Program Office: Office of School Support and Rural Programs

CFDA Number: 84.283B
Program Type: Cooperative Agreements

This program awards discretionary grants that support 22 comprehensive centers to help increase State capacity to assist districts and schools in meeting student achievement goals. By statute, the Department is required to establish at least one center in each of the 10 geographic regions served by the Department's regional education laboratories.

Grantees are required to develop five-year plans for carrying out authorized activities that address State and regional needs.

The 15 regional centers provide services primarily to State Education Agencies (SEAs) to enable them to assist school districts and schools, especially low performing schools. At a minimum, each regional center provides training and technical assistance in the implementation and administration of programs authorized under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and the use of research-based information and strategies.

The seven content centers focus on specific areas of expertise. These centers supply research-based information and products in their specific area that regional centers use when working with SEAs.

Regional Centers

Regional Centers provide frontline assistance to States to help them implement the ESEA and other related Federal school improvement programs and help increase the capacity of States to assist their districts and schools. Regional Centers are embedded in their regions and responsible for developing strong relationships and partnerships within their regional communities.

Content Centers

Together, the seven Content Centers cover a spectrum of school improvement and technical assistance areas. Each of them is responsible for providing in-depth knowledge, expertise, and analyses in its focal area to Regional Centers and the States they serve. Content Centers disseminate information about scientifically based research on effective practice and research-based products in their area of specialty and provide expertise that Regional Centers can use in delivering technical assistance to States.

The five content centers are:

• Building State Capacity and Productivity
• College and Career Readiness and Success
• Enhancing Early Learning Outcomes
• Great Teachers and Leaders
• Innovations in Learning
• School Turnaround
• Standards and Assessments Implementation