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THE STATE OF GEORGIA

EXECUTIVE ORDER

BY THE GOVERNOR:

WHEREAS:

WHEREAS:

WHEREAS:

WHEREAS:

WHEREAS:

WHEREAS:

In August 2010, Georgia was awarded $400 million to implement our Race to
the Top reform plan designed to equip all Georgia students, through effective
teachers and leaders and through creating the right conditions in Georgia’s
schools and classrooms, with the knowledge and skills to empower them to:
graduate from high school; be successful in college and/ or professional
careers; and to be competitive with their peers throughout the United States
and the world; and

$19.4 million of Georgia’s Race to the Top award was set aside to create the
Georgia Race to the Top Innovation Fund, a competitive grant program to
promote partnerships between local education authorities or charter schools,
institutions of higher education, businesses, and nonprofit organizations that
develop or implement innovative and high-impact programs aimed at
producing positive outcomes for students; and

The Innovation Fund will provide competitive grants for proposals that
creatively leverage applicants’ resources to raise student achievement through
the development and delivery of applied learning opportunities and
experiences directly tied to a subject matter, especially in the fields of Science,
Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM); and

The Innovation Fund will also award grants to support teacher effectiveness
through innovative induction programs to bridge the gap between pre-service
and career teaching, focusing on providing structured and intensive support
to new teachers and leaders; and

The Innovation Fund will provide grants to groups aimed at increasing the
pipeline of effective educators by developing local capacity in rural regions to
increase the workforce, especially in high-need subject areas; and

The Innovation Fund will promote the development and expansion of charter
schools that are focused on STEM education to direct students toward in-
demand, high-tech careers and improve the level of science instruction
throughout the state; and