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2008-2010 Federal Charter Schools
Dissemination Grants

APPLICATION GUIDANCE

Program Purpose:

The New York State Education Department (NYSED) has received funds from the United States Department of Education under Title V, Part B of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 for dissemination grants to existing charter schools to assist other charter schools and public schools in adapting the charter school’s program or certain aspects of its program or to disseminate information about the charter school through designated activities such as:

• Developing curriculum materials, assessments, and other materials that promote increased student achievement and are based on successful practices within the assisting charter school;

• Conducting evaluations and developing materials that document the successful practices of the assisting charter school and that are designed to improve student performance in other schools;

• Assisting other individuals with the planning and start-up of one or more new public schools, including charter schools, that are independent of the assisting charter school and its developers, and that agree to be held to at least as high a level of accountability as the assisting charter school; and

• Developing partnerships with other public schools, including charter schools, designed to improve student academic achievement in each of the schools participating in the partnership.

The Federal Charter Schools Program (CSP) guidelines, including information on dissemination grants, may be found at: http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/cspguidance03.doc

Eligible Applicants:

Applications will be accepted from Boards of Trustees of existing charter schools that have been authorized by one of the following: the State Education Department, the Chancellor of the City of New York, or a local school district board of education. 

Pursuant to a Memorandum of Agreement between the State University of New York (SUNY) and the NYSED, the SUNY Board of Trustees is also authorized to award grants under the Federal Charter Schools Program.  A SUNY authorized charter school will find information on how to apply for a dissemination grant at: http://www.newyorkcharters.org. 

Charter schools may apply for dissemination grants whether or not they have applied for or received CSP Program funds for planning, program design, or implementation.

Eligible applicants include charter schools that meet all of the following criteria:

• Have been in operation (i.e., open for instruction) for at least three consecutive years by December 1,  2007), and

• Have demonstrated overall success, documented by:

• Substantial progress in improving student academic achievement;
• A high level of parent satisfaction; and
• Management and leadership necessary to overcome initial start-up problems and establish a thriving, financially viable charter school.

Overview of Project Activities:

The project activities must be aligned with the New York State learning standards (http://www.emsc.nysed.gov/ciai), supported by research, and show documented results.  Steps to include training and technical assistance must be identified.  Eligible charter school applicants may pursue funding for one of the following three activities:

• Activity A:  Successful Practices:  Applicants can develop curriculum materials, assessments, and other materials that promote increased student academic achievement and are based on successful practices within the assisting charter school. Validation study results must be included to show evidence of “successful practices.
  • Curriculum materials are resources that classroom teachers can use to support the NYS learning standards.  These resources may be made available in a variety of formats.
  • If you choose to develop a set of learning experiences, they should be patterned after those found on the NYSED Virtual Learning System (VLS) at: http://eservices.nysed.gov/vls/welcome.do.  Select a standard area (e.g.; ELA), then select Toolkit, and then select Learning Experiences.
  • For every learning experience developed, all eight components must be addressed. 
  • Within those eight components, the integration of learning standards, appropriate and innovative uses of instructional technology, and modifications for ELL students, bilingual students, and students of different abilities (disabilities and/or gifted/talented) must be evident.
  • A peer review of the learning experiences you develop must be conducted.  Applicants are NOT expected to formally apply to the New York State Academy for Teaching and Learning to be considered for a Statewide Peer Review, although that is possible, but it is expected that the applicant will organize a peer review using the process outlined in the Statewide Peer Review guide that can be found on the VLS website.
  • The development of assessments could be in the form of portfolios, performance-based assessments, teacher evaluation processes, etc.
  • The development of other materials could be in the form of teacher guides, curriculum maps, newsletters, websites, etc.
• Activity B:  Planning and Start-Up:  Applicants can assist individuals with the planning and start-up of one or more new public schools, including charter schools, that are independent of the assisting charter school and its developers, and that agree to be held to at least as high a level of accountability as the assisting charter school.  Charter schools that currently have a contract with a management company cannot use these funds to help establish a new charter school contracted with the same management company. 
  • Planning activities could include school visits, the development of curriculum, assessments, policies, and teacher and administrative evaluation systems, technical assistance with board operations and governance, marketing and outreach, etc.; and
  • Start-up activities would focus on a charter school preparing to open, following approval of its application.  Activities could include interviewing teachers, outreach to parents and students, training of board members, finalizing site preparation, technical assistance to teachers related to the charter school philosophy or intended practice, etc. 
• Activity C:  Developing Partnerships:  Applicants can develop partnerships with other public schools, including charter schools, designed to improve student academic achievement in each of the schools participating in the partnership.
  • Proposals must be based on a specific theme or themes such as arts education, special education, English language learners’ instruction or other activities aligned with the NYS Learning Standards. The practices in the applicant school related to the chosen theme or themes must have led to documented results and represent a product or service that can be shared with the partner school or schools.

Activities and Expenditures:

Allowable:  Examples of allowable expenditures (directly related to project activities) include, but are not limited to:

• project director and other staff salary and benefits in support of this project
• planning, developing and disseminating activity materials, and awareness and/or recruitment materials
• peer review process
• designing and conducting training and technical assistance activities for teachers in the partner schools
• website development
• printing, copying, graphics production, art work and supplies
• travel costs
• consultant fees
• teacher stipends
• substitute teachers
• developer stipends
• conference attendance with the primary purpose of disseminating technical information
• other reasonable costs associated with the project

Non-Allowable:  Examples of non-allowable expenditures include, but are not limited to:

• indirect costs
• facilities costs (renovations, utilities, equipment, software, installation of equipment)
• charter school ongoing operational costs
• website maintenance for other than dissemination grant related activities
• marketing or recruitment activities to promote the contractor or programs offered by the contractor
• personal expenses

Project Period and Funding:

The project period is September 1, 2008-August 31, 2010.

Grants will be made in the amount of up to $200,000 per year for two years, subject to availability of funds from the United States Department of Education.  This estimate is for the guidance of potential applicants and is not a guarantee of award amounts or the number of awards to be made.

State Contracts for Charter School Program Awards:

Dissemination grant awards to charter schools will be made through a grant contract process.  Once the contract has been finalized, payments will be made using NYSED’s FS-20 budget process.  Payments will be based on budgets submitted by successful applicants.

The FS-20 budget must be submitted with this application for only the first year’s funds requested for this project.  The proposed budget will be reviewed for appropriateness of the expenditures, and will be adjusted for any items deemed to be non-allowable or inappropriate.  A second FS-20 will be required for the subsequent year.  Each FS-20 will cover a maximum period of up to 12 months.  The FS-20 budget forms, descriptions of budget categories, related forms and guidelines are available at:  http://www.oms.nysed.gov/cafe.

The FS-20 Budget form must be signed by the chief administrative officer of the charter school (e.g., principal, director).  Applications signed by any other person will be automatically disqualified.

State law requires that the award of state contracts be made to responsible vendors.  NYSED must make an affirmative responsibility determination before an award is made.  The factors to be considered include: legal authority to do business in New York State; integrity; organizational and financial capacity; and previous performance.  Before an award exceeding $100,000 can be made, the potential grantee must complete a Vendor Responsibility Questionnaire. Applicants selected for an award who must complete the questionnaire will receive it with the State contract or grant contract.

Award Recipient’s Fiscal Responsibilities:

Projects must operate under the jurisdiction of the school’s charter and the board of trustees, and are subject to at least the same degree of accountability as all other expenditures of the charter school. The board of trustees 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 must be on file for all project related transactions entered into the charter school’s recordkeeping system. Source documents that authorize the disbursement of grant funds consist of purchase orders, contracts, time & effort records, delivery receipts, vendor invoices, travel documentation and payment documents, including check stubs.

Supporting documentation for contracts and grant contracts must be kept on file by the charter school for at least six years after the last payment is 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.

Project Monitoring:

The State Education Department is responsible for monitoring the activities of the award recipients to ensure that federal funds are used for authorized purposes in compliance with the federal program laws, regulations and grant agreements, and that performance goals are achieved.  Monitoring can include document reviews, onsite visits, telephone calls and other activities.  Award recipients receiving and expending $500,000 or more in federal funds during their fiscal year must have an audit performed in accordance with the U.S. Office of Management and Budget Circular A-133, Audits of States, Local Governments, and Non-Profit Organizations.  All award recipients are required to provide State Education Department staff and state auditors with access to records and financial statements as necessary to perform their monitoring responsibilities.

Annual Performance  Report:

Dissemination grant award recipients must submit an annual performance report describing the progress that has been made toward accomplishing the project’s purposes.  Award recipients will be provided with copies of the report format and the submission information.

Application Submission:

An applicant must submit a typed application for one of the three project activities outlined under Overview of Project Activities.  One original and three copies of the typed application must be postmarked by May 23, 2008 and submitted to the following address.  No emails or faxes will be accepted.

Charter Schools Dissemination Grant Application
Grants Processing Unit, Room 674 EBA
New York State Education Department
Albany, NY 12234
           
The typed Proposal Narrative must not exceed 10 single-spaced pages and have no smaller than 12pt font.  The application must include the following items (or it will be disqualified) and be in the following order:

• Application Checklist
• Application Cover Page (signed in blue ink by the charter school’s Chief Operating Officer/Chief Administrative Officer)
• Proposal Narrative (no more than 10 pages)
• Multi-Year Budget Summary
• Budget Category and Narrative Forms (for the first year of the project only)
• Assurances

The following two (2) forms must be separate from the above application pages.

• FS-20 Budget Summary Form (for the first year of the project only)
• Payee Information Form (if needed) A Payee Information Form is required from any applicant that has not previously received grant funding from the State Education Department.  The form must be completed and submitted with the application.  The Payee Information Form and instructions are available at: http://www.oms.nysed.gov/cafe/forms.html.

Review and Rating of Applications:

The applications will be reviewed by two reviewers, at least one of whom will be a peer reviewer (non-SED staff). The applications will be graded according to the points in the PROPOSAL NARRATIVE and the Scoring Rubric.  Final scores of the two reviewers will be added and averaged.  A third review will be performed if there is a difference of twenty points or more between the two scores; in that case, the final score will be an average of the three scores.  All applications receiving a final average score of at least 75 points will be ranked in order of score.

Awards, after any adjustments to the budget for non-allowable or inappropriate expenditures, will be made to all applicants receiving an average score of 75 or higher, as long as there are sufficient funds.  In the event that funds are not sufficient to cover all such applicants, then awards will be made to the applicant with the highest average score and then to each remaining applicant according to the highest average score until funds are not sufficient to fund the next project in full.  The next ranked applicant will be given the opportunity to operate a smaller project using the remaining funds.

Vendor Responsibility

State law requires that the award of state contracts be made to responsible vendors. Before an award is made to a not-for-profit entity, a for-profit entity, a private college or university or a public entity not exempted by the Office of the State Comptroller, the Department must make an affirmative responsibility determination. The factors to be considered include: legal authority to do business in New York State; integrity; capacity- both organizational and financial; and previous performance. Before an award of $100,000 or greater can be made to a covered entity, the entity will be required to complete and submit a Vendor Responsibility Questionnaire.

Vendors are invited to file the required Vendor Responsibility Questionnaire online via the New York State VendRep System. To enroll in and use the New York State VendRep System, see the VendRep System instructions at: http:\\www.osc.state.ny.us/vendrep/systeminit.htm or go directly to the VendRep System online at https://portal.osc.state.ny.us.

For direct VendRep System user assistance, the OSC Help Desk may be reached at 866-370-4672 or 518-408-4672 or by email at helpdesk@osc.state.ny.us. 

Vendors opting to file a paper questionnaire can obtain the appropriate questionnaire from the VendRep website: http://www.osc.state.ny.us/vendrep/templates.htm or will receive it with the award letter.

APPLICATION (in Word)

SCORING RUBRIC (in Word)