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NCLB/Title II Part D - Enhancing Education through Technology (EETT)
 

Program Purpose/Goal

The primary purpose of the program is to improve students’ academic performance in the core subject areas of English language arts, mathematics, science and technology literacy through effective use of technology in the process of teaching and learning. To operationalize the primary goal of the program, the NYS EETT Competitive Grant Program in consultation with the field experts and practitioners has identified the following five theme-oriented categories of education technology programs. Winning applications with focus on one of the themes as well as adoption of evidence-based model program(s) or effective strategies will be funded with the EETT Competitive Grants.

The five theme-oriented and evidence-based program categories are listed below (some sub-themes under each category are just suggested for but not limited to consideration and exploration):

1. Leadership and System Change through Technology Innovation;
   
   a. Educational Leadership in Technology Infusion (administrators, students)
   b. System Change of Teaching and Learning through Technology
   c. Innovative Technology Integration for 21st Century Learning
    

2. Technology Infusion into Instruction through Professional Development;
   a. Embedded Professional Development on Technology Infusion
   b. Pairing and Mentoring Professional Development on Technology Infusion
   c. Data-driven and Customized Professional Development on Technology Infusion
    

3. Data-driven Differentiated Instruction and Learning;
   a. Data-driven customized instruction
   b. Adaptive Assessment and Learning
   c. Performance-based and Innovative Learning
    

4. Technology Literacy and ICT Skills Development and Assessment; and
   a. Development and Assessment of ICT Literacy and Skills
   b. Project-based Learning and Assessment of ICT Skills
   c. Integrated Approach to ICT Literacy and Skills Attainment in Core Curricula
    

5. Expanding Learning Opportunities through Online Teaching and Learning;
   a. Online Professional Development
   b. Online Courses for Students
   c. Online Formative Assessment
    

While the five categories of educational technology programs are not necessarily exclusive in operation or implementation, an application must clearly focus its grant program on one of the five categories with its program strategies and activities to be engaged in support of the selected theme of the program. The application must signify the focus on the cover page of the application.

Promising practices in the use of education technology and development of quality digital tools and content supported by this grant program will remain as public property and may be incorporated and shared widely through the New York State Virtual Learning System (NYSVLS).

Eligible Applicants

As defined in the NCLB Legislation, Sections 2403 and 2404, eligible applicants for Title II Part D must be either a “high-need local educational agency” or an “eligible local partnership”.

A “high-need local educational agency” as listed in Attachment 1 is a local educational agency that:
 

• Is among the local educational agencies in a State with the highest numbers or percentages of children from families with incomes below the poverty line; and

• Operates one or more schools identified (as in need of improvement or corrective action) under section 1116; or

• Has a substantial need for assistance in acquiring and using technology.
   

An “eligible local partnership” is a partnership that includes at least one high-need local educational agency and at least one local educational agency that can demonstrate that teachers in schools served by the agency are effectively integrating technology and generating sustained progress and success implementing evidence-based model program(s) into teaching and learning processes and improving students’ academic performance in core subject areas and technology literacy and skills. Such a partnership may also include one of the following service providing partners:
 

• An institution of higher education that is in full compliance with the reporting requirements of section 207(f) of the Higher Education Act of 1965 and that has not been identified by the State as low-performing under section 208 of such Act; or

• A for-profit business or organization that develops, designs, manufactures, or produces technology products or services, and has (at least three years) expertise in the application of technology in instruction; or

• A public or private nonprofit organization with demonstrated expertise in the application of education technology in instruction; and/or

• Other local educational agencies, educational service agencies, libraries, or other educational entities appropriate to provide local programs.
   

See Attachment 1 for the list of the eligible “high-need local educational agencies” in New York State and Attachment 2 for the list of non-eligible local educational agencies which can participate in consortium/partnership applications as contributing partners with their experiences and expertise and number of students in poverty for services.

Due to the significant reduction in funding, applications from consortium/partnership including multiple LEAs to pool and share resources, experiences and expertise are strongly encouraged. Consortium/partnership applications from eligible local partnerships with at least one eligible high-need local educational agency having over 5,000 students in poverty or multiple eligible local educational agencies having a total of over 5,000 students in poverty will be given 20 extra preference points. One local educational agency either as a lead or consortium partner can only participate in one application. No cross-partnership applications from the same LEA(s) are permissible.

Consortium/partnership applications must focus on addressing the needs of the school buildings and districts identified as in need of improvement within the consortium/partnership. In addition, a local educational agency must serve as the fiscal agent for an eligible local partnership or consortium.  Accordingly, a BOCES may serve as a fiscal agent of an eligible local partnership under section 2412(c) of the NCLB.

Non-public School Students and Teachers Participation

“High-need local educational agencies” and “eligible local partnerships/consortium” must:
 

• Engage in timely and meaningful consultation with appropriate private school(s) at the beginning of application development and

• Continue consultation throughout the implementation of program activities after application is awarded.
   

Such consultation should first determine whether the private school(s) within the area(s) served by the “high-need local educational agency” or “eligible local partnership” wishes to participate in the Title II Part D competitive grant proposal. Applicants must provide documentation pertaining to this consultation requirement on the Documentation of Private School Consultation form (Form C). This form must include the signature of the appropriate private school official(s). Also indicate on this form if no private schools are located within the areas served by the “high-need local educational agency” or “eligible local partnership.” Proposals will be considered incomplete and will not be reviewed if such documentation is not provided.

If a private school wants to participate in the Title II Part D competitive grant proposal, the consultation should address what services will be offered; how, where and when services will be provided.

The applicant must provide, on an equitable basis, special educational services or other benefits that address the needs of children, teachers, and other educational personnel in private schools within the areas served by the “high-need local educational agency” or “eligible local partnership.” Expenditures for educational services for private school participants should be proportional to the expenditures for public school participants based on the number of students in poverty enrolled in respective school buildings.
 

Program Requirements

In order to be considered for funding, applications must meet the following requirements:
 

1. Each applicant must clearly signify its program focus on one of the five theme-oriented program areas with its program components and activities directly supporting the focus of the proposed program.

2. Each applicant must demonstrate the purpose of EETT Program is of “sufficient scope and quality”, describe specific research- or evidence-based model program(s) or practices for adoption or replication, and delineate strategies, processes and accountability measures aligned to the articulated needs and goals of the proposed program.

3. Each applicant must demonstrate active engagement with curriculum and instructional leaders of participating LEAs during the development of the grant proposal in determining educational and technological needs to ensure that the proposed program focuses on effective instruction and student learning through technology integration.

4. Each applicant must conduct consultation with principal(s) or their designee(s) of private schools within the region during the development of their competitive grant proposal. This consultation must occur prior to making any decisions that will impact the participation of the private schools.

5. While a grant award may be made to a consortium, the focus of the grant must be on addressing the identified needs of those schools and districts in need of improvement (SINI or DINI) within in the consortium.

6. Each grantee must use at least 40 percent (40%) of its funds to provide ongoing, sustained and high-quality professional development for curriculum and instructional leaders including school administrators and classroom teachers, following the theme of the proposed program for effective technology integration for teaching and learning.

7. Each grantee must allocate 5 percent (5%) of its grant award for external evaluation with a coherent evaluation plan, clear outcome measures, benchmarks, and timelines to assess and inform the extent to which project strategies and activities funded are effective in achieving its proposed goals and objectives.

8. Each grantee must not spend more than forty percent (40%) of its funds for computing hardware or other equipment and not more than 10 percent (10%) on program administration.

9. Each grantee must ensure that necessary educational content and resources in the specified core subjects to be developed, subscribed or acquired with the support of the grant funds for instructional delivery or professional development must be aligned to current New York State Learning Standards and keyed to the level of specificity of Performance Indicators

10. Digital content and resources developed and/or acquired with the project funding should remain as public property and may be incorporated and shared widely through NYS Virtual Learning System (if applicable and desirable).
     

Consortium/Partnership Applicant(s)

Applicant information for all partner agencies must be provided. Please complete the Participating School List (Form A) for all participating LEAs and the Service Providing Partners List (Form B).

Budget Category and Narrative Forms and Budget Summary Form

The applicant must complete the Budget Category and Narrative Forms (Form D) for each category of expenditure that is required for the grant and the Budget Summary Form (Form E: FS-20). The narrative must include sufficient detail to allow reviewers to understand what the funds will be used for and the relationship between the proposed expenditures and project activities and goals. In addition, the Budget Allocation Matrix Form (Form F) must be completed to demonstrate compliance of the proposed budget plan with the program guideline.

Information about the categories of expenditures, general information on allowable costs and applicable federal costs principles and administrative regulations are available in the Fiscal Guidelines for Federal and State Aided Grants (http://www.oms.nysed.gov/cafe/guidelines.html)
The totals from each of the Budget Category Forms must correspond to amounts shown on the Budget Summary Form (Form E: FS-20).

Grant Award Period and Grant Amounts

The grant award period will span two years beginning on January 1, 2008 and ending December 31, 2009. Applicants must submit a budget narrative and budget summary form covering each of the two program years. The budget narrative and budget summary form will be reviewed and any inappropriate and/or unallowable items will be eliminated.

Grants will be made for the first program year period from January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2008 and then renewed for the second year operation contingent upon satisfactory annual performance, compliance with program requirements and continued availability of funds.

Grant awards will range from $125,000 to $500,000 based on the number of students in poverty to be served in the proposed program according to the chart below:

Review and Rating of Applications

Only complete applications received by the due date will be reviewed. The Proposal Narrative, exclusive of the budget narrative, must not exceed 25 pages, with a font size of 12, single-spaced, and with one-inch margins. Any pages that exceed the limit will not be reviewed.

Each accepted application will be reviewed and rated by at least two reviewers according to the points indicated in the Proposal Narrative. Scores from each reviewer will be added to compute the final average score. A third review will be performed if there is a difference of at least 20 points between the two scores. An application must receive a final average score of 70 to be considered for funding, before the 20 preference points for consortium/partnership application are added.

Budgets will be reviewed and rated on their appropriateness and/or cost-effectiveness. SED will eliminate any items in the budget that are unallowable or inappropriate (i.e. minor remodeling or office furniture, etc).

In the event of a tie score, the applicant with the higher score on item #2 Need for Project in the Proposal Narrative will be ranked higher. Applications will be ranked according to the final average score plus the 20 extra preference points from highest to lowest in one of the following four Groups. Applications from partnerships or consortia will be placed at the discretion of the SED in the Group that most accurately represents the majority of its members. For example if a partner from rural school district enters an agreement with a LEA or consortium of school districts not considered as rural LEAs, the application may be considered as an application from non-rural school districts application as majority of the student body are not from the rural.

Funds will be allocated to each of the following regional groups based on its relative share of the number of children ages 5 – 17 in poverty within local educational agencies (using Census 2000 data provided by the USDOE).
 

1. New York City (five boroughs)

2. Big Four Cities (Buffalo, Rochester, Syracuse, Yonkers)

3. Rural (as defined by the Needs and Resource Index)

4. Rest of State (outside the Big Five and non-rural LEAs based on the Needs and Resource Index)
    

Awards will be made within each group in rank order of score until funds are insufficient to fund the next ranking applicant in full. Remaining funds will be offered to that applicant to run a smaller program. If there are any remaining funds in a particular group after funding all successful applications, the remaining funds will be proportionally redistributed to other regional groups

The New York State Education Department reserves the right to reject all proposals received or cancel this Grant if it is in the best interest of the Department. The Department also reserves the right to negotiate minor adjustment in the final budget based on application review results.

Grantees’ Responsibility

Projects must operate under the jurisdiction of the local board of education of the lead LEA which serves as the fiscal agent for the grant 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 of education 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 and 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 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 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/)
 

Project Reports Requirement

At the initial stage of the project, each funded project must collect baseline data following its theme focus and project design and complete a project operational matrix form to illustrate logical connections among project goals, objectives, strategies, activities and budget items (specific form will be provided when awards are granted).

Each funded project must submit a six-month progress report with program implementation information and specific data as requested by the USDOE and/or New York State Education Department.

The end-of-year program evaluation report must be submitted to document progress made toward meeting the project goals and the program performance indicators and delineate success and impact of the project in promoting technology integration into teaching and learning as well as improving students’ academic performance in the core subject areas including technology literacy. Specific report format or request will be provided to funded projects to reflect possible federal and state report requirement.
 

NYSED Consortium Policy for State and Federal Discretionary Grant Programs:
 

NYSED oversees many discretionary grant programs. These programs require NYSED to issue discretionary funds through a competitive grant RFP (unlike allocational grant programs where grant funds are allocated by formula, e.g. Title I Part A, Title II Part A, Title IV Part A). The statute pertaining to a grant program may require or permit a cooperative arrangement of grant applicants/participants, for the mutual benefit of the grant participants. In such cases, the participants can form a partnership or consortium to apply for the grant. In order to do so, the 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:
   
   a. Must be an eligible grant recipient as defined by statute;
   b. Must receive and administer the grant funds and submit the required reports to account for the use of grant funds;
   c. Must require consortium partners to sign an agreement with the fiscal agent that specifically outlines all services each partner agrees to provide.
   d. Must be an active member of the partnership/consortium, except where SUNY or CUNY Research Foundations are the fiscal agent.
   e. 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.
   f. 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.
   g. 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.
    

Application Form

FS-20

10/05/2007