Oregon charter school program grant

Request for proposals

Implementation Subgrant Competition

Proposals Due January 21, 2016 by 11:59PM

Released December 30, 2015

Submit Proposals to:

Jennifer Donovan

1

Table of Contents

Background2

Purpose of Grant2

EligibleApplicants2

Proof of Eligibility4

AvailableFunds4

Use of Funds5

Participation, Evaluation, and Reporting6

Grant Technical Assistance7

Review Process8

Award Process and Start Date8

Submission Process, Required Elements, and Due Date9

Required Elements9

Application Format10

Budget Instructions10

General Guidelines and Restrictions10

Object Categories11

PART I: Cover Page14

PART II: Project Narrative15

PART III: Appendices18

Evaluation RubricScoresheet19

Selection Criteria and Evaluation Rubric20

Intent to Submit Form38

APPENDIX C: Charter School Enrollment Policy Including Lottery Protocol39

APPENDIX E: Marketing Plan40

APPENDIX F: Grant Management Plan41

APPENDIX G: Assurance and Certification Form42

Oregon Charter Schools Program Grant: implementation Grant, 2015-18

Background

Authorized by Title V, Part B of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) (P.L. 107-110), the federal Charter Schools Program (CSP) provides funding to State Educational Agencies with the purpose of expanding the number of high-quality charter schools available to students across the nation by providing financial assistance for planning, implementation of new charter school programs; and to disseminate promising practices in order to evaluate the effects of charter schools, including their impacts on student academic achievement, teaching and learning, families, and the community.

Purpose of the Grant

The Oregon Department of Education (ODE) has received a competitive grant under this federal program for $8,790,931 for the years 2015-18 to carry out the following objectives within Oregon:

1. To provide funds to post-award, pre-operational charter schools in the development phase in order to increase educational equity and improve the quality of new charter schools statewide through an intensive incubation period.

2. To provide funds to high-quality charter schools in operation for less than three years in order to facilitate implementation of their educational models, professional development, and curriculum, and to provide professional development in educational equity.

3. To facilitate the dissemination of best practices between charter schools and their public school counterparts, and provide an access point for charter schools to share their evidence-based best practices.

4. To strengthen authorizer quality throughout the state by providing high-quality training and professional development to authorizers.

In carrying out these objectives, the Oregon Charter Schools Program (OCSP) provides sub-grants to qualified charter school developers and operators for the planning phase and/or early years of implementation of new charter schools, and to experienced and successful operators through the OCSP grant and assists districts in developing and strengthening charter authorizing practices through high quality professional development and training.

Eligible Applicants

Grant applicants must conform to the federal definition of a public charter school in the Elementary and Secondary Education Act [P.L.107-110, section 5210(1)] in order to be eligible for grant funds under the OCSP. The definition is as follows:

A charter school is a publicschoolthat:

(A) in accordance with a specific State statute authorizing the granting of charters to schools, is exempt from significant State or local rules that inhibit the flexible operation and management of public schools, but not from any rules relating to the other requirements of this paragraph;

(B) is created by a developer as a public school, or is adapted by a developer from an existing public school, and is operated under public supervision and control;

(C) operates in pursuit of a specific set of educational objectives determined by the school’s developer and agreed to by the authorized public chartering agency;

(D) provides a program of elementary or secondary education, or both;

(E) is nonsectarian in its programs, admissions policies, employment practices, and all other operations, and is not affiliated with a sectarian school or religious instruction;

(F) does not charge tuition;

(G) complies with the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act;

(H) is a school to which parents choose to send their children, and that admits students on the basis of a lottery, if more students apply for admission than can be accommodated;

(I) agrees to comply with the same Federal and State audit requirements as do other elementary and secondary schools in the State, unless such requirements are specifically waived for the purpose of this program;

(J) meets all applicable Federal, State, and local health and safety requirements;

(K) operates in accordance with State law; and

(L) has a written performance contract with the authorized public chartering agency in the State that includes a description of how student performance will be measured pursuant to State assessments that are required of other schools and pursuant to any other assessments agreeable to the authorizing agency.

To be eligible to apply, a public charter school must be governed by a non-profit board that is separate from the authorizing board and may not be composed of voting members from the authorizing board of directors.

Charter school developers applying for grant funds must conform to the definition of a developer in Elementary and Secondary Education Act [P.L.107-110, section 5210(2)]

A developer is:

an individual or group of individuals (including a public or private nonprofit organization), which may include teachers, administrators and other school staff, parents, or other members of the local community in which a charter school project will be carried out.

Proof of Eligibility

All applicants must submit an OCSP Eligibility Form and requested information with the subgrant application. Additional information may subsequently be requested by OCSP Grant staff in order to determine eligibility. Only those applicants determined to meet the eligibility requirements may receive an award.

All applicants for the Implementation Grant must have an executed charter with an authorizer, must be no more than six months from opening as of the due date of the Implementation Subgrant, or have been in operation for no more than three years as of the due date of the Implementation Subgrant. Charter schools in operation for more than three years, approved charter schools that are more than six months from opening, and developers that have not yet been approved by an authorizer are not eligible to apply. Grant activities may not extend beyond the third year of operation.

Available Funds

ODE has been awarded$8,790,931 for a three-year period to meet the objectives of the grant.

Charter schoolsin the late stages of development or the early stages of operation may apply to receive between $250,000 and $450,000 in subgrant funds for use in the initial implementation of a high-quality charter program. An RFP will be released annually during the grant period.Eight (8) two-year subgrants will be awarded in Year One and Year Two, for a total of sixteen (16) implementation subgrants over the grant period. A minimum score must be attained to be awarded.

Major application components will include, but will not be limited to:

  1. The mission of the applicant, which must include at least one of the following:
  2. A primary focus on serving historically underserved and/or at-risk populations of students
  3. A specific focus on reducing and eliminating achievement and opportunity gaps for Oregon students
  4. A specific focus on improving the graduation rate and college- and career-ready skills for students in Oregon, with special preference given to those whose focus is specific to historically underserved populations of students
  5. A program design that would qualify as an “alternative” charter school
  6. A primary focus on reducing and eliminating exclusionary discipline practices
  1. An executed charter agreement as evidence of an approved charter school application. To qualify, a charter school must have been approved by an authorizer no more than three (3) years prior to the date of subgrant application submission. The charter school must either:
  2. Already be in operation
  3. Be in operation no later than six (6) months following the due date of the grant application.
  1. Charter schools already in operation must provide, for every year in operation:
  2. All available student achievement data disaggregated by race, gender, and special population
  3. A municipal audit of financial accounts
  4. Annual reviews conducted by the authorizer

4. A complete description of activities that will take place during each year of the implementation phase, with specific performance expectations, measures, and goals. A description of the data that will be used to assess progress on these goals must be included and will be subject to approval by ODE.

A trained and highly-qualified panel of external experts in charter school operations, curriculum and instruction, equity, Special Education, English Language Learners, governance, and finance and accounting will be convened to conduct a peer review evaluation of applications for implementation subgrants.

All OCSP subgrantees each year will operate as an incubation cohort, meeting monthly with ODE as a group to discuss and receive training on operational processes, development, and requirements. The goal of these meetings is to support a strong initial implementation of all subgrantees and to promote networking and relationships between new charter schools. Charter schools that received planning subgrant funds will not be eligible to apply for implementation subgrant funds. In each year of the grant, ODE will provide professional development focused on culturally responsive educational practices and school culture to provide training to all subgrantees. This training will take place at required meetings and will support charter school operators in addressing systematic issues of education inequity and in developing culturally responsive schools.

Use of Funds

The OCSP Grant is funded on a reimbursement basis, which means that subgrantees will be reimbursed for allowable, approved activities following proof of expenditure. Budget forms will be reviewed for non-allowable expenditures and reasonableness of cost assumptions.

An applicant receiving a subgrant under this program may use the subgrant funds only for:

(a) Post-award planning and design of the educational program, which may include

(i) Refinement of the desired educational results and of the methods for measuring progress toward achieving those results; and

(ii) Professional development of teachers and other staff who will work in the charter school; and

(b) Initial implementation of the charter school, which may include:

(i) Informing the community about the school;

(ii) Acquiring necessary equipment and educational materials and supplies;

(iii) Acquiring or developing curriculum materials; and

(iv) Other initial operational costs that cannot be met from State or local sources. (20 U.S.C. 7221c(f)(3))

It is expressly prohibited to use OCSP grant funds for the purchase or leasing of a facility. Grant funds may not be used to offset or cover costs of preparing and submitting an application for OCSP grant funds.

Participation, Evaluation, and Reporting

Participation

The OCSP Implementation Grant is available to late-stage pre-operational and new charter schools that are able to demonstrate eligibility, use funds according to federal guidelines, comply with reporting requirements and due dates, and participate in required trainings and meetings associated with the grant. ODE will hold mandatory trainings for all subgrantees and their sponsors. Each training will focus specifically on grant requirements, required reporting, data collection, financial and operational stability, and the relationship with the authorizer during the grant period.

Additionally, in each year of the grant, ODE will provide professional development focused on culturally responsive educational practices and school culture to provide training to all subgrantees. This training will take place at required meetings and will support charter school developers and operators in addressing systematic issues of education inequity and in developing culturally responsive schools. Application for subgrant funds indicates acknowledgment and consent to these contingencies.

Evaluation

As a condition of this federal grant, ODE is responsible for evaluating subgrantees to ensure that they adhere to federal rules and regulations and accomplish their performance goals. During the grant period, ODE will engage in a rigorous evaluation of each subgrantee. This evaluation will be specific to the goals and expectations set in the approved subgrant application. Each subgrantee will define specific goals and performance expectations aligned with the purpose of the subgrant, and will report annual progress on these goals and performance expectations through a pre-determined set of data.

For implementation subgrantees, ODE will conduct at least one site visit. For multi-year implementation subgrants, ODE will issue an annual report after all required information has been collected from the subgrantee and the site visit has taken place. This report will include a determination of whether the charter school will continue to receive funds, be placed on a plan of improvement, or be defunded based on substantially poor performance on stated grant goals. In addition to other requirements, the continuing receipt of subgrant funds will be contingent on a charter school complying with its contract with its authorizer and applicable state and federal laws.

Reporting

The Charter Schools Office at ODE is required to track specific information as part of its federal CSP grant.

Subgrantees will be required to:

  1. Submit to ODE the executed contract with the authorizer for the operation of the charter school.
  2. Demonstrate compliance with the contract with the authorizer at all times during the grant period.
  3. File an Annual Financial Report (AFR) within 90 days following each grant fiscal year. This report must be filed in a form and manner determined by ODE, and a template will be provided.
  4. Administer an interim assessment twice during each school year of the subgrant. Nationally normed interim assessments such as easyCBM or NWA’s MAP assessments are preferred, however a charter school may identify a different interim assessment and describe how the data will be valid and reliable. The charter school will also be required to report using the Oregon state assessment data.
  5. File a Final Grant Report within 90 days of the end of each grant year. This report must be filed in a form and manner determined by ODE, and a template will be provided. The report will contain:
  6. Executive Summary (not to exceed one page)
  7. A report on each grant project goal, including data and information that support each goal’s outcomes.
  8. An expenditure report that details 100% of awarded grant fund expenditures, and includes a property inventory of all equipment and non-consumable goods purchased with CSP grant funds (EDGAR §80.32, §74.34).
  9. Submit all reports, reimbursement requests and any other required information electronically. All grantees will be required to purchase an approved feeding document scanner for this purpose.

Grant Technical Assistance

Prospective ImplementationGrant applicants are required to attend a Grant Applicant Information Session. Applicants are highly encouraged to submit an Intent to Submit and Eligibility Form before the Session. The Grant Applicant Information Session will be Thursday, January 7, 2016 at 12:30pm. Dates for the Grant Applicant Information Session will be published on the ODE Charter Schools Office website: ( ODE highly recommends that at least two individuals from each subgrant applicant attend this information session.

Review Process

The OCSP Implementation Grant application is competitive. A trained and highly-qualified panel of external experts in charter school operations, curriculum and instruction, equity, Special Education, English Language Learners, governance, and finance and accounting will be convened to conduct a peerreviewevaluation of applications for implementation subgrants. The evaluation rubric and criteria are attached to this RFP.

In addition to the criteria in the evaluation rubric, ODE staff will review applications for completeness, adherence to requirements, budgetary restrictions, eligibility, and compliance with formatting requirements. This review will determine if the application is in compliance with the Education Department’s General Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) and the substantive requirements of the OCSP Grant.

Award Process and Start Date

Following the panel evaluation of each Implementation Grant, Grant Award Letters will be sent to successful applicants and their authorizers. The Grant Award Letter will stipulate any information required before final approval will be granted. Additional required information must be submitted within 30 days of the date of the Grant Award Letter.

Successful subgrantees will be required to participate in an OCSP Post-Award Webinar. The date for this webinar will be posted on the ODE Charter Schools Office website.

An ODE grant manager will be assigned to subgrant awardees. The grant manager will provide necessary fiscal documents and instructions on the reimbursement process for the grant. Funds must not be spent or encumbered until the grant has received Final Approval.

All activities related to Grant Project Goals should be completed in the budget period for the grant.

Submission Process, required elements, and Due Date

Required Elements

All Implementation Grant applications must contain the following information and be submitted in the following sequence:

Part I: Cover page with signatures

Part II: Project Narrative (25-page maximum)

  1. Executive Summary (not to exceed one page)
  2. General information
  3. Mission of the school
  4. Capacity of the leadership team and governance
  5. Grant project goals and performance expectations
  6. Budget narrative
  7. Professional development goals
  8. Historically underserved students

Part III: Appendices

  1. Completed ODE OCSP Grant Budget Form (form provided)
  2. Executed contract with an authorizer
  3. School budget (5 year)
  4. Charter school enrollment policy, including lottery protocol (guidance included)
  5. Lottery application for prospective students
  6. Marketing plan (guidance included)
  7. Grant management plan (guidance included)
  8. Assurance and certification form (form provided)
  9. Charter schools already in operation must provide, for every year in operation:
  10. All available student achievement data disaggregated by race, gender, and special population
  11. A municipal audit of financial accounts
  12. Annual reviews conducted by the authorizer

Application Format