REQUEST FOR APPLICATION
April 2017
Nevada State Pre-Kindergarten Education Program
ISSUED BY
Nevada Department of Education
Carson City/Las Vegas Nevada
Restrictions/Conditions
This competitive grant application process is open to all school districts and
community organizations that meet the required criteria.
Disclaimer: Funding and criteria for successful applicants is tentative pending any decisions made that affect this program during the 2017 legislative session.
Questions related to this funding should be addressed to:
Anna Severens, Education Programs Professional; State PreK Administrator
Office of Early Learning and Development
Nevada Department of Education
755 N. Roop Street; Suite 107; Carson City, NV 89701
(775)687-5950
Table of Contents
SectionPage
Background...... 3
Application Requirements and Guidelines
A. Eligible Applicants...... 3-4
B. Required Program Outcome Indicators...... 4
C. Funding Information...... 5
D. Evaluation and Assessment...... 6
E. Technical Assistance Webinar...... 7
F. Application Review Process & Tiered Funding...... 8
G.Required Program Components...... 9-10
Application Review Form & Scoring Rubric – FY 2018...... 11-17
Section I: Budget and Expenditure Summary...... 19-20
Section II: Narrative...... 21-25
Section III: Assurances...... 26-27
Section IV: Applicant Information/Certification...... 29
Nevada Pre-KindergartenEducation Program
Part I: Application Requirements and Guidelines
Introduction
The 2001 Nevada Legislative session allocated $3.5 million per year for Fiscal Years (FYs) 2002 and 2003. This initial allocation was for the establishment of a comprehensive early childhood education program across Nevada. Within this legislation, the Nevada State Legislature (Legislature) authorized the Nevada Department of Education (NDE) to offer competitive grants to school districts and community-based organizations to initiate or expand pre-Kindergarten education programs. The 2003 Legislature continued their support of the successful early childhood education programs by allocating $2,595,583 for pre-Kindergarten education programs through a competitive grant process and $301,000 towards the statewide Classroom on Wheels (COW) program. State-funded Pre-Kindergarten (Pre-K) Education programs, including COW, for FYs 2004 and 2005 received a total of $2,896,583 per year. During FYs 2006 and 2007, Pre-K programs were funded at $3,032,172 and $3,152,479, respectively. During FYs 2008 and 2009, Pre-K programs were funded at $3,251,671 and $3,338,875, respectively. Fiscal Years 2010-15 were flat funded at $3,338,875.
Based on the Governor’s recommendations for the next biennium, the current funding levels for the early childhood education program are unknown. At this point, school districts and community organizations that apply should plan accordingly, and base respective budgets on similar levels of funding from past years. All applicants are strongly encouraged to pay careful attention to the program’s sustainability, collaboration, and program alignment with other funding streams wherever appropriate to be as competitive as possible, as new funding levels will be determined by a competitive application scoring system.Criteria for successful applicants are tentative, pending any decisions made that affect this program during the 2017 legislative session.
Priority will be giving to existing State PreK programs applying to enhance some or all of their slots to full-day though additional resources provided by the USDOE Preschool Development Grant (see Tiered Funding).
Eligible Applicants
For over 16 years, state-funded Nevada Pre-K programs have provided effective and comprehensive early childhood education programs with strong statewide longitudinal data. For Fiscal Year 2018, continuing programs as well as new programs can apply for these competitive grant funds. Programs that were funded in the FY17 (2016-2017 school year) included the following:
Carson City School District / Mineral County School DistrictClark County School District / Nye County School District
Churchill County School District / Pershing County School District
Humboldt County School District
Elko County School District / Washoe County School District
Great Basin College
Lincoln County School District / White Pine County School District
New and/or existing applications submitted by community-based organizations and school districts are eligible to apply.
Program Outcome Indicators
A key component of this program is the use of quality indicators of program delivery and program outcomes to describe the projects and evaluate their effectiveness. In fact, legislation directs the NDE to develop statewide performance and outcome indicators to measure the effectiveness of ECE programs. Per legislation, the indicators must include:
Measures of the developmental progress of children before and after their completion of the program;
Measures of parental involvement (family engagement) in the program before and after completion of the program; and
The percentage of participants who drop out of the program before completion.
All programs are required to collect data and report on the following state performance and outcome indicators for early childhood education as determined by the NDE. Therefore, as part of the evaluation system, the NDE requires each Pre-K Education program to use the following indicators on participant outcomes:
Outcome IndicatorsEarly Childhood Education Indicator 1
(REQUIRED) / % of ECE children with a minimum of four months of participation will show developmental progress and growth from entry to completion of the program as measured by the Brigance Screener III.
Early Childhood Education Indicator 2
(EOWPVT-optional for programs not using another valid and reliable assessment) / Eighty percent (80%) of ECE children with a minimum of four months of participation will increase their standard scores in expressive language skills tests.
ECE children with a minimum of four months of participation will make an average gain of 8 or 10 standard score points in expressive communication.
Early Childhood Education Indicator 3
(REQUIRED-DLLs) / With a minimum of four months of participation, ECE children that have been identified as dual language learners (DLLs) from 3-5 years will be assessed by the WIDA Early Years demonstrating an average gain in speaking and listening.
Family Engagement Indicator 1:
(REQUIRED) / TBD-once benchmarks are established
Program will make progress in 3 out of 7 aspects of the family/school relationship indicators from beginning to end of the program as measured by the NDE family engagement surveys.
% of families participating in pre and post surveys.
Family Engagement 2: Parents and Child Together Time (PACT); Reading Logs, etc.
(optional) / Eighty percent (80%) of first-year ECE parents will increase the amount of time they spend with their children weekly within a reporting year.
Funding Information
Available funds / Competitive Grant Award
It is anticipated that the Nevada Pre-Kindergarten Education programs will be funded at a minimum of previous funding level for FY17 of $3,338,875; however, this is a preliminary estimate. Since final allocations will not be available until the end of the 2017 Legislative session, programs are urged to plan carefully when developing their pre-Kindergarten education programs and collaborate and/or braid funding streams wherever possible to support appropriate program alignment. The total amount available could be dramatically different, depending upon how the legislative session and state budget appropriations are finalized.
Duration of subgrants
The initial funding period for this program is from July 1, 2017 through June 30, 2018. As in the past, funding for the second year (FY 2019) of the biennium is conditioned upon the successful completion of FY 2018, which includes meeting the identified goals and objectives for FY 2018, and the submission and approval of the required continuing application and approved budget for FY 2019.
Use of Funds:
Per legislation,
- Use the funds to establish or expand pre-kindergarten education programs.
- Use the funds to pay for the salaries and other items directly related to the instruction of pupils in the classroom.
Unauthorized Activities/Unallowable Expenses
- Funds must not be used to remodel classrooms or facilities or to purchase playground equipment.
- Indirect cost (unless a non-profit not receiving DSA funds)
Evaluation and Reporting
Evaluation
All subgrantees are required to enter requested data (intake and exit forms, assessment data, demographics, etc.) in NDE early childhood database and participate in longitudinal evaluation to be completed every other year by NDE per legislation.
Required Assessments
•Early Childhood Assessment Instruments
Brigance Screener III, Expressive One-Word Picture Vocabulary Test (EOWPVT)-optional, and WIDA Early Years for dual language learners (DLLs).
•Family Engagement
All projects must collect data on the project’s family engagement activities, and collect family engagement pre and post survey collected by the NDE to develop and enhance their family engagement plans and activities.
Reporting & Data Collection
- Intake forms entered in database by December 15
- Brigance Pre-screener, EOWPVT and WIDA (if applicable) within first 30 days
- Pre-Family Engagement Survey within first 30 days
- Mid-year report due January 15
- Exit forms and Post-Family Engagement within last 30 days of program
- End of year report due June 30
Pre-Kindergarten Education Sites
All Pre-Kindergarten Education program sites will be defined as a site that, at a minimum, fully funds the ECE/pre-K certified teacher and/or the equivalent if funded collaboratively through braided funding. This is done for the purposes of evaluation and identifying those students and their parents who have been affected by the implementation of the Nevada State Pre-Kindergarten Education program. Having the direct connection between teacher, student and parent, and program implementation will ensure a strong correlation between funding and program effectiveness. If staff positions are funded partially across programs for a given grantee, all classrooms must be aligned and follow all program requirements across given funding streams and follow all cost allocation regulations as appropriate. This to ensure that there is a strong correlation between funding and program effectiveness.
State Pre-K Application Technical Assistance
NDE will provide a technical assistance webinar on April 13, 2017; 12-1:30pm. See information below to access the webinar:
1. Click the link to join the webinar at the specified time and date:
- State Pre-K Application Technical Assistance Webinar
2. Choose one of the following audio options:
- TO USE YOUR COMPUTER'S AUDIO:
When the webinar begins, you will be connected to audio using your computer's microphone and speakers (VoIP). A headset is recommended.
--OR--
- TO USE YOUR TELEPHONE:
If you prefer to use your phone, you must select "Use Telephone" after joining the webinar and call in using the numbers below.
United States: +1 (415) 655-0052
Access Code: 686-368-173
Audio PIN: Shown after joining the webinar
Review Process
The Nevada Department of Education will establish a panel to review the Pre-Kindergarten Education applications. The review panel will include at least three members: one early childhood professional, one education professional, and one individual with other early childhood and/ or family engagement expertise. Other individuals may be included on the panel as appropriate.
Each section/item will be reviewed for completeness. The review team will utilize the following funding Tiers and attached scoring rubric to determine if the program has all of the required information and to rate whether the information is acceptable under the terms of the legislation and this application. Please refer to the scoring rubric provided for further details.
Tiered Funding
All applications will be funded based on the following Tiers and combined rubric pointswith Tier I being the highest level of quality that programs should be working towards. Classrooms that meet Tier 1 will be funded first through a combination of State PreK and PDG funds. If funding allows, Tier 2 and/or 3 classroommay be considered if State PreK funds allow pending competitive applications received.
Throughout the development of the Nevada Pre-Kindergarten Education Program, it has been determined, through national grant guidelines, state legislation and best practice and research that certain components are necessary and required of all programs. The following lists the required components for each Tier:
Required Program Components
TIER 1
/ Classrooms that meet all of the following requirements having one of the following estimated PDG eligible enrollment:20 (200% poverty) = Up to $158,000/classroom
15 (200% poverty); 5 = Up to $133,500/classroom
12 (200% poverty); 8 = Up to $118,800/classroom
10200% poverty); 10 = Up to $109,000/classroom
*All amounts are estimates pending applications received, approved, and total amounts available.
1)Teacher Qualifications
/ Each Early Childhood Education (ECE)/Pre-K teacher responsible for providing direct instruction to early childhood students must fulfill the licensure requirements for teaching the pre-Kindergarten population. Typically, this is an Early Childhood Birth-2nd Grade License and/or may include a Special Education License with an ECDD endorsement.2)Class sizes/
3)Staff ratios
/ Class sizes and child/staff ratios must not exceed the following NAEYC recommendations:Three year-olds are in groups of no more than 16 children with 2 adults
Four year-olds are in groups of no more than 20 children with 2 adults
Five year-olds are in groups of no more than 25 children with 2 adults
Multi-age classrooms do not exceed class sizes or child/staff ratios for the age group with the largest representation
Class sizes and ratios are based on enrollment at beginning of school year
4)Intensity
/ All full day programs must provide a minimum of 25 hours per week of Pre-K.5)Inclusion
/ Programs must serve at least 8% inclusion with no classrooms having more than 50% with IEPs. (i.e. each classroom must have at least 2 children with IEPs).6)Eligibility
/ PDG Eligibility must meet 200% poverty and be 4 years old by September 30.Children enrolled in the program must be under Kindergarten age and within the traditional Pre-K age range of 3 to 5 years old. If a child is age eligible for Kindergarten (5 years old on or before September 30, 2015), then that child is not eligible to participate in the Nevada Pre-Kindergarten Education program during that year. This program is intended for pre-K children only.
7)Curriculum
/ Programs must utilize the Nevada Pre-Kindergarten Content Standards that were revised and adopted by the Nevada State Board of Education in June 2010. Programs must implement developmentally appropriate, research-based curriculum, such as Creative Curriculum, High Scope, etc.8)Evaluation
/ Each Pre-K Education program must participate in the statewide program evaluation system. This includes using the outcome indicators described below and providing required data (e.g., pre/post test data, test data on longitudinal participants who are now in elementary school, program data, etc.) to the Pre-K Education program evaluator and the Nevada Department of Education.9)Family Engagement
/ A family engagement component must be administered in conjunction with the Pre-K program which includes a family engagement plan that meets the program outcome indicators and NDE Family Engagement Survey.10)Other Required Components
/ In order to provide enhanced and comprehensive services to Pre-Kindergarten students and their families, Pre-K programs must demonstrate coordination with existing programs and/or community services through collaborative and cooperative efforts.A preschool child who is homeless must have equal access to the same public preschool programs as provided to other children, and that child must be enrolled immediately (if space available), even if the child lacks records normally required for enrollment (e.g., immunization records). If desired, a copy of the Federal Homeless legislation (the McKinney-Vento Act) is available from this office upon request.
TIER 2
/ Classrooms must meet3 of 4 requirements:1) Ratio 10:1;
2) Maximum Group size: 20;
3) Full day;
4) Increased Inclusion 15-50% per classroom (i.e. 15%-3 children with IEPs; 25%-5 children with IEPs, etc.)
TIER 3
/ Classrooms that meet 2 of 4 requirements:1) Ratio 10:1;
2) Maximum Group size: 20;
3) Full day;
4) Increased Inclusion 15-50% per classroom (i.e. 15%-3 children with IEPs; 25%-5 children with IEPs, etc.)
REVIEW CRITERIA
NEVADA PRE-KINDERGARTEN EDUCATION PROGRAM
Application Review Form & Scoring Rubric – FY 2018
Applicant (Legal Name of Agency):
/Total Amount Requested:
Section Title
/Points Available
/Points Awarded
Section I. Application Information & Certification Page
/ 0 / 0Section II. Narrative (100)
Subsection A: Program Description, Curriculum, and Staff Qualifications (A-E)Pre-K Program Description
Family Engagement Plan Description
Research-based Curriculum; school readiness; and use of Pre-K Standards
Staff qualifications & responsibilities
Matrix A (Identifying all sites/classrooms that will be full and/or half day) / 20
Subsection B: Program Goals & Outcomes (Includes Matrix B and Program Improvement Plan) (F-G)
Outcome indicator data
Matrix B / 10
Subsection C: Quality Assurance (H-O)
Instructional Practices
Child Selection (risk priorities)
Classroom description and/or photo
Meals and Snacks
Inclusion of children with special needs and/or DLLs
Use of ECERS, CLASS, QRIS, etc. for program improvement
Kindergarten enrollment: schools your program feeds into / 15
Subsection D:Collaboration (P-Q)
Strong evidence of Collaboration; sharing of resources; In-Kind/Matching Funds support
Current and/or potential collaborations, partnerships, shared funding sources, etc. Identifies specific collaborations and resources that provide additional support to the program in addition to what is requested in the budget (i.e. braided funding sources, shared administrative support, P-3 vertical/horizontal alignment strategies, etc.) / 10
TIERED Funding:(R-S) Expanding to full day (25 hours/week minimum) through the NV Ready PreK (PDG). Identify percentage of existing state funded PreKclassrooms that will be expanded to full day (you may include numbers of classrooms already expanded).
100% Tier I= 20pts
75% Tier 1= 17pts
50% Tier 1= 14pts
25% Tier 1= 11pts
Any combination of any T1, T2 or T3 classrooms= 8pts
No Tier 1= 0 points / 20
Subsection E: Program Need & Eligibility (T-Z)
Evidence of Need: Demonstrate indicators of high need
Demonstrate unmet need
Recruitment strategies
Appropriate eligibility criteria and verification process
Enrollment process for over/under demand / 10
Subsection F: Evaluation & Assessment (AA-CC)
Assessments and data collection
Connection with school improvement plan, if applicable and/or plans related to program improvement as measured by ECERS and/or CLASS. / 10
Section III. Budget & Budget Justification