Dear Title III State Directors,
 
Please see the message below from Patricia McKee, Acting Director, SASA to Title I State Directors regarding School Improve Grant funds.  
 
Thanks,
Supreet
 

________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

 

Hello everyone –

I am pleased to announce the release of the FY 2010 SIG guidance and application.  The e-mail below went to your chief State school officer earlier this afternoon.   We have scheduled conference calls  on Wednesday November 3,  from 3:00 to 4:00 and Monday, November 8 from 1:30 to 2:30  eastern time to discuss the guidance and application in more detail.  We thought it would be helpful if you had a chance to look it over before we talked about them.   

I will send an e-mail with the telephone number for the conference line and a copy of the power point from which the SIG team will be speaking prior to the calls on November 3 and 8. 

Look forward to talking with you on Wednesday.

Patricia McKee

 

November 1, 2010

 

Dear Chief State School Officer:

 

I want to thank you and your staff for your hard work over the past several months to take full advantage of the unprecedented $3.5 billion in fiscal year (FY) 2009 School Improvement Grant (SIG) funds and begin implementing rigorous school intervention models in your persistently lowest-achieving schools.  We have been pleased and impressed by the commitment shown at both the State and local levels to breaking the cycle of failure that has long denied meaningful educational opportunities to many of our most disadvantaged students.  Now that the 2010-2011 school year has begun, we look forward to seeing concrete, fundamental improvements in hundreds of persistently lowest-achieving schools across the nation, including schools in your State.

 

As States begin to plan their FY 2010 SIG competitions, we want to build on the momentum created by the FY 2009 competitions and maximize the impact of the funding available for FY 2010, which includes both the regular FY 2010 SIG appropriation of $545.6 million and any FY 2009 funds carried over by States.  For this reason, we are issuing updated guidance that, in conjunction with a revised application package, is intended to ensure that each State focuses its FY 2010 SIG funds, including any funds carried over from FY 2009, on the implementation of school intervention models in its persistently lowest-achieving schools.  This updated guidance includes information on the identification of eligible Tier I and Tier II schools for the FY 2010 competition and on allowable activities prior to the start of the 2011-2012 school year.  It also describes the process for using FY 2010 funds to make first-year SIG grants, with continuation grants for the second and third years coming from subsequent SIG appropriations.  I encourage you to closely review this updated guidance and to contact us if you have any questions or concerns as you begin preparing for your State’s FY 2010 SIG competition.

 

The following provides a summary of some of the key changes affecting the FY 2010 SIG allocations:

 

FY 2010 SIG State application

Each State educational agency (SEA) that wishes to receive FY 2010 SIG funds must submit, for review and approval by the U.S. Department of Education (Department), an FY 2010 SIG State application, which is attached and available at http://www2.ed.gov/programs/sif/applicant.html.  Although there are a few required new sections, the FY 2010 application is, in most respects, identical to the FY 2009 SIG application; thus, States will be required to update only those sections that relate to changes from the FY 2009 SIG competition.  An SEA’s FY 2010 SIG application must be submitted on or before December 3, 2010. 

 

Updated non-regulatory guidance regarding FY 2010 SIG funds

The Department has issued updated non-regulatory guidance on the SIG program titled Guidance on Fiscal Year 2010 School Improvement Grants under Section 1003(g) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (Nov. 2010), which is also attached and available at http://www2.ed.gov/programs/sif/legislation.html.   That document builds on the SIG guidance for FY 2009 and indicates whether a question has been modified, added, or deleted.  In particular, the FY 2010 guidance includes new questions related to the generation of new lists of Tier I, Tier II, and Tier III schools and to the use of SIG funds prior to the 2011-2012 school year, both of which are discussed below.  The guidance also emphasizes the importance of family engagement activities to support student achievement.  We will continue to update the guidance with additional questions.

 

Generating new lists of Tier I, Tier II, and Tier III schools

Whether an SEA generates new lists of Tier I, Tier II, and Tier III schools depends on several factors.  An SEA that has five or more Tier I schools that were identified for purposes of the State’s FY 2009 SIG competition but are not being served in the 2010-2011 school year need not generate new lists of Tier I, Tier II, or Tier III schools; it will need, however, to request a waiver from the requirement to update its lists.  Such an SEA may elect to update its lists to reflect more recent achievement and graduation rate data or to revise its definition of persistently lowest-achieving schools.  Finally, to ensure that LEAs continue to give priority to using SIG funds to implement one of the four school intervention models in each of their persistently lowest-achieving schools, an SEA that does not have at least five unserved Tier I schools remaining on its list from the FY 2009 SIG competition must generate new lists of Tier I, Tier II, and Tier III schools based on the State’s most recent achievement and graduation rate data.   

 

Using SIG funds available for the FY 2010 competition to make grants to LEAs

For the FY 2010 SIG competition, most SEAs will likely have funds available from two sources:  a significant amount of FY 2009 carryover funds and a lesser amount of FY 2010 funds.  We continue to invite such an SEA to apply for a waiver to extend the period of availability of FY 2009 carryover funds and to use those funds to make three-year awards to its LEAs.  At the same time, we encourage an SEA to use its FY 2010 funds to award only the first year of a three-year SIG grant, with continuation awards in years two and three coming from subsequent SIG appropriations.  We believe this approach would allow an SEA to maximize the number of Tier I and Tier II schools its LEAs would have the opportunity to serve in the FY 2010 competition.  See Appendix A to the FY 2010 School Improvement Grants State Application for a more detailed discussion.

 

Using funds from the FY 2010 SIG competition prior to the start of the 2011-2012 school year (Pre-implementation Period)

An SEA may permit an LEA that receives SIG funds from the FY 2010 competition to use a reasonable portion of its first-year award for activities during a “pre-implementation” period in order to enable the LEA and its participating schools to fully implement a school intervention model at the start of the 2011-2012 school year.  Examples of activities that would be appropriate to conduct prior to the start of the 2011-2012 school year include, but are not limited to:  (1) holding parent and community meetings to review school performance, discuss the new model to be implemented, and develop school improvement plans in line with the model selected; (2) recruiting and hiring the incoming principal, leadership team, and instructional staff; (3) conducting a rigorous review process to select, and then contracting with, a charter management organization, an education management organization, or an external provider; (4) providing remediation and enrichment during summer 2011 to students in schools that will begin full implementation of a model at the start of the 2011-2012 school year; and (5) providing professional development that will enable staff to effectively implement new or revised instructional programs that are aligned with the school’s comprehensive instructional plan and intervention model.

 

Again, I thank you for your commitment to turning around the persistently lowest-achieving schools in your State.  As you continue implementing your FY 2009 SIG grant and prepare to apply for your FY 2010 SIG grant, we will provide ongoing technical assistance and support for you and your LEAs.  A number of resources are already available on our Web site, including our SIG guidance, power point presentations, the August 18, 2010 letter from Secretary Duncan regarding ensuring the quality of external turnaround partners, and the Office of Elementary and Secondary Education’s new School Turnaround Newsletter.  If there is any specific support you would like to receive or if you have questions about the SIG program, please email us at [log in to unmask].   If you have any questions about this letter, the materials it describes, or any aspect of the upcoming FY 2010 SIG competition, please contact Carlas McCauley at [log in to unmask] or 202-260-0824.

 

                                                                                                                        Sincerely,

 

                                                                                                                        /s/

 

                                                                                                                        Thelma Meléndez de Santa Ana, Ph.D.