NOTICES
DEPARTMENT
OF EDUCATION
Availability of the 21st Century Community Learning Centers 2015-2018 Request for Applications and 21st Century Community Learning Centers Cohort 8 Grant Paper Application and Instructions
[45 Pa.B. 3552]
[Saturday, July 4, 2015]The Department of Education (Department) announces the availability of the 21st Century Community Learning Centers (21st CCLC) 2015-2018 Request for Applications (RFA) and the 21st CCLC Cohort 8 Grant Paper Application and Instructions for 2015-2018. The Cohort 8 application for the 21st CCLC grant will be created, submitted, collected and competed by means of a paper application process.
The purpose of the program is to establish or expand community learning centers that provide students who attend high-poverty and low-performing schools with academic enrichment opportunities by expanding learning opportunities during nonschool hours along with activities designed to complement the students' regular academic program. Community learning centers must also offer families of these students literacy and related educational development. Centers, which can be located in elementary or secondary schools or other similarly accessible facilities, provide a range of high-quality services to support student learning and development, including tutoring and mentoring, homework help, academic enrichment (such as hands-on science or technology programs) and community service opportunities, as well as music, arts, sports and cultural activities. At the same time, centers help working parents by providing a safe environment for students during nonschool hours or periods when school is not in session.
Application Process
The 21st CCLC Grant RFA and Guidance for Fiscal Years (FY) 2015-2018, the 21st CCLC Cohort 8 Grant Paper Application and Instructions for 2015-2018 and all attachments for new grants will be available online beginning July 1, 2015, on the Department's 21st CCLC web site at www.education.pa.gov (Keywords: 21st CCLC).
Applicants are required to complete each section of the 21st CCLC paper application explained in the 21st CCLC Cohort 8 Grant Paper Application and Instructions for 2015-2018 document and submit the completed application to Maribel Martinez at the Department's Division of Student Services at the address listed as follows by 12 p.m. on Wednesday, August 5, 2015. All sections must be completed to submit the application. No sections of the paper application are optional. Faxed and e-mailed copies will not be accepted. Originals, paper copies and attachments received after the deadline will not be reviewed. Failure to submit the required copies of the signatory documents by the deadline will result in the disqualification of the grant application and denial to proceed to the peer review.
Prior to Grant Award
All potential applicants must complete the following steps:
1. Notify the Department by means of e-mail of the applicant's intent to submit an application. Include the legal name of entity and either the AUN (school districts/charter schools/intermediate units) or EIN (all other organizations) and vendor number for the lead organization. Specify in the letter of intent to apply the target population to be served including grade levels, proposed site locations, district and school names, community based organization partners, and the like. E-mail the letter of intent to sdannunzio@pa.gov by 4 p.m. on Monday, July 13, 2015. Note this is due prior to the paper application submission deadline. No extensions will be granted.
2. If the agency is not a school district, charter school or intermediate unit, the agency will need to register for a vendor number. Nonprocurement entities can apply for a brand new vendor number at www.vendorregistration.state.pa.us. Applicants must have a vendor number to do business with the Commonwealth and so that the applicants can be paid by the Commonwealth if their application is selected for funding. Once applicants have a vendor number, applicants will provide the vendor number on the Title Page form and grant agreement document.
3. Consult with eligible nonpublic entities located within the attendance area of local education agencies (LEA) regarding participation in the proposed 21st CCLC program. Complete the Certification of Nonpublic Involvement Form located in Appendix A of the 21st CCLC Grant RFA and Guidance for FY 2015-2018. (Charter school applicants need not complete.)
4. Register for and attend one preproposal workshop. One preproposal workshop will be simultaneously broadcast from Harrisburg Pennsylvania Training and Technical Assistance Network (PaTTAN) on Monday, July 13, 2015, to the King of Prussia and Pittsburgh PaTTAN locations.
Submission
Paper applications with attachments for 21st CCLC funding must be submitted by mail or hand delivered to the Department. Applications submitted by e-mail, facsimile or any method other than the approved mailed paper submission will not be accepted. Applications submitted by means of overnight mail must be received at the Department's Division of Student Services no later than 12 p.m. on Wednesday, August 5, 2015. Print a paper copy of the completed paper application with all attachments for the applicant's own records.
Forward original signature documents signed in blue ink to the Department no later than 12 p.m. on Wednesday, August 5, 2015, to the attention of Maribel Martinez, Fiscal Technician, Department of Education, Division of Student Services, 333 Market Street, 5th Floor, Harrisburg, PA 17126-0333.
Note: Failure to submit the required copies of the signatory documents by the deadline will result in the disqualification of the grant application and denial to proceed to the peer review. A list of required signature documents is provided in the Cohort 8 Grant Application and Instructions.
Eligible entities may apply for funding on behalf of one or more public schools within the applicant district through a single paper application process. Each district is limited to one application per district.
Pregrant Workshops/Webinar
To assist eligible applicant entities in completing the paper application, the Department will host a 1-day 21st CCLC pregrant workshop at the three regional PaTTAN offices located in Harrisburg, King of Prussia and Pittsburgh on Monday, July 13, 2015, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. The presentation in Harrisburg will be live and streamed to the other two PaTTAN locations.
Participation in a pregrant workshop is required for all eligible community-based organizations, school districts or charter schools, intermediate units, faith-based organizations and Nationally affiliated service organizations planning to submit an application for the 21st CCLC competitive funds for 2015-2018. To register, e-mail Jeanette Medina at jemedina@pa.gov. No phone calls. Include the location where the applicant will attend, the applicant's name, e-mail address, telephone number and the name of the organization that is planning to apply. Be aware that an access code will be required for entry at the Pittsburgh PaTTAN location.
Funding Availability
The Department will have approximately $18 million available for Cohort 8 grants. Applicants may select to provide out-of-school time programming (that is, before school, afterschool, holidays, weekends and summer school services) focused on improving prekindergarten through grade 12 performance measures of school attendance, classroom performance or reduced disciplinary referrals, or both, and meeting State and local academic achievement standards in reading, math and science. In keeping with the 21st CCLC nonregulatory guidance that larger, more comprehensive grants are more likely to have a measurable impact on student achievement, applicants proposing services for traditional afterschool programming during the regular after school hours, weekends, evenings and summer may request funds ranging from a minimum of $50,000 to a maximum of up to $400,000. Programs that propose to provide both school year and summer programming are more powerful for results and data; therefore, no funds will be available for applicants who do not propose a minimum of 6 weeks of summer programming. There will be no summer-only applicants in this grant round.
Communities or organizations may apply together to share resources, so long as statutory requirements are met. The Department can determine what constitutes an eligible consortium as long as the Commonwealth's determination is consistent with program requirements. Only one contract will be issued for each application selected for funding, even for joint proposals. In the case of a joint application, the identified entity will have fiscal and contractual responsibility. Only those community-based organizations and Nationally affiliated service organizations who will be partnering with Commonwealth schools are eligible to apply. The services to be provided must target the neediest of this Commonwealth's students and their families.
Per section F-12 of United States Department of Education 21st CCLC Non-Regulatory Guidance, communities that presently have a 21st CCLC Grant from the Department are eligible to receive additional funds under the Department administered program. The United States Department of Education Non-Regulatory Guidance document can be accessed at http://www2.ed.gov/programs/21stcclc/guidance2003.pdf. However, local applicants should be aware that new funds must be used in a manner consistent with all the requirements of the statute and must be used only to supplement, not supplant, any Federal, State or local dollars available to support activities allowable under the 21st CCLC program.
Federal Funding Priorities
The Department will give competitive priority to applications that both propose to serve students who attend schools identified for improvement (under section 1116 of Title I) and that are submitted jointly between at least one LEA receiving funds under Title I, Part A and at least one public or private community organization.
In determining whether an application has been ''submitted jointly,'' the Department will look for evidence of:
a. Collaboration in the planning and design of the program.
b. Substantial roles for each partner in the delivery of services and management and oversight of the program.
c. Shared grant resources to carry out roles.
d. One partner serving as the fiscal agent.
e. Integration with the regular school day program.
Only one contract will be issued for each application selected for funding, even for joint proposals. Communities or organizations may apply together to share resources, so long as statutory requirements are met. The Department has determined that for the purpose of the 21st CCLC grant, the following constitute an eligible consortium: two or more individual companies; community-based organizations; service-related organizations; or educational entities that partner together to benefit the students at the educational site locations targeted for program implementation for the purpose of the grant and who actively contribute to and collaborate on the 21st CCLC-funded project. Only one partner will be named as the grantee if selected for funding and will have the fiduciary and fiscal responsibilities for the grant. Consequently, every joint application must identify only one organization to be designated as the grantee and the fiscal agent on behalf of all members of the consortium. That entity will have fiscal and contractual responsibility for carrying out the proposed grant program. The Department encourages joint collaborators to identify a grantee that has expertise in managing the fiscal and contractual obligations required by 21st CCLC. Organizations do not have to demonstrate prior experience in providing afterschool programs to be eligible to apply for a grant, but must describe the likelihood of successful implementation and the capability to provide activities and services outlined in the proposal. Members seeking payment for services will be considered providers rather than partners.
Letters of endorsement are not by themselves sufficient evidence that organizations or school districts have substantially been involved in the design of a program. Letters of support of applications received will not be reviewed as part of the peer review process. Refrain from submitting letters of support.
As mandated by Federal law (Pub. L. No. 107-110, § 4204(i)), highest funding priority will be given to applications that meet both of the following conditions:
1. The applicant proposes to serve students who attend school districts that have been identified for improvement by the Department.
2. The application has been submitted jointly by at least one LEA receiving funds under Title I, Part A, and at least one public or private community organization.
To be viewed as a joint application, there must be evidence that: (1) the LEA and at least one other organization collaborated in the planning and design of the program; (2) each have substantial roles to play in the delivery of services; (3) both share grant resources to carry out those roles; and (4) both have significant ongoing involvement in the management and oversight of the program.
The Commonwealth's Funding Priority
Up to 65 additional priority points could be assigned to applications demonstrating prior program experience and that propose highest quality programming for the priority area targeted. Following are the additional priority areas:
1. Preference for funding will be given to qualified applicants proposing to provide afterschool services to students attending schools designated as ''priority'' or ''focus'' schools with school performance profile scores in the lowest 5% to 10% of Title I schools and will receive the highest funding priority consideration for 21st CCLC funds. All applicants must meet this Commonwealth priority to receive highest funding priority consideration. The 2014-2015 Priority and Focus schools can be found at www.education.pa.us (The Department will award points for this application required priority.)
2. Preference for funding will be given to qualified applicants with demonstrated previous experience and success in providing services to elementary, middle and high school students in grades 2—12 and who propose offering Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) and the addition of Arts education to STEM services (STEAM) exclusively to students from eligible elementary, middle schools and high schools in grades 2—12. Programs that integrate the proposed afterschool programming with existing research-based programs and that demonstrate effective utilization of STEM and have previous experience and success in providing STEM or STEAM, and in raising the awareness and understanding of students about STEM/STEAM activities by infusing STEM/STEAM into expanded learning opportunities, after school and summer programming and that meet the previous criteria, could be eligible for up to ten extra priority points based upon the quality of their proposal.
3. Preference for funding will be given to qualified applicants offering credit recovery to high school students. An applicant may propose to use 21st CCLC program funds for a before-school or after-school program or activity for which participants may receive credit toward high school graduation requirements if: (1) a program or activity is an expansion of the options for receiving high school credit in a particular area that would not have been provided without the 21st CCLC program; and (2) the program or activity does not replace or reduce the courses and programs normally provided by a local school district or private school (that is, there is no reduction in the course offerings or costs in that particular academic area). Note that a drop in program is unallowable, credit recovery students must attend the program for all portions of the program, and credit recovery must include a blended approach of face-to-face instructor led components and online programming. The online component cannot be 100% of the teaching methodology. Applicants could be eligible for up to ten extra priority points based upon the quality of their proposal.
Note: It is important to note that it is the responsibility of the entity to award the credit. There must be a letter of agreement between the LEA and the grantee clarifying the responsibility of recording the credits.
4. Preference for funding will be given to qualified applicants offering career and college readiness opportunities for high school students in grades 10—12 and who document evidence of expanding career connections for students while promoting career-technical and college routes. Career and college readiness programming must offer the following: alignment with realistic college attendance aspirations; academic planning for college and career readiness; academic enrichment opportunities to improve grades, and college or technical school eligibility; offer assistance in paper and online applications; helping students to prepare for careers, technical school or college; provide structured homework help, college counseling services, and afterschool and summer learning programs; and provide engaging learning opportunities for youth by connecting learning to careers, college and other future plans. An applicant may propose to use 21st CCLC program funds for a before or afterschool program or activity that provides participants with early and ongoing exposure to career and college readiness opportunities for high school students. Applicants could be eligible for up to ten extra priority points based upon the quality of their proposal.
5. Preference for funding will be given to qualified applicants proposing services to K—12 students located in counties, communities and schools identified by the Department as those that have not previously housed 21st CCLC programs or received funding as an applicant or part of a consortium. Preference for funding will be given to qualified applications from communities across this Commonwealth that have not previously received 21st CCLC funding. To qualify for this priority no member of the consortium group or any single applicant agency, district or community-based agency will have received a 21st CCLC grant under any name since 2008. Applicants could be eligible for up to 20 extra priority points based upon the quality of their proposal.
6. High risk grantees may have up to 40 points deducted from their application rubric subtotal score based upon prior grant history, failure to comply with the general or specific terms and conditions of the grant, and failure to meet the expected performance goals as described in their prior applications.
Period of Availability
The grant period will range from October 1, 2015, to September 30, 2018.
Eligible Applicants
Federal law mandates, per section 4203(a)(3), that any public or private organization may apply for 21st CCLC funding if it proposes to serve:
1. Students who primarily attend either:
a. Schools eligible for schoolwide programs under (Title I) section 1114.
b. Schools that serve a high percentage of students (at least 40%) from low-income families.
2. The families of those students described previously.
Preference for funding will be given to qualified applicants designated as ''priority'' or ''focus'' schools with school performance profile scores in the lowest 5% to 10% of Title I schools will receive the highest funding priority consideration for 21st CCLC funds. All applicants must meet this Commonwealth priority to receive highest funding priority consideration.
Additional Commonwealth funding priorities can be found in the 21st CCLC Grant RFA and Guidance for FY 2015-2018.
Application Information
Detailed information outlining grant terms and conditions, program eligibility, pertinent regulations including expenditure guidelines, evaluation and program accountability requirements and additional resources are contained in the complete 21st CCLC Grant RFA and Guidance for FY 2015-2018 and in the 21st CCLC Cohort 8 Grant Paper Application. Instructions for 2015-2018 can be accessed by:
• Visiting the Department's web site at www.education.pa.gov.
• E-mail additional questions to RA-21stCCLC@pa.gov.
Due Process for Unsuccessful Applicants
Under 34 CFR 76.401(c)(1) (relating to disapproval of an application—opportunity for a hearing), the Department must provide an opportunity for a hearing if the applicant alleges that the ''[d] is approval of or failure to approve the application or project'' violates a Federal statute or regulation.
• Upon written request, applicants not selected for funding may submit a request on agency letterhead to the Department within 4 weeks of award notification requesting information on the ranking and scoring of their application to sdannunzio@pa.gov. Include the name of the applicant agency in the request.
• Applicants have 30 days from the time they are informed of their right to a hearing to request a hearing.
• The Department will conduct that hearing within 30 days of the request for a hearing.
• The Department will issue a final written ruling within 10 days from the date of the hearing, including findings and reasons for the final ruling.
• If the Department does not rescind its ruling the applicant may apply to the Secretary of the United States Department of Education within 20 days of the applicant receiving a written notification of the results of the hearing.
• The Department will make available records pertaining to the review or appeal process, including the records of other applicants.
For additional program information contact Department of Education, Susan D'Annunzio, 21st CCLC Program Supervisor, 333 Market Street, 5th Floor, Harrisburg, PA 17126-0333, (717) 346-3186, fax (717) 783-4392, sdannunzio@pa.gov.
PEDRO A. RIVERA,
Secretary
[Pa.B. Doc. No. 15-1233. Filed for public inspection July 2, 2015, 9:00 a.m.]
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