, both from the Colorado Department of Education. These two speakers provided insights on Colorado being an Ed-Flex state, the additional flexibility that the program allows, and how the objectives of Ed-Flex could be applied to ARRA waivers

July 10, 2009: On Guidance from the Office of Management and Budget

The third Web conference, “How Much Does OMB’s Guidance Really Tell Us?” occurred on July 10, 2009. Trish Brennan-Gac, counsel and senior policy advisor at Learning Point Associates, began the conversation by reviewing the latest information about the recently released timeline for ARRA reporting guidance. She also provided some additional information about the Office of Management and Budget (OMB)-sponsored webinars in late July on the implementation of the reporting guidance.

Also featured at the event was Cynthia Brown, deputy director of the Risk Management Service of the Office of the Secretary at the U.S. Department of Education. She provided participants with the latest information from the Education Department and its future plans to release program-specific guidance and other tools to support SEAs in their ARRA reporting duties. Participants also had the chance to voice their questions and concerns about the reporting requirements and the impact that these requirements may have on SEAs.

• American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA): How much does OMB’s guidance really tell us? Summary ( Adobe Reader PDF 78 KB)
  
  
• American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA): How much does OMB’s guidance really tell us? Powerpoint ( Adobe Reader PDF 1 MB)
  
  
• Timetable for Distribution of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) Funds ( Adobe Reader PDF 49 KB)

August 5, 2009—On New ARRA Programs

On August 4, 2009, the U.S. Department of Education hosted an invitation-only Education Stakeholders Forum. Great Lakes East and Great Lakes West representative Trish Brennan-Gac, counsel and senior policy advisor at Learning Point Associates, had the opportunity to attend the event and personally speak to Education Department representatives about the questions and concerns raised by SEAs in the Great Lakes region regarding the recently released Race to the Top and other ARRA program draft materials. Questions were submitted by SEA staff prior to the meeting. Great Lakes East and Great Lakes West hosted a Web conference on August 5, 2009, the day after the Education Stakeholders Forum, to share the information and insights that were provided by the Education Department in response to the state questions and concerns. Brennan-Gac facilitated the Web conference, titled “Race to the Top, Investing in Innovation Fund, and State Fiscal Stabilization Fund Phase II.” During the call, participants had opportunities to ask clarifying questions, submit additional concerns and queries for Great Lakes East and Great Lakes West to bring back to the Education Department, and access new materials, resources, and information that are available to help them develop and craft official comments on the draft materials.