Early Learning Mentor Coaches
Grant: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 – Early Learning Mentor Coaches
Agency: U.S. Department of Health & Human Services
Division: Administration for Children & Families, Office of Head Start
Deadline: July 19, 2010
Description: Funds from this program are available to current Head Start and Early Head Start grantees to support Early Learning Mentor Coaches who will provide on-the-job guidance, coaching, training and technical assistance to classroom teaching staff, home visitors and family child care providers who work in Head Start and Early Head Start programs. The goal of the Coaching Initiative is to improve the quality of teaching, assist programs to promote positive, significant and sustained outcomes for children and promote career development for teaching staff working in Head Start programs.
The coaches who are funded by this program will provide professional development related to ongoing child assessment and its connection to teaching and learning, strategies for improving teacher child interactions, and effective strategies for working with culturally, linguistically, developmentally and age diverse groups of children. Coaching activities will include leading discussions on early child development and learning, assisting teaching staff with appropriate curriculum planning and implementation, and modeling appropriate strategies for engaging children in interactions designed to improve their vocabularies, content knowledge, love of learning and persistence in pursuing inquiries.
Coaches must have experience providing and implementing early childhood education service activities and training, and they must have extensive experience working and communicating with culturally, linguistically, developmentally and age-diverse groups.
Fit for public broadcasting: Because these funds can only be awarded to current Head Start and Early Head Start grantees, public television stations cannot be the lead applicants for one of these coaching projects. Local stations can, however, partner with existing Head Start grantees in their areas to collaborate on a coaching project. Applicants must demonstrate their ability to train teachers in appropriate strategies for engaging young children and encouraging learning. Many local stations have educational expertise and resources that are beneficial to Head Start teachers and can strengthen a Head Start grantee's application for this grant. An online directory, searchable by state, provides a list of current Head Start Programs. These programs are eligible to apply for this grant.
Eligibility: Only current Head Start and Early Head Start grantees are eligible to apply. Applicants may be individual grantees who want to provide coaching to their own teaching staff or they may be current grantees who wish to expand the coaching of their own staff to staff in other Head Start and Early Head Start programs. Applicants must document a record of strong performance in their early childhood program as well as their overall program management.
Anticipated funding: Approximately $25 million for a project period of eighteen months will be competitively awarded to up to 150 current Head Start and Early Head Start grantees. The average projected award is $200,000 per project period, and the maximum award is $225,000 per project period. Awards will be made for one 17-month project and budget period. Grantees must provide at least 20 percent of the total approved cost of the project.
How to apply: Application packages can be found online. Completed applications can be submitted online at Grants.gov.
Resources:
Program notice
Administration for Children and Families website
Directory of current Head Start and Early Head Start grantees
