Areas of Focus
Our current focus is US Department of Education federal grant programs and multiyear State Department of Education programs. Geographically, we provide grants development assistance in the southeastern US. Key areas of focus are listed below.
- Early Childhood Education
(Access to Early Learning, Parent Resources)
- Reading & Literacy Improvement
(Early Reading First, Reading First, Striving Readers, Improving Literacy Through School Libraries)
- High School Reform, College & Career Readiness
(Smaller Learning Communities, Advanced Placement)
- Teacher and Principal Effectiveness
(Transition to Teaching, Teacher Incentive Fund, Leadership Development, Teaching American History)
- Extended Learning
(Afterschool & Summer Academic Programs, Full Service Community Schools, Mentoring)
- Improving Math & Science Instruction
- Educational Technology
- Charter or Magnet School Development; Innovative School Reform Initiatives Through Nonprofit Partnerships
Examples of Current Work
- Smaller Learning Communities High School Graduation and College Preparation – RA is partnering with a network of 16 school districts in Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina, in which we have developed federal grant proposals, funded at a total of more than $26.2 million.
- Early Reading First (ERF) Literacy Education for Three and Four Year Olds – Since 2002, RA has developed 8 award-winning ERF grant applications. 100% of RA developed pre-applications have been approved to submit a full application. RA has helped organizations secure nearly $31 million in Early Reading First grant funds—winning more than a quarter (26%) of all grant funds awarded in Southeastern states since this grant program began.
- Advanced Placement Incentive – Districts in two South Georgia school districts formed a coalition and partnered with RA to secure a $1.7 million, three year grant to increase access to Advanced Placement (AP) courses and train more educators to teach AP classes. This program will help students pursue more advanced, rigorous coursework and become better prepared for college and the workplace.
- Teaching American History – RA recently partnered with a two-district coalition in South Carolina to develop a three-year, $1 million dollar Teaching American History Grant designed to: (1) Improve teachers’ knowledge, understanding, and appreciation of US history; (2) Improve US history teachers’ instructional practices; and (3) Raise student achievement.
- Parent Engagement and Policy Initiative – Building from a highly successful, comprehensive early childhood learning program, United Way of Metro Atlanta retained the services of RA to develop a proposal to the W.K. Kellogg Foundation that will provide home visitation for parents, strengthen school transition work, and promote parent leadership development.
- School-Based Mentoring to Increase Academic Performance – Working with Big Brothers Big Sisters of Metro Atlanta and five metro Atlanta school systems, RA developed a collaborative proposal to secure a $1.5 million, three-year, federal grant from the US Department of Education.
- 21st Century Community Learning Center Afterschool and Family Literacy – RA convened a coalition of four metro Atlanta school districts and the YMCA of Metropolitan Atlanta to develop a comprehensive proposal that resulted in a $10 million, five-year, grant awarded by the GA Department of Education, to provide high quality afterschool and summer programs.