Michigan Department of Education Charter Schools Program Dissemination Grants

1. Michigan Department of Education Charter Schools Program Dissemination Grants Sharing Best Practices and Innovations 1

2. Introductions, Overview and Purpose • Welcome and overview • What is the purpose of this presentation? • Who is eligible? • What are my responsibilities as the grant applicant? • What are the various subgrant funding categories? • What are allowable activities? • How is the subgrant application scored? • MDE dissemination submission and award dates • What are recommended deliverables? 2

3. Purpose of this Subgrant/Presentation • The purpose of this grant is to fund proposals that will support activities that improve public schools or open new schools (including public charter schools) and share the lessons learned by charter schools with other public schools of Michigan charters. • This presentation will provide information regarding, eligibility requirements and funding categories for this subgrant. • Emphasis will be placed on the quality of dissemination activities and the likelihood that the purposed activities will “demonstrate improved pupil academic achievement for all groups of pupils”. 3 3

4. Academy Board as Grant Applicant • The Charter School Program (CSP) grant applicant must be recognized by the Michigan Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs (formerly the Department of Energy, Labor, and Economic Growth) as a Public School Academy. • EDGAR 75.701 requires MDE to “ensure that the subgrantee DIRECTLY administers or supervises the administration of the project. Because only non-profits are eligible for subgrants, particular care should be taken with subgrantees who contract with a for-profit third party for the operation and administration of the school. In these cases the subgrantee’s Board of Directors should be independent of the contractor, and the contract should be arms-length and able to be terminated with minimal penalties to the charter school.” 4 4

5. Academy Board as Grant Applicant (cont.) • Boards should not use grant funds to purchase training materials for vendors or to pay for his/her attendance at conferences or workshops. If you hired a plumber you wouldn’t expect to have to send him/her to training in order for him/her to complete their work. • MDE has the authority to question any purchase or expenditure of grant funds. Board’s must be able to justify each and every expenditure of grant funds as reasonable and necessary. • An external evaluation is required for all successful applicants. 5 5

6. Why Apply for a Dissemination Grant? • Helps fine tune a successful practice or program • Creates research that can be used to support and promote the practice or program • Add to your professional contacts when you share the practice • Professional growth • Positively influence a larger group of students 6

7. MDE-PSA Dissemination Exchange Membership Benefits • Charter Renewal Support • support with writing the charter renewal document, • review current school, curriculum based documents and prepare for renewal hearings. 2. Strategic Business Partnerships • A database of business partners interested in supporting schools in various ways including Project Based • Learning Projects, Advisories and Internships and more (e.g. IHE centers, institutes, labs). 3. Fall/Spring Collaborative Meeting • Share promising or best practice strategies and discuss challenges and opportunities • Keynote speaker highlighting innovative school practices (e.g. TED TALK) 4. Instructional Support • Regularly scheduled professional dialogue and support sessions • Access to a professional learning community that harnesses the talents, expertise and resources of schools and educators in Michigan. 5. Teachers as researchers and leaders • A database of IHE (possibly specific to authorizers research labs, institutes, centers, etc) partners interested in supporting schools(e.g. Teachers in Residence programs, NSF or NIH broader impact professional development and curriculum development and design efforts) . • Presence at OEII Conference 7

8. Dissemination Grant Eligibility Criteria Must meet the following non-negotiable criteria (ALL): • Current Michigan PSAs that have not already received a dissemination grant,AND • Have been in operation for at least three (3) consecutive academic years, AND • Are financially viable and operationally successful,AND • Are not a Focus School or Priority School, AND 8

9. Dissemination Grant Eligibility Criteria (cont.) Must meet one of the following criteria (ONLY ONE REQUIRED): • Operate as a Strict Discipline Academy or serve Alternative Education populations and have alternative evidence of their academic success, OR • Be a Public School Academy listed in the top quartile of the Top to Bottom List in the last two years, OR • Are eligible for SOE status but have not converted, OR • Are a School of Excellence (SOE). 9

10. Dissemination Funding Activities • Category I: Partnerships/Collaborations subgrants OR • Category II: Mentorship subgrants OR • Category III: Evaluation subgrants OR 10

11. Category I: Partnerships/Collaboration Overview • Partnering/Assisting other individuals with the planning and start-up of one or more new public school academy (PSA), OR • Developing partnerships with other public schools, including charter schools, designed to improve student academic achievement in each of the schools participating in the partnership. 11

12. Category I: Partnership Possible Activities • Eligible activities include, but are not limited to: • Review of the team’s plans (i.e. drafts), • Authorizer portfolio development leveraging existing data from existing schools and authorizers to pair and match potential promising or best practices for future school that are planning or seeking a charter from the authorizer package the promising or best practice(s) to ensure successful replication, or • Dissemination activities, such as: investigating a specified teaching and learning practice, workshops, webinars, e-mails and telephone conferences, summer research opportunities (e.g. master planning, curriculum design). 12

13. Category I: Partnership Process • Identify/Propose a partnership between an operating K-5 or K-8 or secondary PSA preparing to open (or has newly opened, AND • Design/propose a series of partnership activities designed to lend experience to the team’s work, AND • Propose a two-year program/research design (up to $100,000/year) to gather data that tests the hypothesis that under particular conditions identified in the program design/research, this practice contributed to the success. 13

14. Category II: Mentorship Overview • Mentorand provide professional development to the paired schools, or • Develop strategies that will assist the other Schools in adopting the promising or best practice(s) and help them to sustain the practice(s) beyond the grant period 14

15. Category II: Mentorship Possible Activities • Eligible activities include, but are not limited to: • Team visits at the mentor school, • back-office and business plan consultations, • policy and practice sharing, • board-to-board orientation sessions, and • mutual visits to third party sites to investigate promising teaching and learning practices. 15

16. Category II: Mentorship Process • Identify a charter-development team with a new public school academy application in process (not being prepared by an ESP related to the PSA), OR • Design/propose a series of mentorship activities designed to lend experience to the team’s work, OR • Propose a two-year program/research design (up to $100,000/year) to gather data that tests the hypothesis that under particular conditions identified in the program design/research, this practice contributed to the success. 16

17. Category III: Evaluation Activities MDE PSA unit will work collaboratively with the subgrantees, and authorizers of Michigan PSA’s to collect and conduct evaluations to develop materials that document the successful practices, in order to assist new school developers, existing (high, moderate, and low) charter schools to support improved student performance. Using data from existing schools and authorizers to pair and match potential promising or best practices for the following areas: Dissemination school profile (per school); Program and operations; Continuous learning; Parents and partners; Governance, leadership and accountability. 17

18. Dissemination Grant Application Application Components • Management Plan • Activities you will accomplish with the grant funds • Upload into MEGS+ as a PDF or Word Doc • Budget Detail • Aligned to management plan • Upload into MEGS+ line by line • Narrative Responses • Upload into MEGS+ as a PDF or Word Doc • Establish protocols for monthly activities 18

19. How will my application be assessed? • MDE does NOT score your application, we use a peer reviewer process. • Your application will be reviewed and scored by volunteers from across the education community. • If you would like to participate in the peer review process, please send us an email along with a copy of your resume’. 19 19

20. Reminder: Submission and Award Dates • Round I applications are closed. • Round II applications received after August 22, 2012 and before November 14, 2012 (will be reviewed and if approved) will be eligible for an award date of December 21, 2012. • Round III applications received after November 14, 2012 and before February 5, 2013 may be reviewed and if approved, will be eligible for an award date of March 21, 2013. 20 20

21. Dissemination Activities End-Products (Deliverables) • Make one or more presentations at a national, state or regional conference as part of the plan for dissemination of the information regarding the project; • Create Dissemination Profile (electronic/social media) • Contact information • Focus of the project dissemination activities • “Best Practice” project description/summary • Participate with the Office of Education Improvement & Innovation (OEII)’s best practices publication and at the Best Practice conference as part of OEII’s semi-annual School Improvement Conference. 21

22. Things to Avoid Watch the Allowable Activities Webinar • Activities that are illegal • Activities that are or appear to be self-enriching • Activities that could be seen as supplanting • Relationships that are restrictive and unnecessarily burdensome (e.g., poison pills or contracts that relinquish fiduciary control from the subgrantee) • Contracts that extend past the term of the grant • Partnerships or vendor relationships with individuals or entities having dubious track records or reputations • Failing to disclose or intentionally misrepresenting the status of relationships between vendors and non-profit board members 22

23. Closing and Summation • If you are considering applying for a Dissemination Grant feel free to contact us to discuss your idea • Please fill out the survey for today’s webinar- bottom left of the screen- click on the link- click browse-to button, survey opens in a separate window- submit • We will stay here for last minute questions • Thanks for joining us today! 23

24. Points of Contact • Beatrice Barajas, Secretary barajasb1@michigan.gov • Kim Sidel, Analyst sidelk@michigan.gov • Tammy Hatfield, Consultant hatfieldt@michigan.gov • Karla Browning, Consultant browningk2@michigan.gov • Neil Beckwith, Consultant beckwithn@michigan.gov • Ron Schneider, Consultant schneiderr8@michigan.gov • Phillip Caldwell II, Manager caldwellp@michigan.gov • Mark Eitrem, Supervisor eitremm@michigan.gov (517) 373-4631 MDEPSAGRANT@MICHIGAN.GOV http://www.michigan.gov/charters 24 24