1. Ninth Grade Success Grant Program
Pursuant to C.R.S
Application Webinar

2. Purpose
The Ninth Grade Success Grant Program provides funding to local education providers and charter schools to assist students enrolled in ninth grade to develop the skills they need to successfully persist in graduating from high school. For more information on definition of terms related to the grant, see Attachment A in the grant application.
The Dropout Prevention Framework was created using research- and evidence-based strategies and represents an ecosystem of institutional change that includes an iterative process for identification and intervention and support. Elements of the framework aligned with the intent and purpose of the Ninth Grade Success Grant Program. For more information on the Dropout Prevention Framework for Ninth Grade Success, see Attachment B in the grant application.

3. Eligible Applicants
Charter Schools (authorized by a school district or the state Charter School Institute) and Local Education Providers (LEPs) that serve students enrolled in grades nine through twelve are eligible to apply for this opportunity. An eligible LEP is:
A School District;
A Board of Cooperative Services (BOCES);
The Charter School Institute (CSI).
Note:
A charter school’s authorizer will be the fiscal agent, if funded.
An alternative education campus designated pursuant to section , C.R.S., may not apply for or receive money or services through the Ninth Grade Success Grant Program.

4. Priority Criteria
Funding priority will be given to applications that meet one or more of the following criteria:
Criteria 1: At least one recipient school must be identified as consistently ranked within the lowest twenty-five percent among Colorado public schools on the four-year graduation rates over the preceding three school years ( , , and ).
Criteria 2: At least one recipient school must be identified as ranked within the lowest twenty-five percent among Colorado public schools on the best of rate. Best of rate is the highest graduation rate, including extended rates, over the preceding three school years.
Note: Eligible applicants that do not have three years of data (e.g. new school, or school operating less than three years) may use data from the schools where the students of the new school would have otherwise attended had the new school not opened. In addition, if an applicant has less than 16 students enrolled, they may provide information on how they meet the priority consideration and must include three years of data.

5. Available Funds
Approximately $725,000 is available for the fiscal year. Each applicant will receive notification of funding recommendation by Friday, January 17, Grant awardees will be responsible for spending awarded funds in accordance with the approved budget and timeline within the grant application.
Matching Funds: Local education providers or charter schools that receive a grant must, as a condition of accepting the grant, provide a grant match. Grant matches may include in-kind contributions, (i.e., donations of goods or services, rather than funding). Grant matches cannot include funding from other state or federal grants. Grant matches must be obtained for the following amounts:
For a local education provider that is a small rural school district or for a charter school, fifteen percent (15%) of the grant amount; and
For all other local education providers, twenty-five percent (25%) of the grant amount.
Amount of Requests: The grant term is four years. The annual grant request should not exceed $120,000 per recipient LEP or Charter School per year of the grant.

6. Allowable use of funds
Monies must be used to implement a ninth grade success program (see RFA for specific elements of the grant program).
FTE is allowable, but the applicant needs to include how the FTE’s time will be used to implement the required elements of the grant program.
Contact Kristin Myers for additional questions regarding allowable uses.

7. Duration of Grant
Grants awarded on a competitive basis may be eligible for renewal up to four budget years pursuant to the authorizing legislation. However, grants awarded for the school year are not guaranteed additional funding. Annual funding is contingent upon legislative appropriations.
Renewed funding of grant recipients is contingent upon availability of state funds, compliance with grant expectations and meeting reporting requirements.

8. Submission Process and Deadline
An electronic copy of the application (in PDF format) and electronic budget (in Excel format) must be submitted to by Thursday, November 14, 2019 by 11:59 p.m.
The electronic version should include all required components of the application as one document. Please attach the electronic budget workbook in Excel format as a separate document.
Faxes will not be accepted. Incomplete or late applications will not be considered.
If you do not receive an confirmation of receipt of your application within 24 hours after the deadline, please
Application materials and budget are available for download on the Ninth Grade Success Program Website:

9. Review Process and Timeline
Applications will be reviewed by CDE staff and peer reviewers to ensure they contain all required components. Applicants will be notified of initial award status no later than Thursday, December 12, 2019 and final award status by Friday, January 17, 2020.
Note: This is a competitive process – applicants must score at least 72 points out of the 104 possible points to be approved for funding.
Applications that score below 72 points may be asked to submit revisions that would bring the application up to a fundable level.
There is no guarantee that submitting an application will result in funding or funding at the requested level.
All award decisions are final.
Applicants that do not meet the qualifications may reapply for future grant opportunities.

10. Evaluation and Reporting
If funded, grantees will submit to CDE:
Fiscal reports
Interim financial reports
Annual financial report
At least one performance report (see Attachment D for example questions)
Students Served
Funded services and strategies
Ratings on performance measures
A State Assigned Student Identifier (SASID) report, which includes a SASID number for every student served in the program during the grant period.
A summary of implementation progress of the LEAs work plan, including strategy implementation, student participation in initiatives, and updates on capacity of Ninth Grade Success Team.
An evaluation report highlighting the outcomes and impact of the interventions provided through the Ninth Grade Success Grant Program.

11. Evaluation and Reporting
An applicant must have the capacity, or be able to acquire the capacity, to complete the required annual online performance report.
A grantee may, but is not required purchase services to assist with completing the required evaluation reporting requirements of the grant.
Annual trainings on reporting requirements will be offered.
Evaluation results are used to inform continuous improvement (e.g., program improvement, Unified Improvement Plan)

12. Recommendations - General
9/26/2019
Recommendations - General
Before planning and drafting the proposal, review the:
RFP webpage where materials are posted
Entire request for proposal, start to finish
Training webinar slides
Budget instructions (first tab of Excel file/workbook)
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) at RFP page (May be amended until proposals are due)
While drafting the proposal:
Keep in mind the purpose of NGS grant and the students to be served
Keep it manageable for the time allowed to carry out proposed programs/strategies.
Consider how many steps and stages there are for implementation 12

13. Recommendations –Narrative/Scoring Rubric
9/26/2019
Recommendations –Narrative/Scoring Rubric
CDE Advice:
Identify the number of elements in each row of the rubric and address each one of them
If a description requires a “how” something is done:
Describe the process or action steps for getting it done.
Do not just state “that” it will be done.
“How” it will be done might get at methods, or the who, what, and when type of information.
Put yourself in the place of the reader
Subheadings help one easily locate subject matter if flipping back and forth between pages to re-read a section 13

14. Application Format
The total narrative (Sections A –E) of the application cannot exceed 14 pages. Please see the grant application for the required elements of the application.
Note: Applications that exceed 14 pages will not be reviewed.
All pages must be standard letter size, 8-1/2” x 11” using 12- point font and single-spaced with 1-inch margins and numbered pages.
The signature page must include original signatures of the lead organization/fiscal agent.

15. Required Elements
The format outlined below must be followed in order to assure consistent application of the evaluation criteria. See evaluation rubric for specific selection criteria needed in Part II.
Part I: Proposal Introduction (not scored)
Cover Page
Recipient School information
Assurances Form
Executive Summary
Part II: Narrative
Section A: Needs Assessment
Section B: Program Description
Section C: Policies and Practices
Section D: Evaluation and Reporting
Section E: Electronic Budget and Budget Narrative

16. Letter of Intent
The Letter of Intent to apply for Ninth Grade Success Grant Program is due Wednesday, October 2, 2019, by 11:59pm. Submit online via SurveyMonkey through this link. Below is a screenshot of the information requested in the Letter of Intent.

17. Review Process

18. Evaluation Rubric Part I: Application Introduction (No Points)
Cover Pages and Assurances Complete applicant information and program assurances and include as the first pages of the application.
Executive Summary Provide a brief description (no more than one page) of the applicant’s program to be funded by the Ninth Grade Success Grant Program. Applicants should include information from Part 1B: Recipient School Information and Signatures. This summary does not count toward the 14-page narrative page limit.
Part II: Narrative (94 points)
The following criteria will be used by reviewers to evaluate the application as a whole. In order for the application to be recommended for funding, it must receive at least 72 points out of the 104 possible points and all required elements must be addressed. An application that receives a score of 0 on any required elements will not be funded.

19. Application Narrative

20. Section A: Needs Assessment
This is the “why” portion of the application.
Provide a description of your unique school district (and proposed recipient schools) as to:
Need based on data analysis of relevant indicators (a-d);
A description of the needs of students and families who will be served;
Current gaps in services and how the program will address gaps (a-e).
To receive maximum points, include a description for each other the recipient schools as applicable.
Note: applicants do not need to meet the priority criteria to apply. If an applicant does not meet priority criteria, they are encouraged to provide a detailed description of the need for the program.

21. Section B: Program Description
This is the “how” part of the application
Applications will be scored based on the applicant’s readiness to implement the ninth grade success program pursuant to the requirements in C.R.S (5), specifically in the areas of:
Program requirements and capacity (including data-system capacity and/or capacity building);
Success team logistics;
Instructional support and engagement

22. Section C: Performance Objectives
This is the “do” part of the application.
Applicants must create two program goals (there are objective options listed on the application—applicants will choose one)
For each program goal, applicants must do the following:
Select one objective from the options listed.
Fill in the percentage of students who will show improvement by year four of the grant for each selected performance objective
Describe the evaluation process to track progress on the selected performance objectives. Specify sources of data, methods to collect information, frequency of collection and who will be designated to coordinate data tracking and the analysis.
Describe the strategies/activities described in Section B: Program Description that align with the selected objective.
Describe process in selecting objectives and setting rates of improvement, including the degree to which recipient schools were involved.

23. Section D: Evaluation and Reporting
This is the “who will be impacted, and how will we know to what extent they were impacted” section.
Applicants will be scored on their capacity and ability to measure the effectiveness of the grant program (e.g. behavior, course completion, and ability to complete evaluation requirements of the grant);
Ability to explain how evaluation results will be used to inform practice in the grant program and school UIP and postsecondary workforce readiness indicators.

24. Section D: Budget Narrative and Electronic Budget
Budget narrative (not in 14-page limit)
A summary of how the applicant will use grant funds to support program strategies (make sure this is detailed).
Per statute, C.R.S (3)(a)—grant awardees must include a grant match, which may include in-kind contributions, which must not exceed 15% for a small rural school district or charter school, and 25% for all other local education providers. A description must be included as to how the applicant will meet the matching requirement.
Budget for each recipient school, including a brief description of the item to be funded and the funding calculation as to how the amounts were derived (e.g. .xx for FTE for [role or title] at $xx per [hour or year] times [per hours or months of year];
Whether or not the costs are reasonable and sufficient related to the rest of the application

25. Priority Points
Ten bonus points (total) may be given to applicants that meet priority criteria:
Criteria 1: At least one recipient school is identified as consistently ranked within the lowest twenty-five percent among Colorado public schools on the four-year graduation rates over the preceding three school years ( , , and ).
Criteria 2: At least one recipient school must be identified as ranked within the lowest twenty-five percent among Colorado public schools on the best of rate. Best of rate is the highest graduation rate, including extended rates, over the preceding three school years.
Note: Applicants DO NOT need to meet the priority criteria to apply. The bonus points are 5 points for each criteria (per applicant), 10 points possible total.

26. Attachments
Attachment A: Definitions for the Ninth Grade Success Program
Attachment B: Dropout Prevention Framework for Ninth Grade Success
Attachment C: Priority Considerations and Data
Attachment D: Program Evaluation and Reporting Requirements
Attachment E: Letter of Intent

27. Questions

28. Contact Information
Program Questions:
Kristin Myers Dropout Prevention and Student Re-engagement |
Budget/Fiscal Questions:
Steven Kaleda Grants Fiscal Management |
Application Questions:
Kim Burnham Competitive Grants and Awards |