School Improvement Support
Grant
Pursuant to: Title I, Part A 1003(a)
February 13, 2013
Purpose
 The purpose of this grant is to provide funds to Title I Focus Schools to support
improvement in the following areas:
 Planning:
 Evaluation by External Provider and Action Planning; or
 Facilitated Data Analysis and Action Planning.
 Implementation – activities related to:
 Best First Instruction;
 Leadership;
 Positive Climate and Culture; and/or
 Extended Learning Opportunities.
Note: Implementation activities must be tied to a thorough needs assessment which includes an
analysis of the reasons the school was identified as a Title I Focus School and how the activities will
address the related priority performance challenges.
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Available Funds
 Approximately $3,000,000 is available for distribution to
schools.
 Schools may apply for up to $50,000 for each focus area
chosen – up to two focus areas ($100,000).
 67 Eligible schools
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Eligibility
Eligible schools include:
 Title I focus schools
 Priority will be given to:
 Schools with a Turnaround Plan assignment
 Schools with a Priority Improvement Plan Assignment
 Schools with the lowest performance in Academic Achievement, Academic
Growth, Academic Growth Gaps, and for high schools, the lowest performance in
Postsecondary and Workforce Readiness; and/or
 Schools that have had a School Support Team review within the last four years.
 Schools receiving Tiered Intervention Grant funding are not eligible for this
opportunity.
 BOCES are not considered an LEA for Title I Part A funds and therefore cannot be
the fiscal agent for this competitive application.
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Allowable Use of Funds
Planning
 Evaluation by External Provider and Action Planning which may include costs associated with:
 Comprehensive, evidence based appraisal of how the school is functioning in the areas of:
 Instruction
 Leadership
 Use of data
 Improvement planning
 Detailed report including:
 Executive summary
 Detailed report of observations with supporting evidence
 Recommended goals or action steps
 Staff debrief
 Effective practices
 Opportunities for improvement
 Action planning (stipends, substitutes, materials, etc)
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Allowable Use of Funds
 Facilitated Data Analysis and Action Planning, which may include costs associated
with:
 Support for data gathering and organizing (pre-planning for data analysis)
 Review of student performance data;
 Identification of trends and performance challenges;
 Prioritization of performance challenges;
 Root cause analysis;
 Target setting;
 Action planning; and
 Cost associated with involving relevant stakeholders (e.g., staff, parents) in data
analysis and action planning.
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Allowable Use of Funds
Awarded funds must primarily be used for activities and professional development
that take into account the reasons the school was identified as a Title I Focus
School:
 Implementation: Based on identified priority performance challenges and root
causes, schools or districts may choose to apply for funds to be used primarily for
activities and professional development related to:
 Best First Instruction;
 Leadership;
 Positive Climate and Culture.
 Extended Learning Opportunities for planning and implementation related to:
 Extended Day/Year;
 Creative and flexible school day; and/or
 Academic Summer School.
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Allowable Use of Funds
 Activities must be tied to a thorough needs assessment which includes an
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analysis of the reasons the school was identified as a Title I Focus School
and how the activities will address the related priority performance
challenges
Strong justification must be provided for amounts requested. Final award
amounts will be adjusted accordingly.
A clear case must be made within the application narrative for pursuing
multiple focus areas.
If schools have not established a strong data analysis in the UIP, they may be
asked to first apply for a facilitated data analysis or an evaluation by an
external provider.
Funds may be used to supplement not supplant any moneys currently being
used to provide extended year activities.
Applicants may not apply for more than 2 focus areas.
Duration of Grant
 Funding will be awarded by April 30, 2013, and must be
expended by June 30, 2014.
 No carryover will be allowed.
 In order to access any additional funds that may become
available in future years/competitions, schools must have
demonstrated:
 Adequate progress toward established annual targets in approved
previous applications;
 Timely draw down of funds; and
 Expenditures in accordance with grant intents and purposes.
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Reporting
 Schools receiving Title I, Part A Improvement Support
Partnership Grant funding are required to submit to CDE:
 Changes that were made to Unified Improvement Plan (UIP) based
on awarded grant funds;
 Final report showing evidence that funds are impacting the focus
areas chosen and student achievement, student growth, growth
gaps and/or post-secondary and workforce readiness; and
 Annual Financial Report to CDE on or before September 1, 2014.
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Review Process
 Applications will be reviewed by CDE staff and experts from
the field to ensure they contain all required components.
 This is a competitive process- grants must score as follows:
 At least 96 out of 120 possible points for 1 focus area.
 At least 130 out of 162 possible points for 2 focus areas.
 There is no guarantee that submitting a proposal will result in
funding or funding at the requested level.
 All application decisions are final.
 Applicants that do not meet the qualifications will be notified
and may reapply in future grant applications.
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Letter of Intent
 If interested in applying for this grant opportunity, please
complete the Letter of Intent and submit by Friday, March 22,
2013 to [email protected] .
 Focus Area(s) for which you will request funds – for the
purpose of the Letter of Intent - this is a preliminary indication
and may change once you’ve developed, refined, strengthened
your needs assessment
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Submission Process and Deadline
 The original application and electronic budget plus 4 copies must be received at CDE by
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Wednesday, April 17, 2013 at 4 p.m.
In addition to the 5 hard copies, an electronic copy of the application and electronic budget
must be submitted to: [email protected]
The electronic version should include all required components of the proposal as one document.
Faxes will not be accepted.
Incomplete or late applications will not be considered.
The application materials and budget are available for download on the CDE Web site at:
http://www.cde.state.co.us/FedPrograms/ti/a.asp .
Proposals will be due by 4 p.m. on Wednesday, April 17, 2013 to:
Nicole Dake
Colorado Department of Education
Competitive Grants and Awards
1560 Broadway, Suite 1450
Denver, CO 80202
Required Elements
Part I:
Proposal Introduction (not scored)
Cover Page
Retention of Funds for Service Form
Certification and Assurances Form
District Assignment of Federal Grant Funds and Assurances Form
Executive Summary (no more than 1 page)
Table of Contents
Part II: Needs Assessment Data (required)
Part III: External Evaluation or Data Analysis and Action Planning (if applicable)
Part IV: Best First Instruction (if applicable)
Part V: Leadership (if applicable)
Part VI: Positive School Culture (if applicable)
Part VII: Extended Learning Opportunities (if applicable)
Part VIII: Capacity (Required)
Part IX: Evaluation (Required)
Part X: Budget Narrative (required)
Electronic Budget (not included in 10 page limit)
Attachments:
UIP School Improvement Support Action Plan Template
Most Current UIP
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Part II: Needs Assessment Data
 Performance trends, priority performance challenges, and root cause
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analysis from the school UIP. Provide strong evidence of need in each the
focus area(s) chosen.
Reviewers will refer to the UIP Quality Criteria
(http://www.cde.state.co.us/uip/UIP_TrainingAndSupport_Resources.asp ).
Note: Analysis should incorporate the reasons the school was identified as a
Title I Focus School and the associated trends, priority performance
challenges, and root causes.
OR
Provide evidence of the need for an external review or facilitated data
analysis and action planning.
7 possible points.
Part III: External Evaluation or
Facilitated Data Analysis and
Action Planning
 Clearly identify which option the school plans to pursue: 1) external review or 2)
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facilitated data analysis and action planning.
Need for an evaluation conducted by an external provider or a facilitated data
analysis.
Barriers that are preventing the school from taking full advantage of district and
school evaluation infrastructure that is in place.
Skills that are absent in the current system that are needed to engage in an external
evaluation or facilitated data analysis and action planning.
Process for identifying and selecting external provider(s) to support the external
evaluation or facilitated data analysis and action planning.
Role external provider(s) will play in addressing evaluation and action planning
capacity in local staff.
42 possible points.
Part IV: Best First Instruction
 Activities related directly to need as demonstrated by data provided in Part II (i.e.,
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data analysis of UIP that incorporates the reasons the school was identified as a Title I
Focus School).
Process for identifying and selecting the “major improvement strategy” described in
the grant application. The activity should address priority performance challenge(s)
and related root cause analysis.
How the district/ school will adjust and update instructional practices to ensure all
students receive high quality instruction based on data indicating effectiveness of
current instruction.
Way in which the district/school will routinely analyze how each school is performing.
This should be reflected in the interim measures in the data analysis section of the
UIP – or provide a plan to update the UIP with the proposed interim measures.
Process for a continuous improvement cycle that will provide support to the school
or district.
Fidelity of implementation data for instruction will be monitored and analyzed.
42 possible points.
Part V: Leadership
 Activities related directly to the leadership need as demonstrated by data provided in Part II
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(i.e., data analysis of UIP that incorporates the reasons the school was identified as a Title I
Focus School).
How leadership will disaggregate data, communicate information to staff and ensure staff
members have appropriate access to data, ensure staff members receive training in use of the
data, and systemically incorporate data into improvement planning.
How the district/school will build capacity and skills in staff and support staff through selection,
recruitment, and retention practices.
How leadership decisions are collaborative, focused on student academic performance and
driven by data and results. Interim measures and implementation benchmarks from the UIP
should be used as supporting evidence.
How leadership collaboratively develops, communicates, and sustains a shared vision, beliefs,
values and goals focused on improving student achievement.
How the school/district fosters systems that expect professional growth plans for development
of leadership skills.
42 possible points.
Part VI: Positive School/District
Climate and Culture
 Activities related directly to need as demonstrated by data provided in Part II (i.e., data analysis
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of UIP that incorporates the reasons the school was identified as a Title I Focus School).
How a school/district team will be established or utilize an existing team to support the
implementation of positive school climate and culture of high expectations across schools within
the district.
How the school/district will acquire or build upon expertise to support schools and/or staff.
Roles of the individuals with expertise and how this expertise will be shared with schools.
Process that will be used to continually review climate and culture of high expectations and data
management systems (for progress monitoring and action planning) to ensure it meets the
needs of schools and/or staff. This should be reflected in the interim measures in the data
analysis section of the UIP – or provide a plan to update the UIP with the proposed interim
measures.
Plan for collecting and utilizing fidelity of implementation data to increase positive
school/district climate.
42 possible points.
Part VII: Extended Learning
Opportunities
 Activities related directly to need as demonstrated by data provided in Part II (i.e., data analysis of UIP that
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incorporates the reasons the school was identified as a Title I Focus School).
How a school/district team will be established or utilize an existing team to support the implementation of
the extended learning opportunities
How the school/district will acquire or build upon expertise to support schools and/or staff involved in the
extended learning opportunities.
Roles of the individuals with expertise and how this expertise will be used in the implementation of the
extended learning opportunities.
Process that will be used to continually review the impact of the extended learning opportunities and data
management systems (for progress monitoring and action planning) to ensure it meets the needs of schools
and/or staff. This should be reflected in the interim measures in the data analysis section of the UIP – or
provide a plan to update the UIP with the proposed interim measures.
Plan for collecting and utilizing fidelity of implementation data to ensure the effectiveness of the extended
learning opportunities.
Note: The proposal for extended learning opportunities should align with the priority performance challenges
related to the reason(s) the school was identified as a Title I Focus School.
42 possible points.
Part VIII: Capacity
 How the school/district consulted with relevant stakeholders regarding the
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application.
Evidence supporting the readiness for the school/district to take on the
Improvement Support Grant, including steps that have been taken that
demonstrate commitment to the requirements of the grant.
Actions the school/district has taken or will take to align other resources
with the proposed activities.
If the grant is funded, demonstrate how the school/district will have capacity
to carry out the proposed activities.
Actions the school/district will take to sustain efforts after the funding
period ends.
33 possible points.
Part IX: Evaluation
 Clear, measurable targets for each of the focus areas chosen.
 This should be reflected in the interim measures in the data analysis section
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of the UIP – or provide a plan to update the UIP with the proposed interim
measures.
Clear and focused description of what methods will be used to collect
information and how the strategies and activities will be evaluated for
effectiveness.
Who will monitor and evaluate the progress of the selected strategies.
Who will be responsible for sharing those results with schools, district, CDE
and the community?
21 possible points.
Part X: Budget Narrative
 All expenditures contained in the electronic budget are described in the budget
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narrative and connected to project activities.
The costs of the proposed project (as presented in the electronic budget and budget
narrative) are reasonable and the budget sufficient in relation to the objectives,
design, scope and sustainability of project activities.
The program will leverage support from other school/district programs and
initiatives.
It will support programs already in place.
Funds awarded under the program will be used to supplement the level of funds
available for authorized programs and activities, and will not supplant federal, state,
local, or non-federal funds.
Note: An updated budget template was posted to the CDE website on 3/18/13
 17 possible points.
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Focus Schools and the UIP
UIP Requirements
 Includes as a priority performance challenge, the performance
of the lowest performing disaggregated student group(s).
 Root causes for low achieving disaggregated groups are
specifically identified.
 Includes action steps that specifically address performance
challenge of the lowest performing disaggregated group(s).
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Contact Information
For program questions contact:
Brad Bylsma ([email protected] or 303-866-6937)
For fiscal/budget questions contact:
Martin Petrov ([email protected] or 303‐866‐6905)
For RFP specific questions contact:
Kim Burnham ([email protected] or 303-866-6916)
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