State Educational Technology Directors Association (SETDA) - Toolkit 2008 - Student Engagement

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Student Engagement: Connection to NCLB

ATTAIN Act to Potentially Replace NCLB Title IID

ATTAIN Background Information

The Achievement Through Technology and Innovation (ATTAIN) Act would revamp and replace the current Title II-D Elementary and Secondary Education Act by building on its successes and focusing resources on those practices known to best leverage technology for educational improvement.

The ATTAIN Act recognizes learning technologies as critical for our schools to both meet the goals of the No Child Left Behind Act to raise student achievement and ensure high quality teaching, and to ensure that our nation’s students are prepared to compete in the 21st century. Research and experience demonstrate that systemic redesign initiatives and professional development centered around technology show great promise in improving teaching and learning. Yet, many schools lack the capacity and training necessary for the 21st century classroom and to meet the needs and expectations of today’s digital native students.

Congress recognized the importance of technology and federal leadership by authorizing Title II-D of ESEA, the Enhancing Education Through Technology Act (EETT), as part of NCLB. The ATTAIN Act would sustain this support for the federal investment in school improvement through technology and innovation.

The Purposes of the ATTAIN Act are:
1. To ensure that through technology every student has access to individualized, rigorous, and relevant learning to meet the goals of NCLB and to prepare all students and America for the 21st Century.
2. To increase on-going, meaningful professional development around technology that leads to changes in teaching and curriculum, and which improves student academic achievement and technology literacy.
3. To evaluate, build upon and increase the use of research-based and innovative systemic school redesign that centers on the use of technology and lead to school improvement and increase student achievement.

ATTAIN ACT Funding:

Authorized at $1 billion in FY2008, and such sums as needed in future years (same as current law)
Federal-to-State Allocation: Title I formula (same as current law)
State-to-LEA Allocation:
- 40% Competitive Grants (current law 50%)
- 60% Formula Grants (Title I) w/$3,000 minimum for all LEAs (current law 50%; no minimum)

Increased Student Engagement through ATTAIN Back to Top ^

The ATTAIN ACT offers teachers and student both formula and competitive grant opportunities to obtain tools and resources to better engage students with technology tools. ATTAIN provides extensive funding for teacher professional development, curriculum based technology tools and program evaluation. Through ATTAIN, states and districts will have the ability to train the teachers to effectively use the technology solutions recommended in this tool to increase student engagement and ultimately student achievement. Listed below are some areas of ATTAIN which apply directly to the teacher and technology's role in increased student engagement.

Formula Grants for Improving Teaching and Learning Through Technology:

Strengthens teacher quality through 40% professional development local set aside (current law 25%).
Emphasizes importance of timely and ongoing training in strategies that involve use of technology as key components of curriculum/instructional redesign to improve achievement.

Competitive Grants for Systemic School Redesign through Technology Integration:

to redesign curriculum, instruction, assessment and data use
for on-going use of student benchmarks and other data to drive individualized instruction
around alignment with goals and plans for improving student achievement and technology literacy
for on-going, sustainable, timely, and contextual professional development