FR Doc 05-6263
[Federal Register: March 30, 2005 (Volume 70, Number 60)]
[Notices]
[Page 16236-16242]
From the Federal Register Online via GPO Access [wais.access.gpo.gov]
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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
Office of Innovation and Improvement; Overview Information; Arts
in Education Model Development and Dissemination Grant Program; Notice
Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2005
Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.351D.
Dates: Applications Available: March 30, 2005.
Deadline for Notice of Intent to Apply: April 29, 2005.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: May 31, 2005.
Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: July 28, 2005.
Eligible Applicants: (1) One or more local educational agencies
(LEAs), including charter schools that are considered LEAs under State
law and regulations, that may work in partnership with one or more of
the following:
A State or local non-profit or governmental arts
organization,
A State educational agency (SEA) or regional educational
service agency,
An institution of higher education, or
A public or private agency, institution, or organization,
such as a community-or faith-based organization; or
(2) One or more State or local non-profit or governmental arts
organizations that must work in partnership with one or more LEAs and
may partner with one or more of the following:
An SEA or regional educational service agency,
An institution of higher education, or
A public or private agency, institution, or organization,
such as a community-or faith-based organization.
Note: If more than one LEA or arts organization wishes to form a
consortium and jointly submit a single application, they must follow
the procedures for group applications described in 34 CFR 75.127
through 34 CFR 75.129 of the Education Department General
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR).
Estimated Available Funds: $3.9 million. Contingent upon the
availability of funds and the quality of applications, we may make
additional awards in FY 2006 from the list of unfunded applications
from this competition.
Estimated Range of Awards: $225,000-$275,000 for the first year of
the project. Funding for the second and third years is subject to the
availability of funds and the approval of continuation awards (see 34
CFR 75.253).
Estimated Average Size of Awards: $250,000.
Estimated Number of Awards: 15.
Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this
notice.
Project Period: Up to 36 months.
Full Text of Announcement
I. Funding Opportunity Description
Purpose of Program: The Arts in Education Model Development and
Dissemination program (AEMDD) supports the enhancement, expansion,
documentation, evaluation, and dissemination of innovative, cohesive
models that are based on research and have demonstrated that they
effectively: (1) Integrate standards-based arts education into the core
elementary and middle school curricula; (2) strengthen standards-based
arts instruction in these grades; and (3) improve students' academic
performance, including their skills in creating, performing, and
responding to the arts. Projects funded through the AEMDD program are
intended to increase the amount of information on effective models for
arts education that is nationally available and that integrate the arts
with standards-based education programs.
Priorities: This competition includes one absolute priority and one
competitive preference priority.
Absolute Priority: This priority is from the notice of final
priority, requirements, and definitions for this program, published
elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register. For FY 2005 and any
subsequent year in which we make awards on the basis of the list of
unfunded applications from this competition, this priority is an
absolute priority. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3) we consider only
applications that meet this priority.
This priority is:
This priority supports projects that enhance, expand, document,
evaluate, and disseminate innovative cohesive models that are based on
research and have demonstrated their effectiveness in (1) integrating
standards-based arts education into the core elementary or middle
school curriculum, (2) strengthening standards-based arts instruction
in the elementary or middle school grades, and (3) improving the
academic performance of students in elementary or middle school grades,
including their skills in creating, performing, and responding to the
arts.
In order to meet this priority, an applicant must demonstrate that
the model project for which it seeks funding (1) serves only elementary
school or
[[Page 16237]]
middle school grades, or both and (2) is linked to State and national
standards intended to enable all students to meet challenging
expectations and to improving student and school performance.
Competitive Preference Priority: This priority is from the notice
of final priority for Scientifically Based Evaluation Methods,
published in the Federal Register on January 25, 2005 (70 FR 3586). For
FY 2005 and any subsequent year in which we make awards on the basis of
the list of unfunded applications from this competition, this priority
is a competitive preference priority. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(i), we
award up to an additional 20 points to an application, depending on how
well the application meets this priority. These points are in addition
to any points the application earns under the selection criteria.
When using the priority to give competitive preference to an
application, the Secretary will review applications using a two-stage
process. In the first stage, the application will be reviewed without
taking the priority into account. In the second stage of review, the
applications rated highest in stage one will be reviewed for
competitive preference. We consider awarding additional (competitive
preference) points only to those applicants with top-ranked scores on
their selection criteria. We expect that up to 12 applicants will
receive these additional competitive preference points.
This priority is:
The Secretary establishes a priority for projects proposing an
evaluation plan that is based on rigorous scientifically based research
methods to assess the effectiveness of a particular intervention. The
Secretary intends that this priority will allow program participants
and the Department to determine whether the project produces meaningful
effects on student achievement or teacher performance.
Evaluation methods using an experimental design are best for
determining project effectiveness. Thus, when feasible, the project
must use an experimental design under which participants--e.g.,
students, teachers, classrooms, or schools--are randomly assigned to
participate in the project activities being evaluated or to a control
group that does not participate in the project activities being
evaluated.
If random assignment is not feasible, the project may use a quasi-
experimental design with carefully matched comparison conditions. This
alternative design attempts to approximate a randomly assigned control
group by matching participants--e.g., students, teachers, classrooms,
or schools--with non-participants having similar pre-program
characteristics.
In cases where random assignment is not possible and participation
in the intervention is determined by a specified cutting point on a
quantified continuum of scores, regression discontinuity designs may be
employed.
For projects that are focused on special populations in which
sufficient numbers of participants are not available to support random
assignment or matched comparison group designs, single-subject designs
such as multiple baseline or treatment-reversal or interrupted time
series that are capable of demonstrating causal relationships can be
employed.
Proposed evaluation strategies that use neither experimental
designs with random assignment nor quasi-experimental designs using a
matched comparison group nor regression discontinuity designs will not
be considered responsive to the priority when sufficient numbers of
participants are available to support these designs. Evaluation
strategies that involve too small a number of participants to support
group designs must be capable of demonstrating the causal effects of an
intervention or program on those participants.
The proposed evaluation plan must describe how the project
evaluator will collect--before the project intervention commences and
after it ends--valid and reliable data that measure the impact of
participation in the program or in the comparison group.
If the priority is used as a competitive preference priority,
points awarded under this priority will be determined by the quality of
the proposed evaluation method. In determining the quality of the
evaluation method, we will consider the extent to which the applicant
presents a feasible, credible plan that includes the following:
(1) The type of design to be used (that is, random assignment or
matched comparison). If matched comparison, include in the plan a
discussion of why random assignment is not feasible.
(2) Outcomes to be measured.
(3) A discussion of how the applicant plans to assign students,
teachers, classrooms, or schools to the project and control group or
match them for comparison with other students, teachers, classrooms, or
schools.
(4) A proposed evaluator, preferably independent, with the
necessary background and technical expertise to carry out the proposed
evaluation. An independent evaluator does not have any authority over
the project and is not involved in its implementation.
In general, depending on the implemented program or project, under
a competitive preference priority, random assignment evaluation methods
will receive more points than matched comparison evaluation methods.
Application Requirement: To be eligible for Arts in Education Model
Development and Dissemination funds, applicants must propose to address
the needs of low-income children by carrying out projects that serve at
least one elementary or middle school in which 35 percent or more of
the children enrolled are from low-income families (based on data used
in meeting the poverty criteria in Title I, Section 1113(a)(5) of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended by the No
Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (ESEA)).
Definitions: As used in the absolute priority in this notice--
Arts includes music, dance, theater, media arts, and visual arts,
including folk arts.
Integrating means (i) encouraging the use of high-quality arts
instruction in other academic/content areas and (ii) strengthening the
place of the arts as a core academic subject in the school curriculum.
Based on research, when used with respect to an activity or a
program, means that, to the extent possible, the activity or program is
based on the most rigorous theory, research, and evaluation available
and is effective in improving student achievement and performance and
other program objectives.
As used in the competitive preference priority in this notice--
Scientifically based research (section 9101(37) of the ESEA as amended
by NCLB, 20 U.S.C. 7801(37)):
(A) Means research that involves the application of rigorous,
systematic, and objective procedures to obtain reliable and valid
knowledge relevant to education activities and programs; and
(B) Includes research that--
(i) Employs systematic, empirical methods that draw on observation
or experiment;
(ii) Involves rigorous data analyses that are adequate to test the
stated hypotheses and justify the general conclusions drawn;
(iii) Relies on measurements or observational methods that provide
reliable and valid data across evaluators and observers, across
multiple measurements and observations, and across studies by the same
or different investigators;
[[Page 16238]]
(iv) Is evaluated using experimental or quasi-experimental designs
in which individuals entities, programs, or activities are assigned to
different conditions and with appropriate controls to evaluate the
effects of the condition of interest, with a preference for random-
assignment experiments, or other designs to the extent that those
designs contain within-condition or across-condition controls;
(v) Ensures that experimental studies are presented in sufficient
detail and clarity to allow for replication or, at a minimum, offer the
opportunity to build systematically on their findings; and
(vi) Has been accepted by a peer-reviewed journal or approved by a
panel of independent experts through a comparably rigorous, objective,
and scientific review.
Random assignment or experimental design means random assignment of
students, teachers, classrooms, or schools to participate in a project
being evaluated (treatment group) or not participate in the project
(control group). The effect of the project is the difference in
outcomes between the treatment and control groups.
Quasi-experimental designs include several designs that attempt to
approximate a random assignment design.
Carefully matched comparison groups design means a quasi-
experimental design in which project participants are matched with non-
participants based on key characteristics that are thought to be
related to the outcome.
Regression discontinuity design means a quasi-experimental design
that closely approximates an experimental design. In a regression
discontinuity design, participants are assigned to a treatment or
control group based on a numerical rating or score of a variable
unrelated to the treatment such as the rating of an application for
funding. Eligible students, teachers, classrooms, or schools above a
certain score (``cut score'') are assigned to the treatment group and
those below the score are assigned to the control group. In the case of
the scores of applicants' proposals for funding, the ``cut score'' is
established at the point where the program funds available are
exhausted.
Single subject design means a design that relies on the comparison
of treatment effects on a single subject or group of single subjects.
There is little confidence that findings based on this design would be
the same for other members of the population.
Treatment reversal design means a single subject design in which a
pre-treatment or baseline outcome measurement is compared with a post-
treatment measure. Treatment would then be stopped for a period of
time, a second baseline measure of the outcome would be taken, followed
by a second application of the treatment or a different treatment. For
example, this design might be used to evaluate a behavior modification
program for disabled students with behavior disorders.
Multiple baseline design means a single subject design to address
concerns about the effects of normal development, timing of the
treatment, and amount of the treatment with treatment-reversal designs
by using a varying time schedule for introduction of the treatment and/
or treatments of different lengths or intensity.
Interrupted time series design means a quasi-experimental design in
which the outcome of interest is measured multiple times before and
after the treatment for program participants only.
Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 7271.
Applicable Regulations: (a) EDGAR in 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79,
80, 81, 82, 84, 85, 86, 97, 98, and 99. (b) The notice of final
priority, requirements, and definitions for this program, published
elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register. (c) The notice of
final priority for Scientifically Based Evaluation Methods, published
in the Federal Register on January 25, 2005 (70 FR 3586).
Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 79 apply to all applicants
except federally recognized Indian tribes.
Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 86 apply to institutions of
higher education only.
II. Award Information
Type of Award: Discretionary grants.
Estimated Available Funds: $3.9 million. Contingent upon the
availability of funds and quality of applications, we may make
additional awards in FY 2006 from the list of unfunded applications
from this competition.
Estimated Range of Awards: $225,000-$275,000 for the first year of
the project. Funding for the second and third years is subject to the
availability of funds and the approval of continuation awards (see 34
CFR 75.253).
Estimated Average Size of Awards: $250,000.
Estimated Number of Awards: 15.
Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this
notice.
Project Period: Up to 36 months.
III. Eligibility Information
1. Eligible Applicants: (1) One or more LEAs, including charter
schools that are considered LEAs under State law and regulations, that
may work in partnership with one or more of the following:
A State or local non-profit or governmental arts
organization,
An SEA or regional educational service agency,
An institution of higher education, or
A public or private agency, institution, or organization,
such as a community- or faith-based organization; or
(2) One or more State or local non-profit or governmental arts
organizations that must work in partnership with one or more LEAs and
may partner with one or more of the following:
An SEA or regional educational service agency,
An institution of higher education, or
A public or private agency, institution, or organization,
such as a community- or faith-based organization.
Note: If more than one LEA or arts organization wish to form a
consortium and jointly submit a single application, they must follow
the procedures for group applications described in 34 CFR 75.127
through 34 CFR 75.129 of EDGAR.
2. Cost Sharing and Matching: This program does not involve cost
sharing or matching but does involve supplement-not-supplant funding
provisions.
Under section 5551(f)(2) of (ESEA), the Secretary requires that
assistance provided under this subpart be used only to supplement, and
not to supplant, other assistance or funds made available from non-
Federal sources for the activities assisted under this subpart.
This restriction also has the effect of allowing projects to
recover indirect costs only on the basis of a restricted indirect cost
rate, according to the requirements in 34 CFR 75.563 and 34 CFR 76.564
through 569. As soon as they decide to apply, applicants are urged to
contact the ED Indirect Cost Group at (202) 377-3833 for guidance about
obtaining a restricted indirect cost rate to use on the Budget
Information form (ED Form 524) included with the application package.
3. Coordination Requirement: Under section 5551(f)(1) of the ESEA,
the Secretary requires that each entity funded under this program
coordinate, to the extent practicable, each project or program carried
out with funds awarded
[[Page 16239]]
with appropriate activities of public or private cultural agencies,
institutions, and organizations, such as museums, arts education
associations, libraries and theaters.
IV. Application and Submission Information
1. Address To Request Application Package: Education Publications
Center (ED Pubs), P.O. Box 1398, Jessup, MD 20794-1398. Telephone (toll
free): 1-877-433-7827. FAX: (301) 470-1244. If you use a
telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may call (toll free):
1-877-576-7734.
You may also contact ED Pubs at its Web site:
http://www.ed.gov/pubs/edpubs.html
or you may contact ED Pubs at its e-mail address:
edpubs@inet.ed.gov.
If you request an application from ED Pubs, be sure to identify
this competition as follows: CFDA number 84.351D.
You may also obtain the application package for the program via the
Internet at the following address:
http://www.ed.gov/programs/artsedmodel/applicant.html.
Individuals with disabilities may obtain a copy of the application
package in an alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print,
audiotape, or computer diskette) by contacting the program contact
person listed in section VII of this notice.
2. Content and Form of Application Submission: Requirements
concerning the content of an application, together with the forms you
must submit, are in the application package for this program.
Notice of Intent To Apply: The Department will be able to develop a
more efficient process for reviewing grant applications if it has a
better understanding of the number of entities that intend to apply for
funding under this competition. Therefore, the Secretary strongly
encourages each potential applicant to notify the Department by sending
a short e-mail message indicating the applicant's intent to submit an
application for funding. The e-mail need not include information
regarding the content of the proposed application, only the applicant's
intent to submit it. This e-mail notification should be sent to Diane
Austin at artsdemo@ed.gov.
Applicants that fail to provide this e-mail notification may still
apply for funding.
Page Limit for Program Narrative: The program narrative (Part III
of the application) is where you, the applicant, address the selection
criteria that reviewers use to evaluate your application. Applicants
are strongly encouraged to limit Part III to the equivalent of no more
than 30 single-sided, double-spaced pages printed in 12-font type or
larger.
The page limit does not apply to Part I, the cover sheet; Part II,
the budget section, including the narrative budget justification; Part
IV, the assurances and certifications; or the one-page abstract,
curriculum vitae, or bibliography of literature cited. However, you
must include all of the program narrative in Part III.
3. Submission Dates and Times: Applications Available: March 30,
2005.
Deadline for Notice of Intent To Apply: April 29, 2005.
Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: May 31, 2005.
Applications for grants under this program must be submitted
electronically using the Electronic Grant Application System (e-
Application) available through the Department's e-Grants system. For
information (including dates and times) about how to submit your
application electronically or by mail or hand delivery if you qualify
for an exception to the electronic submission requirement, please refer
to section IV.6. Other Submission Requirements in this notice.
We do not consider an application that does not comply with the
deadline requirements.
Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: July 28, 2005.
4. Intergovernmental Review: This competition is subject to
Executive Order 12372 and the regulations in 34 CFR part 79.
Information about Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs under
Executive Order 12372 is in the application package for this
competition.
5. Funding Restrictions: We reference regulations outlining funding
restrictions in the Applicable Regulations section of this notice.
6. Other Submission Requirements: Applications for grants under
this program must be submitted electronically, unless you qualify for
an exception to this requirement in accordance with the instructions in
this section.
We will reject your application if you submit it in paper format
unless, as described elsewhere in this section, you qualify for one of
the exceptions to the electronic submission requirement and submit, no
later than two weeks before the application deadline date, a written
statement to the Department that you qualify for one of these
exceptions. Further information regarding calculation of the date that
is two weeks before the application deadline date is provided later in
this section under Exception to Electronic Submission Requirement.
a. Electronic Submission of Applications.
Applications for grants under the Arts in Education Model
Development and Dissemination Program-CFDA Number 84.351D must be
submitted electronically using e-Application available through the
Department's e-Grants system, accessible through the e-Grants portal
page at: http://e-grants.ed.gov.
While completing your electronic application, you will be entering
data online that will be saved into a database. You may not e-mail an
electronic copy of a grant application to us.
Please note the following:
You must complete the electronic submission of your grant
application by 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application
deadline date. The e-Application system will not accept an application
for this program after 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the
application deadline date. Therefore, we strongly recommend that you do
not wait until the application deadline date to begin the application
process.
The regular hours of operation of the e-Grants Web site
are 6 a.m. Monday until 7 p.m. Wednesday; and 6 a.m. Thursday until
midnight Saturday, Washington, DC time. Please note that the system is
unavailable on Sundays, and between 7 p.m. on Wednesdays and 6 a.m. on
Thursdays, Washington, DC time, for maintenance. Any modifications to
these hours are posted on the e-Grants Web site.
You will not receive additional point value because you
submit your application in electronic format, nor will we penalize you
if you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission
requirement, as described elsewhere in this section, and submit your
application in paper format.
You must submit all documents electronically, including
the Application for Federal Education Assistance (ED 424), Budget
Information--Non-Construction Programs (ED 524), and all necessary
assurances and certifications.
Any narrative sections of your application should be
attached as files in a .DOC (document), .RTF (rich text), or .PDF
(Portable Document) format.
Your electronic application must comply with any page
limit requirements described in this notice.
Prior to submitting your electronic application, you may
wish to print a copy of it for your records.
[[Page 16240]]
After you electronically submit your application, you will
receive an automatic acknowledgement that will include a PR/Award
number (an identifying number unique to your application).
Within three working days after submitting your electronic
application, fax a signed copy of the ED 424 to the Application Control
Center after following these steps:
(1) Print ED 424 from e-Application.
(2) The applicant's Authorizing Representative must sign this form.
(3) Place the PR/Award number in the upper right hand corner of the
hard-copy signature page of the ED 424.
(4) Fax the signed ED 424 to the Application Control Center at
(202) 245-6272.
We may request that you provide us original signatures on
other forms at a later date.
Application Deadline Date Extension in Case of e-Application System
Unavailability: If you are prevented from electronically submitting
your application on the application deadline date because the e-
Application system is unavailable, we will grant you an extension of
one business day in order to transmit your application electronically,
by mail, or by hand delivery. We will grant this extension if--
(1) You are a registered user of e-Application and you have
initiated an electronic application for this competition; and
(2) (a) The e-Application system is unavailable for 60 minutes or
more between the hours of 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., Washington, DC time,
on the application deadline date; or
(b) The e-Application system is unavailable for any period of time
between 3:30 p.m. and 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the
application deadline date.
We must acknowledge and confirm these periods of unavailability
before granting you an extension. To request this extension or to
confirm our acknowledgement of any system unavailability, you may
contact either (1) the person listed elsewhere in this notice under
section VII or (2) the e-Grants help desk at 1-888-336-8930. If the
system is down and therefore the application deadline is extended, an
e-mail will be sent to all registered users who have initiated an e-
Application. Extensions referred to in this section apply only to the
unavailability of the Department's e-Application system.
Exception to Electronic Submission Requirement: You qualify for an
exception to the electronic submission requirement, and may submit your
application in paper format, if you are unable to submit an application
through the e-Application system because--
You do not have access to the Internet; or
You do not have the capacity to upload large documents to
the Department's e-Application system; and
No later than two weeks before the application deadline
date (14 calendar days or, if the fourteenth calendar day before the
application deadline date falls on a Federal holiday, the next business
day following the Federal holiday), you mail or fax a written statement
to the Department, explaining which of the two grounds for an exception
prevent you from using the Internet to submit your application. If you
mail your written statement to the Department, it must be postmarked no
later than two weeks before the application deadline date. If you fax
your written statement to the Department, we must receive the faxed
statement no later than two weeks before the application deadline date.
Address and mail or fax your statement to: Diane Austin, U.S.
Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 4W214,
Washington, DC 20202-5950. Fax: (202) 205-5630.
Your paper application must be submitted in accordance with the
mail or hand delivery instructions described in this notice.
b. Submission of Paper Applications by Mail.
If you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission
requirement, you may mail (through the U.S. Postal Service or a
commercial carrier) your application to the Department. You must mail
the original and two copies of your application, on or before the
application deadline date, to the Department at the applicable
following address:
By mail through the U.S. Postal Service:
U.S. Department of Education, Application Control Center, Attention:
(CFDA Number 84.351D), 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20202-
4260; or
By mail through a commercial carrier:
U.S. Department of Education, Application Control Center--Stop 4260,
Attention: (CFDA Number 84.351D), 7100 Old Landover Road, Landover, MD
20785-1506.
Regardless of which address you use, you must show proof of mailing
consisting of one of the following:
(1) A legibly dated U.S. Postal Service postmark,
(2) A legible mail receipt with the date of mailing stamped by the
U.S. Postal Service,
(3) A dated shipping label, invoice, or receipt from a commercial
carrier, or
(4) Any other proof of mailing acceptable to the Secretary of the
U.S. Department of Education.
If you mail your application through the U.S. Postal Service, we do
not accept either of the following as proof of mailing:
(1) A private metered postmark, or
(2) A mail receipt that is not dated by the U.S. Postal Service.
If your application is postmarked after the application deadline
date, we will not consider your application.
Note: The U.S. Postal Service does not uniformly provide a dated
postmark. Before relying on this method, you should check with your
local post office.
c. Submission of Paper Applications by Hand Delivery.
If you qualify for an exception to the electronic submission
requirement, you (or a courier service) may deliver your paper
application to the Department by hand. You must deliver the original
and two copies of your application, by hand, on or before the
application deadline date, to the Department at the following address:
U.S. Department of Education, Application Control Center, Attention:
(CFDA Number 84.351D), 550 12th Street, SW., Room 7041, Potomac Center
Plaza, Washington, DC 20202-4260.
The Application Control Center accepts hand deliveries daily
between 8 a.m. and 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, except Saturdays,
Sundays, and Federal holidays.
Note for Mail or Hand Delivery of Paper Applications: If you mail
or hand deliver your application to the Department:
(1) You must indicate on the envelope and--if not provided by the
Department--in Item 4 of the ED 424 the CFDA number--and suffix letter,
if any--of the competition under which you are submitting your
application.
(2) The Application Control Center will mail a grant application
receipt acknowledgment to you. If you do not receive the grant
application receipt acknowledgment within 15 business days from the
application deadline date, you should call the U.S. Department of
Education Application Control Center at (202) 245-6288.
V. Application Review Information
Selection Criteria: The selection criteria for this competition are
from Sec. 75.210 of EDGAR. The maximum score
[[Page 16241]]
for all the selection criteria is 100 points. The maximum score for
each criterion is indicated in parentheses. Each criterion also
includes the factors that the reviewers will consider in determining
how well an application meets the criterion. The notes following any
selection criteria are guidance to help applicants in preparing their
applications, and are not required by statute or regulations. The
criteria are as follows:
(a) Need for project (10 points). The Secretary considers the need
for the proposed project. In determining the need for the project the
Secretary considers the following factors:
(1) The extent to which the proposed project will provide services
or otherwise address the needs of students at risk of educational
failure.
(2) The extent to which specific gaps or weaknesses in services,
infrastructure, or opportunities have been identified and will be
addressed by the proposed project, including the nature and magnitude
of those gaps or weaknesses.
(b) Significance (20 points). In determining the significance of
the proposed project, the Secretary considers the following factors:
(1) The importance or magnitude of the results or outcomes likely
to be attained by the proposed project, especially improvements in
teaching and student achievement.
(2) The likely utility of the products (such as information,
materials, processes, or techniques) that will result from the proposed
project, including the potential for their being used effectively in a
variety of other settings.
(3) The potential replicability of the proposed project or
strategies, including, as appropriate, the potential for implementation
in a variety of settings.
(4) The extent to which the results of the proposed project are to
be disseminated in ways that will enable others to use the information
or strategies.
(c) Quality of the project design (35 points). The Secretary
considers the quality of the design of the proposed project. In
determining the quality of the design of the proposed project, the
Secretary considers the following factors:
(1) The extent to which the design of the proposed project reflects
up-to-date knowledge from research and effective practice.
(2) The extent to which the proposed project is part of a
comprehensive effort to improve teaching and learning and support
rigorous academic standards for students.
(3) 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.
(4) 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.
(d) Quality of the management plan (15 points). The Secretary
considers the quality of the management plan for the proposed project.
In determining the quality of the management plan for the proposed
project, the Secretary considers the following factors:
(1) The adequacy of the management plan to achieve the objectives
of the proposed project on time and within budget, including clearly
defined responsibilities, timelines, and milestones for accomplishing
project tasks.
(2) The extent to which the time commitments of the project
director and principal investigator and other key project personnel are
appropriate and adequate to meet the objectives of the proposed
project.
(3) The adequacy of procedures for ensuring feedback and continuous
improvement in the operation of the proposed project.
(e) Quality of the project evaluation (20 points). The Secretary
considers the quality of the evaluation to be conducted of the proposed
project. In determining the quality of the evaluation, the Secretary
considers the following factors:
(1) The extent to which the methods of evaluation are thorough,
feasible, and appropriate to the goals, objectives, and outcomes of the
proposed project.
(2) The extent to which the methods of evaluation will provide
performance feedback and permit periodic assessment of progress toward
achieving intended outcomes.
(3) The extent to which the evaluation will provide guidance about
effective strategies suitable for replication or testing in other
settings.
Note: A strong evaluation plan should be included in the
application narrative and should be used, as appropriate, to shape
the development of the project from the beginning of the grant
period. The plan should include benchmarks to monitor progress
toward specific project objectives and also outcome measures to
assess the impact on teaching and learning or other important
outcomes for project participants. More specifically, the plan
should identify the individual and/or organization that has agreed
to serve as evaluator for the project and describe the
qualifications of that evaluator. The plan should describe the
evaluation design, indicating: (1) What types of data will be
collected; (2) when various types of data will be collected; (3)
what methods will be used; (4) what instruments will be developed
and when; (5) how the data will be analyzed; (6) when reports of
results and outcomes will be available; and (7) how the applicant
will use the information collected through the evaluation to monitor
progress of the funded project and to provide accountability
information both about success at the initial site and effective
strategies for replication in other settings. Applicants are
encouraged to devote an appropriate level of resources to project
evaluation.
VI. Award Administration Information
1. Award Notices: If your application is successful, we notify your
U.S. Representative and U.S. Senators and send you a Grant Award
Notification (GAN). We may also notify you informally.
If your application is not evaluated or not selected for funding,
we notify you.
2. Administrative and National Policy Requirements: We identify
administrative and national policy requirements in the application
package and reference these and other requirements in the Applicable
Regulations section of this notice.
We reference the regulations outlining the terms and conditions of
an award in the Applicable Regulations section of this notice and
include these and other specific conditions in the GAN. The GAN also
incorporates your approved application as part of your binding
commitments under the grant.
3. Grant Administration: Applicants should budget for a three-day
meeting for project directors to be held in Washington, DC.
4. Reporting: At the end of your project period, you must submit a
final performance report, including financial information, as directed
by the Secretary. If you receive a multi-year award, you must submit an
annual performance report that provides the most current performance
and financial expenditure information as specified by the Secretary in
34 CFR 75.118. For specific requirements on grantee reporting, please
go to:
http://www.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/appforms/appforms.html.
5. Performance Measures: In response to the Government Performance
and Results Act (GPRA), the Department has established the following
performance measure for assessing the effectiveness of the AEMDD
program: The percentage of students participating in arts models
programs who demonstrate higher achievement than those in control or
comparison groups. Grantees funded
[[Page 16242]]
under this competition will be expected to collect and report to the
Department data on the numbers of these students applicable to their
project.
VII. Agency Contact
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Diane Austin, U.S. Department of
Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 4W214, Washington, DC 20202-
5950. Telephone: (202) 260-1280 or by e-mail:
artsdemo@ed.gov.
If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may
call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an
alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer
diskette) on request to the program contact person listed in this
section.
VIII. Other Information
Electronic Access to This Document: You may view this document, as
well as all other documents of this Department published in the Federal
Register, in text or Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) on the
Internet at the following site:
http://www.ed.gov/news/fedregister.
To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available
free at this site. If you have questions about using PDF, call the U.S.
Government Printing Office (GPO), toll free, at 1-888-293-6498; or in
the Washington, DC, area at (202) 512-1530.
Note: The official version of this document is the document
published in the Federal Register. Free Internet access to the
official edition of the Federal Register and the Code of Federal
Regulations is available on GPO Access at:
http://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/index.html.
Dated: March 24, 2005.
Michael J. Petrilli,
Acting Assistant Deputy Secretary for Innovation and Improvement.
[FR Doc. 05-6263 Filed 3-29-05; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P