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Summer Institutes for Teachers
of Mathematics and Science in Grades Five through Eight
2008

Purpose

The purpose of this funding is to improve the professional content knowledge and pedagogy of teachers responsible for providing instruction of the intermediate portion of the New York State Learning Standards in Mathematics (Revised 2005) and Science, grades five through eight and enhance their competencies in the use of technologies, to assure appropriate integration of such tools that will result in improved student achievement. Funds must be used to support the costs of teachers attending university or college based summer institutes in the areas of mathematics and science. Institutes must be customized to meet the identified needs of participating teachers.

Program Overview

Chapter 57 of the laws of 2007 includes a provision for the development and implementation of summer institutes for teachers responsible for providing instruction of the intermediate portion of the New York State Learning Standards in Mathematics (Revised 2005) and Science, grades five through eight.

The summer institutes that teachers attend through this funding must be based on, but not limited to, the following criteria:

• the program is aligned to the State learning standards for mathematics and science and the corresponding Core Curricula for Mathematics (revised 2005) and Science;
• the program is designed to advance the content knowledge and pedagogy of participating mathematics and science teachers;
• priority is given, as practicable, to teachers in schools identified as schools in need of improvement, corrective action or restructuring status, schools under registration review or schools requiring academic progress;
• participating teachers must receive a minimum of thirty hours of professional development during the 2008 summer institute; and
• to the extent practicable, the program will be integrated with other State and federal programs with similar purpose.

Further, teachers shall be selected for participation in such summer institutes by principals who shall give priority to those responsible for providing instruction of the intermediate portion of the New York State Learning Standards in Mathematics (revised 2005) and Science, grades five through eight, and who meet the following criteria:

• first and second year teachers;
• teachers who are changing assignments and would benefit from professional development to improve student learning; and
• teachers who have been identified as needing additional professional development in building content knowledge in mathematics and science and understanding of pedagogy.

Proposals must include a description of how the program:

• is aligned to State learning standards for mathematics and science;
• will advance the content knowledge and pedagogy of participating teachers in the areas of mathematics and science;
• enhance teachers’ competencies in the use of technologies for improved student achievement; and
• to the extent practicable, is integrated with other State and federal programs with similar purpose.

Project Funding

Grant amounts will be based on the number of teachers participating and their cost of attending summer institutes. Costs may include the teacher’s tuition, course materials and room and board. Tuition includes all of the costs of instructors and consultants hired as part of the institute. The tuition charged to the grant must not exceed the standard tuition rate.  Course materials include all the materials supplied to the participating teachers. Participating teacher’s travel to the summer institutes may not be included as a cost.

Up to 2% of the grant may be used to evaluate the extent to which the summer institutes improve the content knowledge and pedagogy of the participating teachers. Up to 5% of the grant may be spent on program administration including indirect costs.

Regional Distribution of Funds

In an effort to ensure that teachers from the entire State have an opportunity to participate, the total funds will be allocated across five regions in the State according to the percentage of teachers in that area. The counties included in each region and the total amount of funds available for grants in each region are as follows. More than one award may be given in each region.

Project Period

Awards made in this program will be for a summer institute that takes place between May 1, 2008 and August 31, 2008. The grant period extends to October 31, 2008 for any evaluation activities that take place after the conclusion of the summer program. No carry over or extension of funds beyond this period is allowed.
 
Eligible Applicants

Eligible applicants include New York State public and independent colleges and universities offering teacher education programs, pursuant to section 52.21 of the Regulations of the Commissioner of Education. The applicant college or university must partner with one or more school districts and serve selected teachers from the district(s). Colleges and universities offering teacher education programs can create a partnership with departments of mathematics and science at other colleges and universities, provided that only one college or university offering teacher education programs is the lead fiscal agent.
The colleges or universities selected to receive a grant may not sub-grant funds to any of the partnering school districts or any other entity.

NYSED Consortium Policy for State Discretionary Grant Programs:
Colleges and universities that apply as a partnership or consortium must meet the following requirements:

1. The partnership or consortium must designate one of the participants to serve as the applicant and fiscal agent for the grant.  The applicant agency must be an eligible grant recipient.  All other consortium members must be eligible grant participants, as defined by the program statute or regulation.
2. In the event a grant is awarded to a partnership/consortium, the grant or grant contract will be prepared in the name of the applicant agency/fiscal agent, not the partnership/consortium, since the group is not a legal entity.
3. The applicant agency/fiscal agent must meet the following requirements:

• Must be an eligible grant recipient as defined by statute; 
• Must receive and administer the grant funds and submit the required reports to account for the use of grant funds;
• Must require consortium partners to sign an agreement with the fiscal agent that specifically outlines all services each partner agrees to provide.
• Must be an active member of the partnership/consortium, except where SUNY or CUNY Research Foundations are the fiscal agent.
• Cannot act as a flow-through for grant funds to pass to other recipients.  NYSED may establish a minimum level of direct service to be provided by the fiscal agent.
• Is PROHIBITED from subgranting funds to other recipients.  The fiscal agent is permitted to contract for services with other consortium partners or consultants to provide services that the fiscal agent cannot provide itself.
• Must be responsible for the performance of any services provided by the partners, consultants, or other organizations and must coordinate how each plan to participate. 

Recommended Focus for Summer Institutes

In 1996, the New York State Board of Regents adopted learning standards for all content (subject) areas. Since then, the New York State Education Department (SED) has issued a series of core curricula relating to these learning standards in Mathematics (revised 2005) and Science. The core curricula contain the State’s expectations of what students must know and be able to do for each content area. For each learning standard, the core curricula present key ideas/strands (broad, unifying, general statements of what students need to know) and performance indicators (statements of what students should do to provide evidence that they understand the key idea). These core curricula are the foundation upon which State assessments are aligned and developed.

The core curricula provide direction and assistance to local school districts who must design their own curricula that meet the needs of their students. The core curricula respect the tradition of local choice in New York State that empowers educators to select texts, identify products, and use a rich array of instructional strategies and activities to meet student needs.
The purpose of this funding is to help teachers in grades five through eight responsible for providing instruction of the intermediate portion of the New York State Learning Standards improve their content knowledge and pedagogy in mathematics and science and enhance their competencies in the use of technology, to assure appropriate integration of such tools that will result in improved student achievement.

The summer institutes that teachers attend through this funding must :

• Be designed to advance the content knowledge and pedagogy of participating mathematics and science teachers.
• Be aligned to New York State Learning Standards and Core Curricula in Mathematics (revised 2005) and Science.
• Include rigorous and engaging mathematics and science in real world applications, including inquiry-centered laboratory experiences, investigations, or performance assessment tasks.
• Incorporate the use of instructional technologies for improved student achievement
• Result in projects and/or products easily replicated or adapted for use in classrooms aligned to meet the intermediate portion of the NYS learning standards in mathematics and science.
• Give priority, as practicable, to teachers in schools identified as schools in need of improvement, corrective action or restructuring status, schools under registration review or schools requiring academic progress.
• Bring teachers together with working scientists, mathematicians and engineers.
• To the extent practicable, the program will be integrated with other State and federal programs with similar purpose.

Links to the NYS Learning Standards and Core Curriculum for both mathematics and science can be found at http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/ciai/. See right navigation bar for Core Curriculum.
Application Submission Instructions
Only complete applications will be reviewed. A complete application must include the following and be assembled in the following order:

• Application Cover Page signed in blue ink by the Chief Administrative Officer
• Application Checklist
• NYS Assurances and Certifications (Appendix A and Appendix A-1 G)
• Project Description and Abstract
• Budget Category and Narrative Forms
• Budget Summary Form (FS-20)
• Payee Information Form ( Form can be found at http://www.oms.nysed.gov/cafe/PIform.doc  

Method of Award

Incomplete proposals and proposals received after the due date will not be reviewed.

Each eligible proposal will be reviewed by at least two reviewers. Each reviewer will score the proposal according to the indicated point criteria in the Project Description and the Budget using the Proposal Evaluation Rubric. If individual scores are more than 20 points apart, another reviewer will rate the application. The two scores closest in numeric value will be averaged to calculate the final average score of the application.

Budgets will be adjusted to eliminate any unallowable or inappropriate expenditures. Allowable expenditures include tuition, course materials and room and board for the teachers attending summer institutes. The tuition charged to the grant must not exceed the standard tuition rate.  Teacher’s travel costs are not allowed. Up to 2% of funds requested may be spent on evaluating the benefit of the institutes to the participating teachers. Up to 5% of the funds requested may be spent on administering the program including indirect costs.

Each proposal will be categorized according to the region it serves. Then proposals in each region will be separated into two groups.  Group 1 will contain proposals that include  teachers in schools identified as schools in need of improvement, corrective action or restructuring status, schools under registration review or schools requiring academic progress. Group 2 will contain proposals that do not include teachers in schools identified as schools in need of improvement, corrective action or restructuring status, schools under registration review or schools requiring academic progress. Proposals in each of the two groups in each region will be ranked in order of final average score from highest to lowest. Proposals that receive a final average score of 75 or more will be considered for funding. Awards will be made to the highest ranking proposal(s) first in Group 1 and then in Group 2 in each region until funds allocated for that region are insufficient to fund the next ranking proposal that region in full. If any funds remain for that region, the funds will be offered to the next ranking proposal in that region to operate a smaller project. In the event of tie scores, proposals with the highest score on item #4 in the Project Description will be ranked higher.

Once all applicants that received a final average score of 75 or more in a particular region are funded, if any funds remain, those funds will be distributed proportionately to the remaining regions.  Then awards will be made to the next highest ranking proposal in each region.  

Entities’ Responsibility

Projects must operate under the jurisdiction of the local board, or other appropriate governing body, and are subject to at least the same degree of accountability as all other expenditures of the local agency. The local board, or other appropriate governing body, is responsible for the proper disbursement of, and accounting for, project funds. Written agency policy concerning wages, mileage and travel allowances, overtime compensation, or fringe benefits, as well as State rules pertaining to competitive bidding, safety regulations and inventory control must be followed. Supporting or source documents are required for all grant related transactions entered into the local agency’s recordkeeping systems. Source documents that authorize the disbursement of grant funds consist of purchase orders, contracts, time and effort records, delivery receipts, vendor invoices, travel documentation and payment documents, including check stubs.
Supporting documentation for grants and grant contracts must be kept for at least six years after the last payment was made unless otherwise specified by program requirements. Additionally, audit or litigation will “freeze the clock” for records retention purposes until the issue is resolved. All records and documentation must be available for inspection by State Education Department officials or its representatives.

For additional information about grants, please refer to the Fiscal Guidelines for Federal and State Aided Grants, http://www.oms.nysed.gov/cafe/guidelines.html.

Reporting

Grant recipients will be required to submit two signed copies of the final report to the State Education Department by October 31, 2008. The report must include:

• A description of the focus of the summer institute in relation to the New York State Learning Standards in Mathematics (revised 2005) and Science and corresponding Core Curricula for Mathematics (revised 2005) and Science.

• An evaluation report describing the extent to which the summer institutes improved:

• the content knowledge and pedagogy of the participating teachers, including a description of how teachers demonstrated their knowledge acquisition and

• the teachers’ competencies in the use and application of technologies for improved student achievement in mathematics and science.

• The number of teachers from schools identified as schools in need of improvement, corrective action or restructuring status, schools under registration review or schools requiring academic progress in terms of grade level and subject area taught.

The report should be submitted to:
Anne Schiano
Assistant Director
Office of Curriculum, Instruction & Instructional Technology
New York State Education Department
Room 320 EB
Albany, NY 12234

Additional Information

Directory of Public and Nonpublic School District Administrators
http://www.nysed.gov/admin/bedsdata.html 
Directory of College and University Campuses in NYS
http://www.highered.nysed.gov/Quality_Assurance/directory/index.html
SUNY University Centers and Doctoral Degree Sector Map
http://www.suny.edu/Student/campuses_sector_intro.cfm
NYS Public School Choice Programs
http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/psc/
Curriculum, Instruction and Instructional Technologies
http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/ciai/.

Application (Separate Word Document)