Comprehensive Centers Program
Grant: Comprehensive Centers Program
Agency: U.S. Department of Education (DOE)
Division: Office of Elementary and Secondary Education
Deadline: This competition is closed. The deadline was August 6, 2012.
Description: The Comprehensive Centers program supports the creation of at least 20 comprehensive technical assistance centers to provide technical assistance to state educational agencies (SEAs). The goal is to help these state agencies build their capacity to support local educational agencies (LEAs or districts) and schools, especially low-performing districts and schools; improve educational outcomes for all students; close achievement gaps and improve the quality of instruction.
The DOE provides a list of eight different centers that fall under the Comprehensive Centers Program. Prospective applicants must choose one center type per application. If an eligible entity wants to apply for funding for more than one center, it must submit separate applications for each. The center types include:
- Regional Centers: These centers must provide high-quality technical assistance that focuses on key initiatives, align with the work of the Content Centers (see below) and build the capacity of SEAs to implement, support, scale up, and sustain initiatives statewide and to lead and support their LEAs and schools in improving student outcomes.
- Content Centers: The DOE will make grants to support seven different comprehensive centers.
- Center on Standards and Assessments Implementations. This center provides assistance to SEAs as they support their districts in the use of college and career ready standards and high quality assessments.
- Center on Great Teachers and Leaders. This center works to increase the capacity of SEAs to support their districts and schools in improving student outcomes by supporting effective instruction and leadership.
- Center on School Turnaround. These centers assist SEAs in turning around their lowest-performing schools.
- Center on Enhancing Early Learning Outcomes. These centers assist SEAs in their effort to implement comprehensive and aligned early learning systems as a means to increase the number of children from birth through third grade who are prepared to succeed in school.
- Center on College and Career Readiness and Success. These centers support SEA’s implementation of comprehensive strategies that promote college-and career-readiness for students in kindergarten through grade 12 and ensure the successful transition of all students from high school graduation to postsecondary education and the workforce.
- Center on Building State Capacity and Productivity. This center works with SEAs in their effort to implement effective practices to improve student outcomes.
- Center on Innovations in Learning. These centers assist SEAs in their effort to scale up innovative approaches that significantly improve or have the potential to improve student outcomes.
While not required, the DOE is particularly interested in applications that have a cost-sharing or match component of 15 percent. Partnerships, with one or more entities or organizations in the public or private sector are strongly encouraged.
The DOE will conduct briefings on this competition via conference call to clarify the purposes of the program, the selection criteria and application process. Regional center calls will take place on June 19 and 22, 2012. Content center calls will take place on June 20 and 22, 2012. Please email Fran Walter to register for the call of your choice and for specific times.
Fit for Public Broadcasting: This is a possible fit for stations that have strong relationships in formal education. Stations will find a fit in the Center on Innovations in Learning as an avenue to provide innovative classroom materials and teacher training in new technologies. Additionally, American Graduate stations may find a fit in with the Center on College and Career Readiness and Success given its emphasis on high school graduation.
Eligibility: Eligible applicants include research organizations, institutions, agencies and institutions of higher education.
Anticipated Funding: The DOE estimates that $50 million will be available under the Comprehensive Centers Program in FY 2012, of which $40 million will be used to fund Regional Centers and $10 million to fund the Content Centers. Funds will support the first 12 months of the project period only. Funding for the two subsequent years is contingent on appropriation levels. An additional $750,000 from the Special Education Technical Assistance and Dissemination program, $300,000 from the Career and Technical Education National Activities program, and $993,000 from the Indian Education National Activities program will be used to fund additional centers.
The DOE intents to make 22 awards under this competition; 15 to support Regional Centers in a defined geographic region (see program notice), ranging from $825,000 to $4,895,053 per award. Seven awards ranging from $1,428,571 to $2,478,571 will support content centers (see program description above).
We encourage you to read the award information section of the program notice for more details including what geographic regions are eligible and more specific requirements for those applying for regional centers.
How to Apply: Applications must be submitted electronically via Grants.gov. Online submission requires registration, a process that usually takes three to five business days but can take as long as four weeks. Be sure to visit Grants.gov and begin registering well in advance of the grant deadline.
Resources:
Program notice
Program website
The 2005 Comprehensive Centers Awards
