2009-14 Two-Way Bilingual Education Program Questions and Answers
Question #1: We have applied for State funding on several occasions, but have never been awarded a grant. We finally convinced our Board of Education to move forward with district funds, and we plan to launch our first Two-Way K program in September 2009 in one of our elementary schools. Can we apply for the recently released Two-Way grant? Our program would benefit tremendously from additional funding for staff development, materials, and parent workshops. It seems unfair to penalize those districts who are committed enough to the program to move forward with existing funds.The eligible applicants for the Two-Way Bilingual Education Program grants are:
- Public school districts with approved Comprehensive Plans/Reports under CR Part 154 are eligible to apply;
- New York City Community School Districts may not apply; and
- School districts that are currently operating Two-Way Bilingual Education Programs with Federal, State, or Local funds are not eligible to apply.
Question #2: I provide instructional support to several schools in District 25, Flushing Queens. We would like to start a Chinese Dual Language program at one of the early childhood schools next year. Can individual schools apply for this grant?
Schools in the New York City Community School Districts are not eligible to apply for the Two-Way Bilingual Education Program grant. Please consult with the Office of Language Learners (OLL) in the New York City Department of Education (NYDOE) for Two-Way Bilingual Education Program grant opportunities.
Question #3: We received information about a grant for a Two Way Bilingual Program. I see that the information specifies that grants are for non-NYC schools only; however, I wondered if it had been opened up to NYC schools. We are a Spanish-speaking bilingual school in NYC with many English proficient students and are eager to expand our bilingual offerings in the content areas.
Schools in the New York City Community School Districts are not eligible to apply for the Two-Way Bilingual Education Program grant. Please consult with the Office of Language Learners (OLL) in the New York City Department of Education (NYDOE) for Two-Way Bilingual Education Program grant opportunities.
Question #4: We are a Public School within a District in NYC. I received the information from several sources encouraging us to apply however, the instructions that I read indicated that NYC Community School Districts may not apply as school standing alone in the program, do we qualify for this program?
Schools in the New York City Community School Districts are not eligible to apply for the Two-Way Bilingual Education Program grant. Please consult with the Office of Language Learners (OLL) in the New York City Department of Education (NYDOE) for Two-Way Bilingual Education Program grant opportunities.
Question #5: The Two-Way Application Checklist includes "Assurances" as #7. We cannot seem to locate these assurances within the application itself. Can you please let us know where we might find them?
The Assurances pages can be found at the end of grant application (in Word), Appendix A and A-1G, from pages 20 to 29.
Question #6: Regarding the application for the two-way bilingual education program, it would be helpful to have clarification regarding the term "new" program.
“New” Two-Way Bilingual Education Programs refer to those programs that are not currently in operation, serving students through Federal, State, or Local funds.
Question #7: (i) Can the grant funds be used for the planning and development of a Two-Way bilingual program for the first 6 months of the grant allocation (Jan 2010-Jun 2010)?
The first seven (7) months of the grant period may be used for planning and development purposes, including instructional programs and promotional activities for students and parents (e.g., afterschool enrichment or language exploratory program, orientation program for parents, etc.). The goal is to encourage foreign language studies in a dual language setting, strengthen the native language(s) of students, and to solicit voluntary student participation in the proposed Two-Way Bilingual Education program beginning in the 2010-2011 school year.
(ii) My district presently only has a stand alone ESL program and we want to start a Two-Way Bilingual program. However, we need to know when the actual program has to be implemented January 2010? or September 2010?
Programs and activities relating to the Two-Way Bilingual Education Program may begin December 1, 2009. Please note that participating LEP students must be provided with the appropriate units of English language instruction that is specified in CR Part 154, Section 154.2(f) and (g).
(iii) We need to have planning and development time September 2009-June 2010. Can we use the grant funds for that purpose in Jan-June 2010?
The first seven (7) months of the grant period may be used for planning and development purposes, including instructional programs and promotional activities for students and parents (e.g., afterschool enrichment or language exploratory program, orientation program for parents, etc.). The goal is to encourage foreign language studies in a dual language setting and to solicit voluntary student participation in the proposed Two-Way Bilingual Education program beginning in the 2010-2011 school year.
Question #8: (i) Should the lines be double spaced?
The application should be typed, single-spaced, and in size 12 Arial font, with all the required information.
(ii) Should the submitted budget be for the 2009-2010 year only or should a budget be submitted for the four years of the grant?
The submitted budget should be for the period from December 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010. Applicants selected to receive a grant will be required to submit a budget prior to July 1 for each subsequent year of the grant. With the exception of the first budget, each budget will cover the period from July 1 to June 30.
(iii) Can the initial grant period for December, 2009 - June, 2010 be used for planning?
The first seven (7) months of the grant period may be used for planning and development purposes, including instructional programs and promotional activities for students and parents (e.g., afterschool enrichment or language exploratory program, orientation program for parents, etc.). The goal is to encourage foreign language studies in a dual language setting and to solicit voluntary student participation in the proposed Two-Way Bilingual Education program beginning in the 2010-2011 school year
(iv) Can the program evaluator be a consultant if an in-house person is not available?
The Program Evaluator should have expertise in Two-Way Bilingual Education Programs. Since the program evaluator must conduct an independent and objective evaluation of the program, an outside consultant is preferred. He or she should not have any intrinsic ties to the Two-Way Bilingual Education Program in question.