September 9, 2011

 

TO THE ADMINISTRATOR ADDRESSED:

 

SUBJECT: 2011–2012 NCLB Title I School Improvement Grant Application

 

On Friday, September 9, 2011, the 2011-2012 NCLB Title I School Improvement Applicant Designation and Certification (ADC) form for the 2011-2012 NCLB Title I School Improvement Grant was opened in eGrants. The 2011-2012 NCLB Title I School Improvement ADC form initiates the application process for programs in the 2011-2012 NCLB Title I School Improvement Grant application.

 

Eligible applicants use the ADC form to identify how they will apply in the grant application for each funding source.  The information that is submitted on this form is considered to be binding.  Applicants are advised to complete the process of obtaining local board approval, as appropriate, and ensure accuracy before submitting the form.  The NCLB Title I School Improvement ADC form, once certified and submitted by eligible applicants, will activate the 2011-2012 NCLB Title I School Improvement Grant application.

 

Important Information

When a campus exits the School Improvement Program (SIP), that campus may not expend any SIP funds from the date the preliminary Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) results are released. If the local educational agency (LEA) has other campuses in SIP, unexpended SIP funds from the exited campus may be used at the campuses that remain in SIP, regardless of the SIP identification measure.

 

Eligible Applicants

Title I campuses that have not met AYP for the same indicator (reading, mathematics, attendance rate, or graduation rate) for two consecutive years are identified for Title I SIP and are eligible to apply for this grant. The Texas Education Agency (TEA) released preliminary AYP results on August 4, 2011.

 

Purpose of Program

The SIP grant provides supplemental funds to Title I campuses identified for school improvement because they failed to make AYP for two or more consecutive years. Funds are used to implement the campus’s revised campus improvement plan, which incorporates research-based strategies in ways that have the greatest likelihood of enabling participating children to meet the state’s student performance standards. A student attending a Title I low-performing school must be provided the option to transfer to another public school within the LEA unless the LEA lacks the capacity to do so.

 

Allocations

NCLB Title I SIP funds are posted at the TEA Grant Opportunities website (http://burleson.tea.state.tx.us/GrantOpportunities/forms/). In the Formula Funding Toolbox, click the Entitlements by Program link.

 

There will be two types of SIP funding this year.

 

Base Services Funding

The SIP campus may apply for base services funding to conduct any applicable school improvement activity identified by the campus’s comprehensive needs assessment. The base services funding is a weighted per-pupil allocation. The campus receives various weights for several indicators related to the indicator(s) missed in AYP.

 

Effective Activities Funding

The remainder of the funding formula is available for implementing effective activities. Effective activities funding is optional funding for which the eligible campus may choose to apply only if the campus agrees to implement one or more of the effective activities from TEA’s approved list of activities. Each campus that chooses to apply for effectiveness activities funding will receive an equal amount of funding.

 

Before selecting an approved effectiveness activity, the campus must review its comprehensive needs assessment with its assigned Professional Service Provider (PSP) or regional education service center (ESC) Turnaround Team to determine the appropriate effective activities to choose. The campus should select no more than two effectiveness activities which align 1) to each other, 2) to the needs identified by the campus, and 3) to the AYP indicator(s) missed.

The applicant must include all requests for Effective Activities Funding in the original submission of the application for funding. Grantees may not add or increase funding after the original submission.

How to Apply

Eligible applicants must apply through the eGrants system. To apply, applicants must have appropriate Texas Education Agency Secure Environment (TEASE) access. Applicants who do not have TEASE access for eGrants should visit the TEA SE Information Center online at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/opge/egrant/index.html. An overview of the TEA SE online request process can be found at http://www.tea.state.tx.us/opge/egrant/eGrantsOverview.pdf. If you need further assistance, please contact the eGrants Help Desk at (512) 463-7025 or at egrants@tea.state.tx.us.

Accessing the NCLB SIP and Grant Application

Applicants may locate the NCLB SIP ADC form through TEASE via eGrants as follows:

1. Open the drop-down list titled “Available Grant Programs in eGrants.”
2. From the drop-down list, select “2011–2012 NCLB SIP Grant Application.”
3. On the Grant Menu screen, select “2011-2012 NCLB SIP Grant Applicant Designation and Certification.”

Project Period
The 2011-2012 NCLB SIP Grant application project period is October 1, 2011, through September 30, 2012.

 

 

Deadline to Apply

Eligible applicants must apply through the eGrants system by 5:00 p.m. Central Time, Friday, October 24, 2011. Applications are effective on the date they are received in TEA in substantially approvable form or on October 1, 2011, whichever is later.

Reporting Deadlines

The following table lists reporting deadlines for programs approved in the 2011–2012 NCLB SIP Grant application. LEAs that are awarded grants are responsible for meeting all required deadlines. Failure to meet deadlines may result in loss of funds and could cause the LEA to be identified as “high risk.”

 

Grant Program	Grant Period	Final Expenditure Report	Revised Final Expenditure Report	Final Evaluation Report Due Date
Title I SIP—Base	10/01/11–9/30/2012 (Pre-award costs permitted back to 7/01/2011)*	10/31/2012	10/31/2012	10/10/2012
Title I SIP—Effective	9/3/2011–9/30/2012 (Pre-award costs permitted back to 7/01/2011)*	10/31/2012	10/31/2012	10/10/2012

 

*Pre-award costs will be allowed once requested and approved by TEA as reflected in the grant application.

 

Information and Assistance

For program information, please contact the Division of Federal and State Education Policy at (512) 463-9414.

 

For funding information, including the Applicant Designation and Certification (ADC) form, please contact the Division of Grants Administration at (512) 463-8525, or visit the TEA Grant Opportunities website at http://burleson.tea.state.tx.us/GrantOpportunities/forms/.

 

Sincerely,

 

 

Yolanda Cantu

Director, Division of Grants Administration