What types of professional development activities are covered by the Early Reading First Grant?

The Early Reading First program is subject to the definition of "professional development" in section 9101(34) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) (available on the Department's website at http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/leg/esea02/index.html).

That definition lists fifteen activities that a grantee must include in its professional development, which Early Reading First projects would include in a context relevant to preschool. The activities include, in part, activities that:

1. improve and increase teachers' knowledge of the academic subject that teachers teach, and
2. enable teachers to become highly qualified.
3. improve classroom management skills.
4. are high quality, sustained, intensive, and classroom-focused in order to have a positive and lasting impact on classroom instruction and the teacher's performance in the classroom.
5. are not 1-day or short-term workshops or conferences.
6. support the recruiting, hiring, and training of highly qualified teachers, including teachers who became highly qualified through State and local alternative routes to certification.
7. advance teacher understanding of the effective instructional strategies that are
   1. based on scientifically based research
   2. strategies for improving student academic achievement or substantially increasing the knowledge and teaching skills of teachers.
8. are aligned with and directly related to State content standards.
9. as a whole, are regularly evaluated for their impact on increased teacher effectiveness and improved student academic achievement, with the findings of the evaluations used to improve the quality of professional development.
10. provide instruction in methods of teaching children with special needs.
11. include instruction in the use of data and assessment to inform and instruct classroom practice.
12. include instruction in ways that teachers, principals, school administrators, and other program staff may work more effectively with parents.

Under Early Reading First, applicants may use funds for professional development activities that take place both within and outside of the classroom. For example, applicants may propose to hire instructional specialists to mentor teachers within classes as well as lead training activities outside of the classroom that are focused on classroom instruction. Reasonable expenses necessary to cover teachers' classes while those teachers observe other teachers or go to conferences generally would be allowable. However, projects are encouraged to embed most activities within practice, and to couple tightly any training that takes place outside of the classroom with ongoing classroom-focused activities.

As the Early Reading First Non-Regulatory Guidance states, effective professional development is based on scientifically based reading research knowledge of early language and reading development. It should be provided on "a continuous, ongoing basis, and be sustained, intensive, and classroom-focused. Effective professional development includes strategies such as mentoring and coaching (e.g., demonstration by the coach of effective strategies, and coaches' observation of teachers' instruction followed by discussion and reflection on the effectiveness of instructional strategies and how they support student progress)" (Guidance B-2, p. 8, available on the Department's website at http://www.ed.gov/programs/earlyreading/legislation.html).

Is direct teacher support an allowable expense?

In addition to stipends, bonuses, and scholarships, direct teacher support such as salaries for specialists or new teachers to address the invitational priority related to intensity (e.g. to switch from half-day to full-day and/or to serve children for the two years prior to their entry into kindergarten) generally would be allowable, so long as they are necessary and reasonable to accomplish the program's purpose and objectives.

What constitutes a "center" and how many centers may the applicant propose to serve with an Early Reading First Grant?

A center may be a classroom or multiple classrooms within a building or campus, or multiple buildings or campuses, within one LEA. For example, it may be a Head Start center with one or more classrooms or one or more buildings or campuses, or a private or non-profit preschool program with one or more classrooms, buildings, or campuses.

The Secretary recommends that no more than five (5) centers (for center-based programs) be served with the applicant's proposed program. This is an approximate guideline. Applicants may list more or fewer centers depending on their needs and capacity. Nevertheless, applicants should be sure to limit the scope of their proposed project sufficiently to ensure that resources are concentrated enough to achieve all their program goals and they become models of excellence within their educational communities. Applicants are encouraged to keep their focus on improving quality rather than quantity.

Can Early Reading First funds be used for paying rent?

Applicants should focus their proposed activities on the statutory purposes of Early Reading First. To the extent that the leasing of some additional space is necessary and reasonable for meeting the purposes and objectives of the program, rent generally would be an allowable cost. (See the applicable OMB Cost Circulars)

Can Early Reading First funds be used for construction?

No. Construction costs are not allowed to be charged to the Federal funds for an Early Reading First project. This is a requirement of the Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) at 34 CFR 75.533 (applicants can access EDGAR provisions on the Department's website.

However, Early Reading First funds may be used for minor remodeling (which does not include any structural alterations) to accomplish the program's purpose and objectives, such as to enhance the quality of the physical environment to make it more conducive to developing early language and early reading skills. (See the Education Department General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) at 34 CFR section 77.1, definition of "minor remodeling," which you can access on the Department's website at http://www.ed.gov/policy/fund/reg/edgarReg/edgar.html.)

Can Early Reading First funds be used for the transportation cost of a van or book mobile to bring books and a literacy program to children in their home as part of the program?

The use of a van or book mobile would be an allowable cost if it is shown to be necessary and reasonable to achieve the purpose and objectives of the program. However, the purchase of a van or book mobile generally would be considered a capital expenditure for equipment, assuming that it has a useful life of more than one year and a value of over $5,000. Thus, such a purchase would require specific prior approval from the Department.

Is there a requirement for in-kind contributions?

No. There is no requirement for matching funds or a local project cost-share.

How can applicants that do not have a current federally approved indirect cost rate with a cognizant federal agency obtain an approved indirect cost rate?

For the purposes of applications, applicants without a negotiated indirect cost rate are encouraged to use their accountant (or CPA) to calculate an indirect cost rate using information in the IRS Form 990, audited financial statements, actual cost data or a cost policy statement that those applicants are encouraged to prepare (but NOT submit to ED) during the application process. Applicants should use this proposed rate in their application materials and indicate which of the above methods was used to calculate the rate. Guidance for creating a cost policy statement can be obtained by sending an e-mail to Katrina.Mcdonald@ed.gov. If selected for funding, such applicants then will be required to establish a current ICR with their cognizant agency within 90 days after the grant is issued by ED.

In an application that includes a partnership, must all partners in the application be novice applicants in order to be eligible for the Pre-Application Competitive Priority?

No, only the entities in the partnership that are the eligible applicant(s) must qualify as novice(s).

Does our LEA's Head Start program disqualify us as a novice applicant for the purpose of the Pre-Application Competitive Priority?

Yes. To qualify as a "novice applicant", an applicant cannot have received an active discretionary (competitive) grant directly from the Federal Government within the last 5 years. Generally, current Head Start programs are considered to have received active discretionary grants from the Federal Government, because they originally applied directly to and received their Head Starts funds competitively from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and that process characterizes those grants for their entire period.

Does a subgrant or contract from a State agency of Federal funds disqualify us as a novice applicant for the purpose of the Pre-Application Competitive Priority?

No. If an entity has received a subgrant or contract award of Federal funds from a State agency or other organization, rather than applying directly to the Federal Government for those funds, the subgrant or contract is not considered to be an active discretionary grant from the Federal Government for the purpose of qualifying as a "novice applicant."

Is the Department of Education planning to contract with an external evaluator, and how does that relate to the local project evaluation?

By statute, the Secretary is required to conduct an independent evaluation of the effectiveness of Early Reading First. The purpose of that evaluation is to determine the overall effectiveness of Early Reading First projects, not to evaluate individual projects. This national evaluation is different from the evaluation referred to in the full application selection criteria, which local projects will conduct in order to evaluate the effectiveness of their own project. The national evaluation of Early Reading First was published in May 2007 and can be found at http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/pubs/20074007

Does your office make any specific recommendations about which assessments should be used?

Our office has not made any specific recommendations about assessments, except for those required for the purposes of our reporting to Congress under the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA). However, assessments used in Early Reading First projects must be valid and rigorous. The statute requires projects to use screening reading assessments or other appropriate measures that are based on scientifically based reading research to determine whether preschool age children are developing oral language skills, phonological awareness, print awareness, and alphabet knowledge. Question B-3 in the Non-Regulatory Guidance, located in the Laws, Regs, & Guidance section of this website, discusses the qualities of scientifically based reading research. A discussion of measures or assessments proposed by an Early Reading First applicant may address how each measure meets this definition. Books and articles addressing the qualities of scientifically based reading research can be found in the Resource section of this website.

Do charts and tables have to be double-spaced?

No. It is permissible to prepare charts in a single-spaced format.

What format should applicants use for citing research?

Applicants are asked to discuss the key research that is tied to their program design and its implications for classroom practice specifically in the narrative. Expert peer reviewers will then evaluate, among other things, the relevance and the rigor of the research cited. Applicants can assist reviewers by providing endnote citations for all works cited in the narrative. Endnotes are to be included in the appendices, and if included there, do not count toward the 35-page narrative limit.

May I include letters of support or the resumes of my key project personnel with my pre-application?

No, only include the appendices listed on the Pre-Application Final Checklist in the application package. Any other materials will not be considered.

How many final grants will be awarded?

The Department will award the grants on a competitive basis for a project period of up to three years. The Department estimates that it will make between 25 and 77 awards, ranging between $1,500,000 and $4,500,000 for a three-year period with average size of awards $3,000,000.00.

What is the timeline for the FY 2008 project, i.e., approximately when will awards be made?

We anticipate that grants generally will be awarded no later than September 30, 2008 for a three-year project period.

Will there be a time for start-up/planning period for the grant?

Early Reading First programs will be given flexibility as to when they should begin the actual implementation of the program activities portion of their project. Projects are not required to be fully operational during the first months of the project, but may conduct start-up activities during that time, such as hiring and obtaining any needed new curricula. We encourage all FY 2008 Early Reading First project activities and services to be fully implemented by January 2009.

Can anyone apply for the full application?

No, only applicants invited back from the pre-application phase of the competition can submit an application for full application phase of the Early Reading First grant competition.

What does SBRR stand for?

SBRR stands for Scientifically Based Reading Research. The definition is included in section 1208(6) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as amended by the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act.

How should applicants complete question #9 (type of application?

LEAs may select "C - city or township government", or write in "LEA" on the line under "Other."

How should applicants complete #15 (descriptive title)?

Applicants may cross-reference their 1-page project abstract in answer to this question.

How should applicants complete #17, the proposed project date?

The project period for Early Reading First grants is generally October 1st of the fiscal year in which the grant was awarded through September 30th of the fiscal year three years after the grant was awarded (e.g. October 1, 2007 – September 30, 2010 for FY 2007 Early Reading First grants). Projects are not required to be fully operational during the first months of the project, but may conduct start-up activities during that time, such as hiring and obtaining curricula. We encourage all Early Reading First project activities and services to be fully implemented by the January following their award date.

How should applicants complete #18 (estimated funding)?

In response to question #18 on Form 424, applicants should provide the amount requested for the entire three-year project period.

Form SF-424, #19. Is the Early Reading First Grant application subject to Executive Order 12372? If so, what is the date the application is "made available for review."

Executive Order 12372 concerns the Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs, and essentially gives States the opportunity to review and provide comments to Federal agencies on applications for Federal discretionary (competitive) grants. You can find more details in the Appendix for the Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs in the Early Reading First application package.

Early Reading First grants are subject to Executive Order 12372 if your State is listed as having a Single State Point of Content in the Appendix for Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs in the application package. If your State is listed, you should check box "a" and contact the person listed for your State to determine your State's process under Executive Order 12372, and the date by which you must provide the application to the State for review. The State has until August 26 to provide comments to the Department if it wishes. If your State is not listed in the Appendix, check box "b" in response to question 19 on the application cover page (Form SF-424).

How successful have our nation's early education programs been in getting children ready for school?

School readiness is a goal around which the entire nation has enthusiastically rallied. The early childhood years prior to kindergarten entry is a time of robust physical, emotional, and cognitive development. High-quality early education programs seize this early window of opportunity to support and accelerate children's development across all of these domains so that by the time they enter kindergarten, they are ready for the academic challenges ahead. Educators and policymakers at the Federal, State, and local levels have engaged in strong bipartisan efforts to ensure that all children start school healthy, well-adjusted, and intellectually ready for formal instruction.

The nation's early childhood programs have accomplished a great deal. More children, especially those from low-income families, are immunized against common childhood diseases, are receiving regular medical care, are served nutritious meals and snacks during the day, and have developed the important social skills needed for full participation in the elementary school environment. However, there is more that needs to be done. Many young children are still entering kindergarten without the prerequisite language, cognitive, and early reading and writing skills they need in order to benefit fully from early formal reading instruction. The following statistics illustrate the obstacles many children from low-income communities face even before they enter kindergarten:

• By the age of four, children from higher socio-economic families have been exposed to 45 million words, whereas children from lower socio-economic families have only been exposed to 13 million words (Hart, B. Risley, T., 1995). These differences in exposure to language through parent-child interactions during early childhood have a strong influence on later reading and school achievement.
• Fifty-six percent of beginning kindergartners at risk of school failure (because of factors such as low family income and low parent education) cannot identify more than two or three letters of the alphabet by name. Sixty-one percent of these kindergartners cannot identify the beginning sound of a word and 83 percent cannot identify the ending sound of a word (Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, Kindergarten Study, NCES, 2000).
• A recent Federal study of a nationally representative sample of Head Start programs found that the typical child enters Head Start as a 4-year-old being able to name no more than a single letter of the alphabet, and shows no gains in letter recognition over the Head Start year. By way of comparison, a typical middle-class child would be able to name all the letters on entry into kindergarten. (Head Start FACES Study, Third Progress Report, January 2001).

Early Reading First emphasizes the language and cognitive domains. How do the other developmental domains of early childhood fit into Early Reading First?

It is vital that early education programs attend to all the developmental domains of early childhood. Those domains (social, emotional, cognitive, linguistic, and physical) are closely related, and growth in language and cognition will optimally occur in the context of the other areas of development. Language development emerges from social interactions and rich experiences; good health and nutrition are foundational for all types of learning, and self-assurance in a group setting helps children profit from school experiences.

Early care and education programs have long done a good job in addressing the social, emotional and health needs of children and families. However, new research points to the importance of the language and cognitive domains, which, as discussed in the previous question, have often not been strongly or systematically addressed. The new research illustrates the importance of the intellectual competencies of young children and suggests specific ways to support learning through the use of strategies such as explicit and scaffolded (instruction in which adults build upon what children already know to help them accomplish a complex task by breaking it down into simpler components) instruction. An extensive body of evidence is also now available stressing the importance of early reading skills, including phonological awareness and vocabulary development. Early Reading First is designed to improve the language, cognitive, and early reading skills of young children in the context of the other developmental domains, all of which need strong and consistent attention.

How do we prepare young children for school success?

Children will learn about the things we specifically teach them and through the opportunities we provide in their environment. Parents and preschool teachers together have critical roles in building the early foundations for reading success. Research demonstrates that parents contribute to children's literacy and school-related competence in direct ways, by engaging in rich verbal exchanges and responsive interactions with their young children, and in indirect ways, by providing reading and writing materials, and by reading and writing themselves in everyday life. But high-quality early education programs also really count. Children from low-income families, in particular, are most likely to benefit from high-quality early education experiences. The good news is that many reading problems faced by adolescents today could have been resolved during their earliest years with access to a good early education.

How should high-quality early education programs engage parents?

The quality of family environments and parent-child interactions is central to a child's literacy and cognitive development. Parents strengthen their child's literacy development and school-related competencies when they engage in language-rich, parent-child interaction, provide supports for literacy in the family such as by reading to their children, and hold appropriate expectations of the child's learning and development. High-quality early education programs should provide explicit training for parents in the skills and behaviors that support their child's development. For example, parents and other family members should be encouraged to do the following activities:

• Talk with children and engage them in conversations, help them to name objects in their environment (labeling).
• Read and re-read stories.
• Encourage children to recount experiences and describe ideas that are important to them.
• Visit the library and museums.
• Provide opportunities for children to draw and print, using a variety of implements, such as markers, crayons, and pencils.

In addition, program staff should encourage and facilitate parent engagement in all aspects of the program. Teachers should meet with parents to talk about any areas in which their child is experiencing difficulty. They should work with parents to develop a plan for summer or other vacation periods between preschool and kindergarten that allows the child to continue in an instructional program and prevent the loss of previously acquired skills. Parents should also be encouraged to become their child's advocate and to spend time in the early education center observing and helping their own child.

Don't young children naturally develop the skills they need for school success?

Children are able to learn a great deal by simply exploring their environment independently and by interacting with people, given that some knowledge is naturally discoverable. Some knowledge, as well as many skills, however, are not naturally discoverable through independent exploration or through typical interactions with others, and these skills must be explicitly taught. Scientifically based reading research has identified specific skills that young children need in order to build a foundation for reading success.

In high-quality pre-kindergarten programs, you should see children doing the following:

• Learning the letters of the alphabet.
• Learning to hear the individual sounds in words. Children need to learn to break words apart into their separate sounds (segmenting) and put sounds together to make words (blending).
• Learning new words and how to use them.
• Learning early writing skills.
• Learning to use language by asking and answering questions, and by participating in discussions and engaging in conversations.
• Learning about written language by looking at books and by listening to stories and other books that are read to them every day.

What does a high-quality early learning program look like?

High-quality early learning programs may look different depending on the communities and families they serve. But while there is no precise cookie-cutter model, and parents should have a role in deciding what their child's early education program looks like, there are some things that all high-quality programs will include if they are to prepare young children for later academic success.

In school, just like at home, young children need safe, nurturing, and stimulating environments as well as the supervision and guidance of loving competent adults. In a high-quality early education program, teachers maintain a safe, healthy environment and carefully supervise the children. Teachers plan a balanced schedule in which the children don't feel rushed or fatigued. They also provide nutritious meals and snacks and ensure that children have the recommended immunizations, health screenings, and check-ups. But while these things are necessary, high-quality preschool programs that will give children the prerequisite skills for school success need to provide more.

In a high-quality early education program, there is a print-rich environment with letters of the alphabet clearly displayed at the children's eye level, play and learning centers that include a large number and wide variety of good books, writing tools, and other materials and toys conducive to imaginative play, and many interesting and challenging activities through which children can gain sufficient knowledge about the world. The program itself has a clear statement of its goals and philosophy addressing all areas of child development, including cognition and early reading, the cornerstones of later school success. Children are engaged in purposeful, meaningful, and significant learning activities and play, and are in the company of teachers who work from lesson and activity plans for which the purposes are known. Instruction is always intentional, and frequently is direct and explicit. There is a balance between individual, small-group, and large-group activities. And of great importance, instruction is guided by a curriculum that has a strong and systematic focus on the cognitive, language, and early reading and writing skills children need to develop before they enter kindergarten.

Why is professional development for early childhood educators so important?

Teacher expertise is a crucial ingredient in a high-quality early education program. Children's cognitive growth and language development are primarily influenced by the daily interactions between children and the adults who are teaching them, caring for them, and guiding their learning opportunities. The curriculum, learning environment, and materials available to children are important elements of quality, but it is the teacher's ability to implement the curriculum and to use effective instructional approaches that results in a long-term difference for learning. Many preschool teachers and daycare providers do not have formal training in providing explicit instruction or supporting and expanding children's cognitive and language skills. Some school-based early education programs hire elementary school teachers and, although these teachers traditionally have at least a bachelor's degree in education, they need additional training in child development, language acquisition, early literacy, observation, and assessment. Intensive, on-going professional development that includes such strategies as coaching and mentoring can give all early childhood educators the skills they need to help prepare young children for school success.

Does Early Reading First encourage the formal teaching of reading in preschool?

Absolutely not! Early Reading First encourages the teaching of early reading and cognitive skills that provide the foundation for formal reading instruction. These skills can be taught in ways that instill a love of language and learning in children, not through the use of flash cards and work sheets and having children sit in rows of desks. Early Reading First is not about pushing down curriculum, either; it is about providing opportunities for children to develop early reading skills through activities that are appropriate and enjoyable for young children. Along that vein, Early Reading First does not de-emphasize play; rather, it encourages teachers to use constructive and imaginative play as opportunities for children to develop their vocabulary, understanding, and ability to think about the world around them.

How will Early Reading First change the face of early childhood education for preschool children?

Early Reading First is a competitive grant program designed to transform existing early learning programs into centers of excellence by improving the resources, the pedagogy, and the classroom environment. Children, especially those from low-income families, will have optimal opportunity to develop physically, socially, and emotionally and they will learn the cognitive and early reading skills necessary for later school success. Early Reading First is about prevention rather than remediation. Remedial approaches have failed over the last two decades, as countless children who did not have adequate early learning experiences were never able to catch up with their more advantaged classmates. Research has shown the power of prevention through early intervention by well-trained early childhood educators. Early Reading First will change the face of early childhood education through intensive professional development for teachers of young children, ongoing screening assessments, many opportunities for discovery and constructive play, and coherent language and literacy teaching, including skills based instruction in early reading and writing.

Adequacy of Resources

Is there a specific format that applicants must use to demonstrate the support of the application by those stakeholders who would implement it?

No. Applicants may address Selection Criteria 3 (Adequacy of Resources), Factor 1, in any way they choose, However, any documentation demonstrating stakeholder support included in the appendices is limited to no more than five (5) one-sided pages. There is no prescribed form.

Budget Narrative

May applicants include the cost of food in their budgets?

Yes. Although entertainment (including food) is not allowable to be charged to the Federal funds for an Early Reading First project, food expenditures for participants (for example, parents, children, and attendees at professional development sessions) are allowable if they are not entertainment, and they are necessary and reasonable to accomplish project goals.

Novice Applicants

To be a novice applicant an applicant must not have received a "discretionary" grant from the Federal Government within the last 5 years. Can you please articulate what "discretionary" means in the context of Title I and other Federal education program money that schools routinely get?

The Department administers two kinds of direct grant programs. A direct grant program is either a discretionary grant program or a formula grant program.

A discretionary grant program is one that permits the U.S. Department of Education (or another Federal agency) to use discretionary judgment in selecting applications for funding (e.g., the Early Reading First program and the Early Childhood Educator Professional Development program).

To qualify as a novice applicant in this competition, an applicant must not have had an active discretionary grant from the Federal Government in the five years before the deadline date for applications in the applicable competition. For this purpose, a grant is active until the end of the grant's project or funding period, including any extensions of those periods that extend the grantee's authority to obligate funds. Formula grant awards of Federal funds to a State or another entity that the State or other entity then awards competitively as subgrants, e.g., 21st Century Community Learning Centers Program and Even Start Family Literacy Program subgrants, are not considered as being discretionary grants from the Federal Government for this purpose, as the award from the Federal Government is a formula rather than a discretionary grant.

Project Design

Are we required to limit our project to only five centers?

No. Applicants may address Selection Criterion 1 (Quality of Project Design), Factor 2, Purpose 1, in any way they choose. However, the Secretary recommends that applicants generally include no more than a total of five centers to ensure that funds are sufficiently concentrated to achieve program goals.

Should we include a list of names and addresses of the existing preschool program(s) that the proposed Early Reading First project would support?

Applicants may address Selection Criterion 1 (Quality of Project Design), Factor 2, Purpose 1, in any way they choose. However, the Secretary believes that high-quality applications likely will include in the appendices the names and addresses of existing preschool program(s) that the proposed Early Reading First project would support, including a brief description as indicated under Quality of the Project Design (Selection Criterion 1), Note, Purpose 1.

Project Personnel

If I don't yet have a specific person committed for one or more project positions, may I provide a job description and qualifications for the position, in lieu of the vitae?

Yes. Applicants may address Selection Criterion 2 and factors in any way they choose, including providing position descriptions if resumes/vitae are not available. Remember that applicants may only include in the appendices position descriptions and/or vitae for five positions, although they may have more key personnel than these five positions.

Will the same pool of reviewers who evaluated the Pre-Application also review the Full Application?

Generally, the same pool of expert readers will review the Full Application proposals. However, the same panel of readers that reviewed a Pre-Application will not review a Full Application from the same applicant.

Must we include a response to the "Need for Project" Pre-Application selection criterion in the Full Application?

The applicant should prepare the Full Application Narrative to respond to the Full Application Selection Criteria and factors. Full Applications will be evaluated only on the Full Application Selection Criteria published in the Federal Register, which are incorporated in the Full Application. Applicants should not assume that reviewers have read their pre-applications and should ensure that their full applications include all information needed by the reviewers to evaluate their proposals, including any program context information necessary for the reader to understand the applicant’s responses to the Full Application selection criteria.

Will the expert peer reviewers have access to the Pre-Applications?

No. Applicants should not cross-reference in the full application material from their pre-application because the full application is a "stand-alone" document. Reviewers will base their evaluation of the full application on the Full Application Narrative, the Budget and the Budget Narrative and other limited materials listed in the Full Application Final Checklist.