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TRANSITION TO TEACHING GRANT PROGRAM

Transition to Teaching Grant Program

Grant: Transition to Teaching Grant Program
Agency: U.S. Department of Education
Division: Office of Innovation and Improvement
Deadline: May 31, 2011; Notice of intent to apply requested by April 29, 2011

Description: The Transition to Teaching program encourages the development and expansion of alternative routes to full state teacher certification as well as the recruitment and retention of highly qualified mid-career professionals, recent college graduates and highly qualified paraprofessionals as teachers in high-need schools operated by high-need local educational agencies, including charter schools that operate as high-need local educational agencies.

This notice contains two competitive preference priorities and one invitational priority. Up to an additional three points will be awarded to an application that meets Competitive Preference Priority 1, and up to an additional four points will be awarded to an application that meets Competitive Preference Priority 2.

  • Competitive Preference 1: This priority supports projects that are designated and implemented in active partnerships or consortia that include at least one high-need local educational agency or high-need state educational agency.
  • Competitive Preference 2: This priority supports projects that are designed to increase the opportunities for high-quality preparation of, or professional development for, teachers or other educators of STEM subjects and/or increase the number of individuals from groups traditionally underrepresented in STEM who are teachers or educators of STEM subjects and have increased opportunities for high-quality preparation or professional development.
  • Invitational Priority: The U.S. Department of Education is particularly interested in applications that develop and implement, enhance or expand innovative projects that address teacher staffing needs in high-need schools in rural high-need local educational agencies and in high-need schools in high-need local educational agencies that serve American Native or Alaska Native communities.

There are three funding categories for this project:

  • Local projects that serve one or more eligible high-need local educational agencies in a single area of a state.
  • Statewide projects that serve eligible high-need local educational agencies statewide or eligible high-need local educational agencies in more than one area of a state.
  • National/regional projects that serve eligible high-need local educational agencies in more than one state.

Fit for Public Broadcasting: Training teachers new to the teaching profession is a goal of President Obama and the U.S. Department of Education. While public media stations are not directly eligible for this program, their expertise in teacher training can make them useful partners for state and local educational agencies who are planning to apply for this grant to recruit and train new teachers. In addition, many public media stations have programming and educational materials related to STEM fields. Applicants to this program who focus on STEM receive competitive preference, so public media partners with STEM education expertise can be very valuable.

Eligibility: State educational agencies, high-need local educational agencies, for-profit or nonprofit organizations in partnership with high-need local or state educational agencies, institutions of higher education in partnership with high-need local or state educational agencies, a regional consortium of state educational agencies and consortia of high-need local educational agencies are all eligible to apply.

Anticipated funding: The Administration's FY 2011 budget request included no funding for the Transition to Teaching program. In place of several, sometimes narrowly targeted programs that serve current and prospective teachers and school leaders, the Administration has proposed to create a broader Excellent Instructional Teams initiative through the reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965. Strengthening teacher preparation – including through high-quality alternative routes to certification or licensure – will be a key component of this initiative. The U.S. Department of Education estimates that $12.6 million will be available for this competition, but the actual level of funding, if any, depends on final congressional action. For national/regional projects, the estimated range of awards is $450,000 to $750,000 per year. For statewide projects the estimated range is $300,000 to $650,000 per year, and for local projects, the estimated range is $150,000 to $450,000 per year. There will be an estimated one to three national/regional projects, three to five statewide projects and five to 16 local projects funded.

How to apply: The U.S. Department of Education strongly encourages each potential applicant to notify the Department of their intent to submit an application by sending a short email message to Beatriz Ceja by April 29, 2011. Applicants that do not provide an email intent to apply may still apply for funding. To request an application package, potential applicants can email Beatriz Ceja. Final 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 deadline. In order to do business with the U.S. Department of Education, applicants must register their Data Universal Numbering System (DUNS) number and Taxpayer Identification Number (TIN) with the Central Contractor Registry (CCR) and must maintain an active CCR registration while the application is under review and, if awarded a grant, during the project period.

Resources:
Program Notice
Program Website
Previous Awards