Perkins Reserve Fund rant for New Career Pathway Development Technical Assistance Meeting ● April 27, 2015 g

What is a GRREC ? Green River Regional Educational Cooperative 260 schools, 42 districts 150,000 students 19,000 cert/class staff

Who are you?... Who are you? – Experienced grant writer – Written one or two grants – Never written a grant – Your name is Grant

Order of worship… Introduction of the RFA (request for applications – A review only, not a complete read! – Read it thoroughly at least three times Designing a strong program (leads to a strong proposal) Review the evaluation criteria & scoring summary Understanding your audience

A word about grants in general The problem Career pathways Course sequences Graduation rates Industry certifications Post-Sec pathways The solution(s) Your program Your ability/capacity to implement the program Your activities Your anticipated, reasonable results

A word about the money… Rule #1 It’s not your money Rule #2 It’s your job to design a good program - regardless of the amount of money provided Rule #3 It’s not your money

Request for Applications ( RFA ) This is your instruction book: READ IT! There are lots of instruction There are people you can call for help The RFA will help you create your plan for implementation. You are not creating a plan to plan…

Page 1… Deadline Who to call (or ) Where to send it Shalls and shoulds

Page 2… Purpose Eligibility Funding – Sectors – Partners – Match

Page 3… Advisory Committee (required) Assurances Program Elements – All four are required – Blend it into the proposal Allowable Activities

Page 4-5… Funds may not be used for… Application Components Formatting Requirements Intent to Apply Written Questions

Page 6-7… Application information – Deadline: May 28 at 4 p.m. EDT – Submission process: ing pdfs, blind copies Evaluation of Application Contract Award (August 1, 2015)

Pages 8-13… Evaluation Criteria – Order of your proposal – No additional attachments – Budget and narrative form – Timeline Forms

Pages 14-15… RFA Scoring Rubric – Write to this rubric – Write to the “excellent” standard – Each measure has multiple indicators But how??? What about the Evaluation Criteria?

Criteria Max Part 1: Need 10 points This section should explain how this pathway was chosen and the expected outcomes. 1.1 Link to sector strategy 1.2 Link to outcomes Section Point Range Excellent – Very Good 1) Need 0-10Need is well written and explains how the pathway was chosen. Links to sector strategy and expected outcomes are detailed and clearly understood. Points: 10-8

More about the Rubric… Two key things to consider – How to write to your audience – How to get the points you need to win

Your audience KDE does not score your proposal A gathering of stressed reviewers They are not necessarily familiar with your school or your ideas So you must be clear and write in order Avoid your “beliefs” Use detail, facts, data Avoid whining and opinions

Examples… “Our students are very poor and come from broken homes where parents can’t read and therefore cannot get good jobs.”

Examples… “Nearly 60 percent of our students receive free/reduced lunch. Of that number, 52 percent are not considered College or Career Ready (CCR) on state assessments. And, in 2014, only 5 students received industry-specific certifications that align to our identified regional industry sectors. In addition, our graduation rate in was 76.5%.”

Your proposal narrative… Your 10 pages Follows the Evaluation Criteria and Rubric (pages 8 and 14-15) Answer each one completely Each one is worth points

Point values… Part 1 (Need) Part 2 (Collaboration, Partnership) Part 3 (Quality of Plan) Part 4 (Marketing, Recruitment) Part 5 (Assessment, Evaluation) Part 6 (Sustainability) Part 7 (Budget) SectionsPoints Pages?? ESTIMATE ONLY!!! Implementation Timeline

Review of the rubric… Pages Handout

What is a goal?... Broad statement Generally not specific or data-based You can have one or two or three or…

What is an objective?... More specific, but it doesn’t count things or activities Measures change over time – What does it look like now? – What will it look like in 2, 3, 4 years? It is measurable It almost always begins with the word “increase” or “decrease”

What is an objective?... Goal: To look fabulous Objectives: By August 2015… – Decrease my weight by 11% – Increase the elasticity in my face by 19% Activities/Strategies: – Go on a diet and head to the gym – See my Mary Kay agent – Buy really good underwear

Example… Goal: To ensure the community has a ready supply of business-capable employees – Increase by 20% the number of 11 th graders performing at/above benchmark on the ACT annually. – By 2018, increase by 45% the number of 12 th graders who participate in business-related internships. – Increase by 35% the number of students performing at/above a B average each year in business math courses, including Statistics and Finance.

Meeting the deadline… Know who’s in charge Know who’s really in charge Understand your internal review system Get a big calendar and plot out the days from that until today In the next 5 days: Have a firm work plan in place (at least sketched out) Stay calm…

Contact info… Procurement Branch (through May 7) Johna Rodgers, GPC