TSL/SEED/AHCA Grant Renewal Opportunity Application

UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

OFFICE OF ELEMENTARY AND SECONDARY EDUCATION

{Enter Date}

TO: {Enter Full Program Name} program Fiscal Year (FY) {Enter Fiscal Year} Grant Cohort

RE: {TSL/SEED/AHCA} Grant Renewal Opportunity

Dear {TSL/SEED/AHCA} Program Colleagues:

As you are aware, the {TSL/SEED/AHCA} program is a three-year grant program in which the U.S. Department of Education (Department) may provide the opportunity to renew an existing grant for an additional period of up to two years if a grantee demonstrates that the grantee is effectively using funds.¹

In our December 20, 2016 {TSL/SEED/AHCA} competition Notice Inviting Applications (NIA), we noted this renewal provision for applicants and also reminded all FY {Enter Fiscal Year} grantees of this renewal opportunity in our November 6, 2019 {TSL/SEED/AHCA} program colleague letter. In that letter, we noted that we would provide further details describing the renewal process, including how to apply to renew your existing grant in the near future. We now share these specific details below and extend this opportunity to apply for up to a two-year grant renewal of your FY {Enter Fiscal Year} {TSL/SEED/AHCA} grant.

1. Background

Section 2212(b)(2) of the ESEA states that “[t]he Secretary may renew a [{TSL/SEED/AHCA}] grant…for a period of not more than 2 years if the grantee demonstrates to the Secretary that the grantee is effectively using funds. Such renewal may include allowing the grantee to scale up or replicate the successful program.”

If you are interested in this renewal opportunity, please submit documentation demonstrating that you are effectively using {TSL/SEED/AHCA} funds awarded under the FY {Enter Fiscal Year} grant competition. Your thorough responses to the questions below, along with all required grant performance information, will be evaluated by a panel of non-Federal peer reviewers to score your renewal submission and make renewal funding determinations.

Please note that this renewal opportunity is a new provision in the ESEA and is distinct from the Department’s review when determining whether to grant continuation awards during the approved project period under the “substantial progress” standard established in 34 CFR §75.253.

Also note: All grantees will not receive a renewal award. We estimate approving 6-8 grantees for renewal awards.

2. Indicating Your Interest in Renewing the Grant

If you intend to respond to this renewal opportunity, you are strongly encouraged to email both your {TSL/SEED/AHCA} program officer and {Enter Program Email} expressing your intent by {Enter Intent Due Date}.

3. Renewal Submission Questions

When considering whether to renew your grant for up to an additional 2 years, the Department must determine that your {TSL/SEED/AHCA} project is effectively using funds. Furthermore, the Department may consider renewing your {TSL/SEED/AHCA} grant to scale up or replicate a successful program. Please provide thorough and specific written responses to the following questions for our consideration. Please note that these questions are an approved Office of Management and Budget (OMB) information collection extension under 1894-0006.²

Background and Implementation Progress To-Date

1. Please describe how you effectively used TSL grant funds during years 1 through 3.

2. What are the project’s significant milestones, accomplishments, and other notable aspects of its implementation during years 1 through 3? Where did those significant milestones, accomplishments, or other notable aspects of the project’s implementation exceed expectations or planned-for outcomes?

3. What are areas where the project’s design or planned implementation have been delayed or are not expected to meet intended project outcomes? What efforts, if any, have been undertaken to address these challenges?

4. Please describe any significant, planned deviations from the project’s original, approved design that you intend to undertake in order to reposition the project for greater success if awarded additional funding.

Proposed Renewal Period Activities

1. What planned or ongoing efforts to study the impact of the approved project’s activities will you undertake if awarded additional funding?

2. What activities will you undertake to continue to build upon the existing body of work related to the focus of the grant’s activities and share its results with the field?

3. What activities will you undertake to use renewal funds to build upon and scale successful aspects of the grant project to benefit a larger segment of educators and students at schools not included in the original project?

4. How would your project use renewal funding to develop or enhance capacity in the key areas (human, material, structural, and organizational) necessary to transition successful aspects of the project into system-wide improvements?

4. Renewal Application Scoring

The Department will consider grant performance information and peer reviewers will use the following selection criteria, taken from 34 CFR §75.210, when reviewing your renewal opportunity submission. Each selection criterion is weighted at 25 possible points each with a maximum score of 100 points.

Selection Criteria	Factors
Quality of the Project Evaluation (up to 25 points)	The extent to which the methods of evaluation provide for examining the effectiveness of project implementation strategies.
	The extent to which the methods of evaluation include the use of objective performance measures that are clearly related to the intended outcomes of the project and will produce quantitative and qualitative data to the extent possible.
Quality of the Project Design (up to 25 points)	The extent to which the design for implementing and evaluating the proposed project will result in information to guide possible replication of project activities or strategies, including information about the effectiveness of the approach or strategies employed by the project.
	The extent to which the proposed project is designed to build capacity and yield results that will extend beyond the period of Federal financial assistance.
Strategy to Scale (up to 25 points)	The feasibility of successful replication of the proposed project, if favorable results are obtained, in a variety of settings and with a variety of populations.
	The mechanisms the applicant will use to broadly disseminate information on its project so as to support further development or replication.
Adequacy of Resources (up to 25 points)	The potential for continued support of the project after Federal funding ends, including, as appropriate, the demonstrated commitment of appropriate entities to such support.
	The potential for the incorporation of project purposes, activities, or benefits into the ongoing program of the agency or organization at the end of Federal funding.

5. Submission Instructions

Please submit your {TSL/SEED/AHCA} renewal application to {Enter Program Email} by 11:59 PM EST on {Enter Submission Due Date}. In submitting your request for a renewal, please include the following documents:

• Your thorough and detailed responses to the Renewal Questions in Section III, above

• A revised budget table for the requested renewal period up to two-years (using the ED 524 form)

• A revised budget narrative providing detailed breakdown of how award funds will be used during the renewal period

To facilitate your submission, you may use the enclosed {TSL/SEED/AHCA} Renewal Application Submission Template.

6. Conclusion

We appreciate all the effort you have invested in implementing your {TSL/SEED/AHCA} grant projects to date and we look forward to continued collaboration. If you have any questions, please contact {Enter Program Lead Name}, {TSL/SEED/AHCA} Group Leader via email at {Enter Program Lead Email} or {Enter Program Lead Phone}.

Sincerely,

Venitia Richardson

Division Director

Effective Educator Development Division

Office of Elementary and Secondary Education

U.S. Department of Education

U.S. Department of Education | Office of Elementary and Secondary Education (OESE)

Division of Effective Educator Development (EED)

{INSERT PROGRAM NAME} {INSERT FISCAL YEAR}

Renewal Application Submission Template

GranteeInformation
Grantee Name
PR Award#
Project Title
Project Director Name, Title, Email, Telephone
Primary POC, Name, Title, Email, Telephone (if not the Project Director)

Response to Grant Renewal Questions

Part I: Background and Implementation Progress To-Date (Questions 1-3)

1. Please describe how you effectively used TSL grant funds during years 1 through 3.

Enter response:

2. What are the project’s significant milestones, accomplishments, and other notable aspects of its implementation during years 1 through 3? Where did those significant milestones, accomplishments, or other notable aspects of the project’s implementation exceed expectations or planned-for outcomes?

Enter response:

3. What are areas where the project’s design or planned implementation have been delayed or are not expected to meet intended project outcomes? What efforts, if any, have been undertaken to address these challenges?

Enter response:

4. Please describe any significant, planned deviations from the project’s original, approved design that you intend to undertake in order to reposition the project for greater success if awarded additional funding.

Enter response:

Part II: Proposed Renewal Period Activities – 100 points possible

1. Quality of the Project Evaluation (25 points)

1. The extent to which the methods of evaluation provide for examining the effectiveness of project implementation strategies.

2. The extent to which the methods of evaluation include the use of objective performance measures that are clearly related to the intended outcomes of the project and will produce quantitative and qualitative data to the extent possible.

In responding to this selection criterion, the grantee must address the following:

What planned or ongoing efforts to study the impact of the approved project’s activities will you undertake if awarded additional funding?

Enter response:

2. Quality of the Project Design (25 points)

1. The extent to which the design for implementing and evaluating the proposed project will result in information to guide possible replication of project activities or strategies, including information about the effectiveness of the approach or strategies employed by the project.

2. The extent to which the proposed project is designed to build capacity and yield results that will extend beyond the period of Federal financial assistance.

In responding to this selection criterion, the grantee must address the following:

What activities will you undertake to continue to build upon the existing body of work related to the focus of the grant’s activities and share its results with the field?

Enter response:

3. Strategy to Scale (25 points)

1. The feasibility of successful replication of the proposed project, if favorable results are obtained, in a variety of settings and with a variety of populations.

2. The mechanisms the applicant will use to broadly disseminate information on its project so as to support further development or replication.

In responding to this selection criterion, the grantee must address the following:

What activities will you undertake to use renewal funds to build upon and scale successful aspects of the grant project to benefit a larger segment of educators and students at schools not included in the original project?

Enter response:

4. Adequacy of Resources (25 points)

1. The potential for continued support of the project after Federal funding ends, including, as appropriate, the demonstrated commitment of appropriate entities to such support.

2. The potential for the incorporation of project purposes, activities, or benefits into the ongoing program of the agency or organization at the end of Federal funding.

In responding to this selection criterion, the grantee must address the following:

How would your project use renewal funding to develop or enhance capacity in the key areas (human, material, structural, and organizational) necessary to transition successful aspects of the project into system-wide improvements?

Enter response:

1 See section 2212(b)(2) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESEA).

2 Paperwork Burden Statement: According to the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, no persons are required to respond to a collection of information unless such collection displays a valid OMB control number. The valid OMB control number for this information collection is 1894-0006. The time required to complete this information collection is estimated to vary from 13 to 22 hours per response, with an average of 17.5 hours per response, including the time to review instructions, search existing data sources, gather the data needed, and complete and review the information collection. The obligation to respond to this collection is required under Section 6632 of the ESEA. If you have comments or concerns regarding the status of your individual submission of this form, write directly to Orman Feres, U.S. Department of Education, Office of Elementary and Secondary Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Room 3C140, Washington, D.C. 20202-6450.