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Announcement of Funding Opportunity

2018 Title I School Improvement Section 1003
New York State Integration Project – Professional Learning Community (NYSIP-PLC) Grant

RECENT UPDATES

8/17/18:

5/7/18:

Update 5/2/18: Dates for the Professional Learning Community Sessions:
The dates for the Professional Learning Community (PLC) sessions have been revised.

  • April 23-24, 2018 in New York City
  • June 28-29, 2018 in Albany
  • August 16-17, 2018 in Albany
  • October 25-26, 2018 in New York City

Update 3/7/18:

Grant Application Documents

Application in PDF Adobe PDF | Application in Word Word document

Purpose of Grant

New York State (NYS) has been recently found by one measure to have the most racially and socioeconomically segregated school system in the nation.1 In light of this, the New York State Education Department (NYSED) recently presented a proposed Diversity StatementAdobe PDF to the Board of Regents, outlining the positive impacts of socioeconomic, racial, and other types of integration on academic outcomes for elementary and secondary-school students.

In an effort to support this renewed commitment to racial, socioeconomic, and other types of student integration in New York State, the NYSIP-PLC grant offers funds to assist LEAs to promote staff understanding of the benefits of integration and to assist staff to develop individualized district integration plans.

The purpose of the NYSIP program is to increase student achievement in New York State public schools by encouraging greater racial/ethnic, special education, English Language Learner/Multilingual Learner (ELL/MLL), and socioeconomic integration in Title I schools, particularly those identified for improvement. The three phases of the program are intended to provide districts with the funding and support to 1) learn about the benefits of integration and develop a sustainable integration strategy for the district, 2) refine their strategy and implement a limited pilot, and 3) fully implement a district integration plan. The NYSIP-PLC is Phase I of the three-phased grant program. Brief descriptions of Phases II and III can also be found below.

Title I School Improvement Grant funds under Section 1003 must be used to support Local Education Agencies (LEAs) that receive Title I funds and:

  • Serve the lowest achieving schools;
  • Demonstrate the greatest need for such funding;
  • Demonstrate the strongest commitment to ensuring that such funds are used to enable the lowest achieving schools to meet the progress goals in their school improvement plans; and
  • Have been identified for improvement based on the State’s accountability system.


1Orfield, G., Frankenberg, E., Ee, J., & Kuscera, J. (2014). Brown at 60: Great progress, a long retreat and an uncertain future. Civil Rights Project/Proyecto Derechos Civiles.

Eligibility

NYSED has established a list of eligible districts (see below on page 3) from among those districts that (1) identified as Title I Focus Districts, (2) have at least one Priority or Focus School and (3) have a district poverty rate (FRPL) of 50%. From among the cohort of districts that meet those initial criteria, NYSED then identified districts that ranked among the top 18 in the state related to within District Overall Segregation2 and the top 12 in the State for Between District Segregation.3 Eligible school districts must demonstrate that their proposed integration plans are designed in part to improve educational outcomes for students who attend Priority or Focus Schools.


2 Defined as districts where the demographic makeup of their schools (e.g., Race, Free and Reduced Price Lunch (FRPL), English Language Learners (ELLs) and Students with Disabilities) differ most from their districtwide demographics, such that individual schools in the district have very different demographic groups represented in each school.

3 Defined as districts where the demographic makeup of their district (e.g., Race, FRPL, English Language Learners and Students with Disabilities) differs most from their county demographics, such that the district has a very different demographic makeup as compared to other districts in the county.

Funding

5/7/18:

Funding for the NYSIP-PLC grant will be allocated as follows:

  • Up to $50,000 per participating district with fewer than 5,000 students;
  • Up to $57,500 per participating districts with at least 5,000 but fewer than 15,000 students;
  • Up to $65,000 per participating districts with at least 15,000 students;
  • Up to $68,000 per participating district with at least 15,000 students and located in West New York to account for increased travel expenses.

Phase I is a non-competitive grant, but Phase II and III of the NYSIP program will be competitive grants.  Although applicants will be invited to participate in all three phases of the program, participants are not guaranteed to receive funding for Phase II and III of the grant. The final Phase I submission (described below), in addition to districts’ participation throughout the PLC, will be taken into account when NYSED decides which participants will advance to Phase II of the program.

Eligible Districts and Allocations

The list of eligible districts and allocations are shown below:

District Name

Type of Segregation

Enrolled
4

Allocation

ALBANY CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT

Overall Between District

8,997

 $57,500

BUFFALO CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT

Overall Within and Between District

31,359

 $68,000

CENTRAL ISLIP UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT

Overall Between District

7021

 $57,500

EAST RAMAPO CENTRAL SCHOOL DISTRICT (SPRING VALLEY

Overall Between District

8472

 $57,500

HEMPSTEAD UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT

Overall Between District

7,488

 $57,500

MOUNT VERNON SCHOOL DISTRICT

Overall Between District

8,096

 $57,500

NEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT # 1

Overall Within District

10,826

 $57,500

NEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT # 2

Overall Within District

60,689

 $65,000

NEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT # 3

Overall Within District

21,703

 $65,000

NEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT #10

Overall Within District

53,002

 $65,000

NEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT #13

Overall Within District

20,501

 $65,000

NEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT #15

Overall Within District

29,637

 $65,000

NEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT #20

Overall Within District

49,616

$65,000

NEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT #21

Overall Within District

33,778

 $65,000

NEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT #22

Overall Within District

33,033

 $65,000

NEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT #24

Overall Within District

56,617

 $65,000

NEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT #25

Overall Within District

35,647

 $65,000

NEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT #27

Overall Within District

42,561

 $65,000

NEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT #28

Overall Within District

39,173

$65,000

NEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT #30

Overall Within District

38,182

 $65,000

NEW YORK CITY GEOGRAPHIC DISTRICT #31

Overall Within District

58,317

 $65,000

PEEKSKILL CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT

Overall Between District

3,198

 $50,000

ROCHESTER CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT

Overall Between District

27,552

 $68,000

SYRACUSE CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT

Overall Between District

21,512

 $68,000

WESTBURY UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT

Overall Between District

4,934

 $50,000

WYANDANCH UNION FREE SCHOOL DISTRICT

Overall Between District

2,380

 $50,000

YONKERS CITY SCHOOL DISTRICT

Overall Between District

25,270

 $65,000


4 2016-17 counts per https://data.nysed.gov profiles

Allowable Use of Funds

The primary purpose of this grant is to pay for full participation of district representatives in the PLC learning and working meetings (including travel and lodging costs).  Any remaining funds may be used for planning, data gathering, community engagement, and staff time to develop each participant’s integration strategy and to support districts in completing any required PLC assignments.

Travel expenses for NYSIP-PLC sessions must conform with NYS travel rates and regulations. 2017-18 New York State rates are available at:

 https://www.gsa.gov/travel/plan-book/per-diem-rates.

Program Description and Requirements

Applicants for a NYSIP-PLC Grant must commit to fully participating in Phase I of the NYSIP program. The three phases of the grant program are described below. If chosen to participate in Phase I of the program, participants must send district and community representatives (the District’s “Design Team”) to participate in four two-day bi-monthly Professional Learning Community (PLC) sessions and three additional bi-monthly calls.

The District Design Team will vary in size based on the size of participating districts as follows:

  • Districts with fewer than 5,000 students will be expected to have a team of 2-3 people
  • Districts with at least 5,000 students but fewer than 15,000 students will be expected to have a team of 3-4 people; and
  • Districts with more than 15,000 students will be expected to have a team of 4-5 people.

Districts will be asked to create Design Teams that include districts or community representatives with the following areas of focus or expertise:

  • Community engagement
  • Enrollment, school assignment, and/or district zoning policy
  • Implementation of new programs and policies
  • Optional: district representative from the data office. The PLC will include sessions to review and analyze data, so a district may choose to include a data person on their Design Team as needed.

Professional Learning Community (PLC) sessions will take place on the following dates:

  • March 8-9, 2018 (Day 1 10:00am-4:00pm, Day 2 9:00am-5:30pm) in a location to be determined in New York City
  • April 23-24, 2018 in New York City (Day 1 10:30am-5:30pm, Day 2 9:00am-5:30pm)
  • June 28-29, 2018 in Albany (Day 1 10:30am-5:30pm, Day 2 9:00am-5:30pm)
  • August 16-17, 2018 in Albany (Day 1 10:30am-5:30pm, Day 2 9:00am-5:30pm)
  • October 25-26, 2018 in New York City

PLC calls will take place on months between the sessions and will be offered at multiple times during the following months:

  • March 2018
  • May 2018
  • July 2018

Phase I Program Description and Requirements (2017-18 School Year)

Program Description:
Phase I of the program is the Professional Learning Community (PLC), which is designed to provide participants with the tools, information, and funding necessary to successfully design integration strategies tailored to the district’s communities. The program will consist of four two-day in-person Professional Learning Community (PLC) sessions and three calls. District representatives are required to participate in each PLC session and call.

The PLC Curriculum is designed to give participants a comprehensive understanding of the root causes of racial, socioeconomic, and other forms of segregation. Phase I is also designed to (1) provide a forum for shared reflection and discussion of the root causes of equity issues that contribute to racial, socioeconomic and other forms of segregation, and (2) introduce a robust set of tools that support development of integration strategies tailored to local communities and context. Participants in Phase I of the grant will receive funding to cover their participation in all PLC sessions and related activities, including funding to complete assignments between sessions.

Program Requirements:
As part of the PLC curriculum, participants will be required to:

  1. Identify community stakeholders (such as principals; teachers; community members; or district staff involved in personnel, enrollment, data, and accountability decisions) who will participate in the sessions;
  2. Attend and participate in four bi-monthly two-day sessions for district staff members at locations throughout the state (locations to be determined), and three bi-monthly calls;
  3. Complete PLC assignments that will be intensive, immersive, and interdisciplinary, and will require staff time and resources to complete them in between monthly sessions. Grant funds may be used to  support completion of PLC assignments, which shall include a comprehensive final submission. The final submission will consist of a detailed and multifaceted integration strategy that participants will develop throughout the course of the PLC with the guidance of NYSED PLC facilitators.

Phase II Program Description and Requirements5 (2018-19 School Year)

Phase II of the program is competitive and designed to allow participants to pilot the specific integration strategies that they designed in Phase I. Participants will be given funding to hire consultants or use staff time to model, conduct focus groups, or otherwise test their integration plans; conduct community engagement; and take such other actions as may be necessary to successfully pilot the integration plan developed in Phase I. Districts will receive support and assistance from NYSED throughout Phase II.

Phase III Program Description and Requirements6 (2019-20 School Year)

Phase III of the program is competitive and designed to allow participants to fully implement the specific integration strategies that the district developed in Phase I and then piloted and refined in Phase II. Participants will be given significant support as they implement their integration strategy. Because the Phase II and III of the grant process is competitive, there will be fewer participants in each subsequent Phase. Thus, Phase II participants can expect increased financial and technical support and Phase III participants can expect significant financial and technical support from NYSED.



5 Phase II of this grant is subject to the availability of Federal School Improvement funds to support implementation.

6 Phase III of this grant is subject to the availability of Federal School Improvement funds to support implementation.

Application Requirements

The primary components of each participant’s application for the Phase I PLC are the Needs Assessment and the Commitment Narrative.

The Needs Assessment is the applicant’s opportunity to demonstrate the district’s understanding of the causes of racial, socioeconomic, English Language Learner/Multilingual Learner, and Special Education segregation in the community.

The Commitment Narrative is the applicant's opportunity to provide a comprehensive description of the district’s commitment to developing and implementing a robust integration strategy.  Be clear and precise and adhere to the following required structures for each document. 

Reporting Requirements

Grant recipients will be required to complete and submit assignments identified by the PLC facilitators throughout the project period and a final report within 90 calendar days from the end of the project period. The final report will include:

  • History of plan development (how was it designed and tested over the PLC program and revised accordingly). Problem definition, impact statement, theory of action and operationalized theory of action (to be completed with guidance from PLC facilitators).
  • Plan to measure implementation of the operationalized theory of action (to be completed with guidance from PLC facilitators).
  • Problem solving process or plan to address problems during implementation (to be completed with guidance from PLC facilitators).

Submission of completed assignments and final report will be a condition of receiving payment.

Project Period

February 15, 2018 – August 31, 2018

Application Deadline

Applications must be emailed and postmarked by February 2, 2018.

Submission Instructions

A complete application consists of one original and one electronic copy (email to SIGA@nysed.gov) including the following:

  • Cover page (with original signature)
  • Application Checklist
  • Attachment A: Needs Assessment
  • Attachment B: Commitment Narrative
  • Attachment C (optional): Geographically Proximate District and/or BOCES Commitment
  • Budget Narrative
  • FS-10 Budget

Please include the DISTRICT NAME in the subject line of all e-mail submissions. 
Send the completed application to:

Attn: Title I 1003 NYSIP Grant
New York State Education Department
89 Washington Avenue
Title I School & Community Services, Room 368 EBA
Albany, New York 12234

For additional information or assistance please contact: SIGA@nysed.gov.

Grant Application Documents

Application in PDF Adobe PDF | Application in Word Word document

Last Updated: January 9, 2020