Section 70.50  Implementation Grants – Procedures and Content of Proposals

Implementation grants shall be offered in years when the level of available funding is such that one or more new partnerships can be funded, or for partnerships already funded, a new group of individuals can be supported in addition to the group of candidates already enrolled.  Priority for funding shall be given in the initial implementation cycle (i.e., FY 2008) to grantees awarded funds under Section 70.40 of this Part that have successfully completed the planning process and are ready to implement an Early Childhood Teacher Preparation Assistance Grant program.

a)         When sufficient funding is available, the State Superintendent of Education shall issue a Request for Proposals (RFP) specifying the information that applicants shall include in their implementation proposals, informing applicants of any bidders' conferences, and requiring that proposals be submitted no later than the date specified in the RFP.  The RFP shall provide at least 45 calendar days in which to submit proposals.

b)         Each proposal submitted in response to an RFP shall include the following components.

1)         Descriptive information about each entity involved in the partnership, including the roles and responsibilities of each partner.

A)        The teacher preparation program must indicate specific information about the institution's success in preparing teachers for early childhood teaching positions, particularly in areas serving bilingual and minority children.

B)        The community-based organization or nonpublic educational entity must include its mission statement, organizational structure, and goals or policies regarding early childhood programs and services, including the applicant's existing competencies to provide early childhood education programs, if applicable, and a list of any early childhood accreditations that have been achieved.

2)         The goals and objectives of the partnership in ensuring a program that is successful and sustainable.

3)         A description of the need for the program, which shall include:

A)        Demographic information about the area to be served by the program, including statistics about number of programs funded under Section 2-3.71 of the School Code that serve the area and their need for certified teachers.

B)        Demographic information about individuals employed by State-funded preschool education programs and other early childhood education programs in the area to be served who do not hold Early Childhood teaching certificates, including, but not limited to, their race/ethnicity, language (other than English) and cultural background, and educational attainment.

4)         A description of the program to be implemented, to include:

A)        the partnership's plans for recruiting and providing support to individuals enrolled in the program, including working with employers to ensure that the individuals can fully participate in the program;

B)        strategies to be employed to ensure that individuals to be enrolled are adequately prepared to successfully progress through the program, which shall include but not be limited to assistance to ensure each individual's passage of the Basic Skills Test required for admittance to a teacher preparation program [105 ILCS 5/21-1a];

C)        coursework and experiences needed to complete the program, to include the length of the program and sample schedules;

D)        identification of sites where student teaching will occur; and

E)         expectations for candidates' course completion rates or the performance levels needed to continue their participation in the program.

5)         A plan for evaluating the impact of the proposed program and activities, which shall correspond to the applicable specifications set forth in the RFP.

6)         Budget information that corresponds to the categories of allowable expenditures identified in the RFP, completed on the forms provided and detailing each line item of expenditure.  The budget information shall cover the entire period of time during which the proposed group of candidates is expected to participate in the teacher preparation program.

A)        Applicants shall be required to demonstrate that grant funds will supplement and not supplant amounts typically devoted by the institution of higher education to, and other resources available for, assisting teacher candidates.

B)        Applicants shall be required to describe the steps that will be taken to decrease the need for external financial support for the partnership and its program over time.

7)         Such certifications and assurances as the State Superintendent of Education may require.