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 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