K-12 and colleges and Oregon have until March 10th to apply for a shared grant to work on expanding college credit at the high school level. In Eastern Oregon, Eastern Oregon University, Blue Mountain Community College and area high schools have been working together to increase access to college credit for high school students by creating Professional Learning communities consisting of high school and college instructors, and led by a university instructor who gets release time.

Since that program is seen as successful, the State of Oregon wishes to replicate it in Central, Western and/or Southern Oregon.I am involved in the version we are working on in Central Oregon. Onebig dilemma for all areas is high school instructor qualification, and the grant is meant, in part, to address that gap. Below is the RFP:

We are pleased to announce the next grant connected to Oregon’s Strategic Initiatives. As part of House Bill 3232 – Strategic Initiatives for Student Success, there are several grants aimed at addressing the needs of underserved students in our schools and communities as we work toward our 40-40-20 goal. Key to this work is investment around replicating the Eastern Oregon Eastern Promise program by funding two to three Consortiums serving a combined total of at least 10,000 students. Each Consortium must include at least one public or private Oregon University, at least one Oregon community college, at least three school districts and at least one education service district. The goal of this grant funding is to increase the number of students prepared to attend college after graduating high school.

To access the RFP for the Eastern Promise Replication Program Grant, go to: http://www.ode.state.or.us/superintendent/priorities/easternpromiserfp-final.rtf. The RFPs submission deadline is noon March 10, 2014.