Announcement of funding opportunity

APPLICATION GUIDANCE

The intermediary will coordinate much of the work of the selected Smart Scholars ECHS partnerships, and will assist them in establishing successful high schools. The statewide intermediary will be a research and consulting organization that has demonstrated technical experience within an early college high school context and in the recruitment of highly qualified educators and personnel; can provide academic support related to college readiness; can guide curriculum development for both the IHE and the LEA; and possesses significant, documented skill in developing, implementing and evaluating educational assessment tools. The statewide intermediary will also promote best practices across the schools, coordinate statewide leadership and training opportunities, and will import and translate best practices from other states.

• 
  High need students in Grades 9-12, primarily from high needs schools, will be provided college courses which will be used to both receive college credit and to meet the high school graduation/Regents diploma requirements. A significant number of courses and activities should be conducted on the partnering IHEs campus, and to the extent practicable, to promote a college-going culture among the cohort of Smart Scholars.
  

• 
  High need students, who are at-risk, including those students with disabilities, may be identified as early as the 6^th grade and will be provided additional academic and social support to ensure that, when they reach their 9^th – 12^th grade in high school, they are at grade level and ready to participate in rigorous collegiate courses offered in the Smart Scholars ECHS.
  

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  The Smart Scholars ECHS partnerships will ensure that these college courses are non-remedial, rigorous, use the same syllabi and are assessed by the same tools used for traditional students matriculated at the IHE.
  

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  Have been identified as academically at-risk for not successfully completing high school or not succeeding in college
  
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  Belong to populations that have historically not had access to or success in higher education
  
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  May be identified as early as grade 6 to receive extensive support to achieve college-readiness by grade 9-12
  
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  Do not have the financial resources to fully fund an Associate or Baccalaureate degree without tuition assistance
  
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  Are in attendance at “high needs” schools that have been identified in the State’s accountability system in the definitions below.
  

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  Students will be able to earn a minimum of 20 college credits by the time they graduate from the ECHS.
  

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  College credits earned are transferable as defined in completed or “in development” articulation agreements between the LEA and the IHE. Signed Letters of Intent to establish articulation agreements are acceptable in lieu of a completed agreement. This need not be a separate agreement. The general Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) developed by applicants may also include an articulation component.
  

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  Smart Scholars ECHS Partnerships must identify strategies and/or collaborative endeavors designed to seek financial stability for the long-term operation of the Smart Scholars ECHS, beyond the life of the grant.
  

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  To implement a Smart Scholars Early College High School, executed MOUs, those “in development” or Letters of Intent establishing roles and responsibilities between the LEA and IHE must accompany the proposal.
  

• 
  The proposal must include the cost per pupil, which varies throughout the regions of the State. This cost must be used in developing the cost proposal (Budget, Form FS-10). See separate Attachment 1.
  

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  Eligible Local Education Agency (LEA): For the purposes of this RFP, an eligible LEA is a public high school or a public charter school. Preference will be given to schools classified as “high needs schools”, which include Schools under Registration Review (SURR), Persistently Lowest Achieving Schools (PLAS), and Schools in Improvement Status (SIIS). Listings of the 647 eligible high needs schools may be found at the following links:
  

• 
  Schools Under Registration Review (http://www.p12.nysed.gov/accountability/APA/SURR/SURR_home.html )
  
• 
  Schools identified as Persistently Lowest Achieving (http://www.p12.nysed.gov/irs/accountability/LowAchieve/2009/PLASchools-d3tod6.pdf)
  
• 
  Schools designated as Schools in Improvement Status (<<http://www.p12.nysed.gov/irs/accountability/designations/home.html)
  

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  Eligible Institution of Higher Education (IHE): An eligible IHE is a New York State, two- or four-year college or university that is:
  

1. 
   Recognized by the United States Department of Education (USDE),
   
2. 
   Accredited by an appropriate accrediting body, and
   
3. 
   Offers academic programs registered by the New York State Education Department, Office of College and University Evaluation, http://www.highered.nysed.gov/ocue/.
   

• 
  Existing Early College High Schools: New York State has a number of existing early college high schools. The fiscal agent of the existing program is eligible to respond to this RFP. However, grant applications must propose new or expanded levels of service, including, but not limited to, the development of demonstration sites that communicate best practices, or an expansion in the number of students served. Furthermore, this RFP allows these schools to collaborate with community-based organizations and local businesses as applicable.
  

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  Eligible High Need Student Target Population: Eligible students are those who attend a high needs school as determined in the state’s accountability system and students who attend a non-high needs school that are English language learners, children of recent immigrants, first generation college goers or children with disabilities, or who qualify for the federal free or reduced-price lunch program.
  

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  Memorandum of Understanding (MOU): An MOU is a written document or agreement between the LEA and the IHE that delineates all roles and responsibilities to which the parties will commit in the contract resulting from this RFP. (See sample provided in Attachment 2. The sample is only a guide.)
  

• 
  Eligible Partnerships: An eligible partnership is defined through a signed MOU, MOU in development or Letter of Intent as a formal partnership between one or more local education agencies (LEAs), and one or more institutions of higher education (IHEs). Regional consortia are eligible to participate in the Smart Scholars ECHS program. An eligible partnership may also include as collaborators a local 501(c) 3 community-based organization (CBO) or a New York State business. However neither of these two types of entities is eligible to apply as a lead agency or partner under this RFP. Both CBOs and business are subject to the 25% subcontracting limitation.
  

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  Community-based organization (CBO): An eligible CBO will be a private non-profit 501(c)3 organization which is representative of a community or significant segments of a community and which provides educational or other related basic human services to individuals in the community. CBOs are encouraged to participate in Smart Scholars ECHS partnerships but cannot be an applicant to the RFP, since they are not authorized to award college credit in New York State.
  

• 
  Local businesses: A local business organization may collaborate with a Smart Scholars partnership to provide opportunities such as internships to an early college high school. As with the case for CBOs, these entities cannot be applicants for the RFP, because they are not authorized to award college credit in New York State.
  

1. 
   Must receive and administer the grant funds and submit the required reports to account for the use of contract funds.
   

2. 
   Must require consortium partners to sign an agreement with the fiscal agent that specifically outlines all services each partner agrees to provide (See Eligibility: Definitions, and Attachment 2, Memorandum of Understanding.
   

3. 
   Must be an active member of the partnership/consortium.
   

4. 
   Cannot act as a flow-through for contract funds to pass to other recipients. NYSED has established 50% of direct services be provided by the fiscal agent for this grant program.
   

5. 
   Is PROHIBITED from sub-granting contract funds to other recipients. The fiscal agent is permitted to contract for services with other consortium partners, collaborators, or consultants to provide services that the fiscal agent cannot provide itself.
   

6. 
   Must be responsible for the performance of any services provided by the partners, consultants, or other organizations and must coordinate how each plan to participate will be accomplished.
   

Note:  All entities are required to go through the contract process.   Any agency that has not previously received funding with the State Education Department must complete and submit a Payee Information Form - Attachment 4).

• 
  The partnership includes a high needs school. (See definition of “high needs schools” in Eligibility-Definitions section of this RFP.)
  

• 
  The curriculum includes a STEM or CTE focus.
  

The national Early College High School Initiative (http://www.earlycolleges.org/overview.html) has found that the experience of attending classes and other activities on a college campus significantly contributes to developing students’ identity as college goers. They refer to this phenomenon as “the power of place”. NYSED encourages applicants to hold a significant number of classes and/or activities on the partner IHE campus. The Proposal Evaluation Rubric (Attachment 5) awards additional points if the ECHS is located on the college campus.

1. 
   Pre-Opening Planning Phase
   

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  Hiring a Smart Scholars program director/leader/principal
  

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  Establishing a staffing plan and hiring staff
  

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  Developing a budget and business plan
  

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  Establishing a suitable site/facility for the school
  

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  Writing a detailed Memorandum of Understanding with the IHE, including transfer of earned credits to the IHE partner.
  

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  Engaging the LEA and IHE faculty and staff to design an aligned curriculum and standards and a sequence of courses that allow students to earn at least 20 college credits while completing high school and required Regents exams
  

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  Conducting outreach activities to and education of staff and families at middle and elementary schools
  

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  Conducting outreach activities to community-based organizations seeking support, and in recruiting students at risk of not completing high school or going on to postsecondary education
  

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  Planning student recruitment and selection criteria and strategies consistent with the goals of this initiative
  

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  Coordinating high school and college faculty, support services, calendars, and transportation and establishing on-going governance structures
  

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  Developing assessment tools and instruments under the guidance of the statewide intermediary. This will include a plan for using results of the assessment process to evaluate student college-readiness, student outcomes and program success, as well as improvements needed, and to refine the assessment model throughout the progressive development of the Smart Scholars ECHS
  

• 
  Developing a college going culture
  

2. 
   Implementation Phase: Successful partnerships serve their initial class of students, adding additional classes each year. Successful partnerships will provide:
   

• 
  Academic and social support services (e.g. counseling staff, advisors)
  

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  Support for college-high school partnership liaisons who oversee joint planning with the LEA and support the Smart Scholars Early College High School director’s/leader’s/principal’s coordination with the IHE
  

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  Data collection, sharing, reporting, and evaluation
  

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  Student recruitment and community education and engagement
  

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  Joint professional development for high school and college faculty
  

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  School design and planning team activities (e.g. curriculum development)
  

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  Travel and fees for relevant professional development opportunities, including partnership representatives’ meetings in Albany
  

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  Providing transportation of students to the partnering IHE to attend college level courses and activities
  

• 
  College tuition, books, fees
  

Indirect Costs:

Colleges and Universities - These agencies continue to use an 8% rate.

If you have questions about indirect costs or the rates, please contact Grants Finance by emailing grantsweb@mail.nysed.gov or calling (518) 474-4815.

Electronic Processing of Payments
In accordance with a directive dated January 22, 2010 by the Director of State Operations - Office of Taxpayer Accountability, all State agency contracts, grants, and purchase orders executed after February 28, 2010 shall contain a provision requiring that contractors and grantees accept electronic payments. Additional information and authorization forms are available at the State Comptroller’s website at www.osc.state.ny.us/epay/index.htm.

Vendor Responsibility

State law requires that the award of State contracts be made to responsible vendors. Before an award is made to a not-for-profit entity, a for-profit entity, a private college or university or a public entity not exempted by the Office of the State Comptroller, the Department must make an affirmative responsibility determination. The factors to be considered include: legal authority to do business in New York State; integrity; capacity- both organizational and financial; and previous performance. Before an award of $100,000 or greater can be made to a covered entity, the entity will be required to complete and submit a Vendor Responsibility Questionnaire. School districts, Charter Schools, BOCES, public colleges and universities, public libraries, and the Research Foundation for SUNY and CUNY are some of the exempt entities. For a complete list, see: http://www.osc.state.ny.us/vendrep/documents/vrdocrules.pdf.

Projects must operate under the jurisdiction of the local board of education or other appropriate governing body and are subject to at least the same degree of accountability as all other expenditures of the local agency. The local board of education or other appropriate governing body is responsible for the proper disbursement of, and accounting for, project funds. Written agency policy concerning wages, mileage and travel allowances, overtime compensation, or fringe benefits, as well as State rules pertaining to competitive bidding, safety regulations, and inventory control must be followed. Supporting or source documents are required for all grant related transactions entered into the local agency's recordkeeping system. Source documents that authorize the disbursement of grant funds consist of purchase orders, contracts, time & effort records, delivery receipts, vendor invoices, travel documentation and payment documents, including check stubs.

For additional information about grants, please refer to the Fiscal Guidelines for Federal and State Aided Grants.

Required Reports:

Recipients of multi-year discretionary grants must submit a mid-year and an annual performance report for each year funding has been approved in order to receive a continuation award.  The performance reports should demonstrate that substantial progress has been made toward meeting the project goals and the program performance indicators.  Additional information about these reports will be distributed to the successful bidders along with the initial contract documents.

Records Retention:

The following documents and supporting documentation must be retained for at least six years after the last payment was made unless otherwise required by specific program requirements: The original RFP application and other supporting documents that comprise the application package such as a Memorandum of Understanding or letters of support from participating collaborators/partners, budget category forms, budget summary forms, correspondence regarding the negotiation of budget expenditures, budget amendments, methodology for awards, progress reports, annual reports, and final expenditure forms/reports.  Additionally, audit or litigation will “freeze the clock” for records retention purposes until the issue is resolved. All records and documentation must be available for inspection by State Education Department officials or its representatives. Appendix “A, #10, Records”, presents additional information about records retention requirements.

APPLICATION INSTRUCTIONS

Please adhere to the following instructions or your application will not be considered for review.

Required Signature(s)

The original signature of the Chief School Administrator/Officer must appear on the Application Cover Page and on the final sheet of the Cost Proposal, FS-10, both in BLUE INK.
Partnership Applicant(s) (if applicable)

Applicant information for all partner agencies must be provided. Please make multiple copies of the Application Cover Page to document all partner agencies.

Type of Applicant and Special Population (if applicable)

Please check the applicable box to denote the type of applicant. Also, check the appropriate box that applies to the special population to be served.

Number of Copies

Please submit one original and four (4) copies of the complete proposal to the address provided on the Application Cover Page.

Due Date

Applicants are responsible for making sure the application package is complete and sent so that the Department receives the package by the postmark due date of January 28, 2011.

Checklist

Please use the Application Checklist to ensure that you send a complete application package. Incomplete applications will not be considered for review.
Page Limits and Standards:
You must limit the project narrative to no more than twenty-five (25) pages and use the following standards:
-A page is 8.5” x 11” (on one side only) with one-inch margins (top, bottom, and sides). Charts/tables are not required to adhere to this standard.
-Single space all text in the application narrative; double space between titles, headings, footnotes, quotations, references, and captions, as well as all text in charts, figures, and graphs.
-Use a Times Roman or Arial font in a 12-point size
We will reject any application if:

You apply these standards and exceed the page limit; or

You apply other standards and exceed the equivalent of the page limit.

Proposed Budget (FS-10)

The applicant must complete the FS-10 Budget Form and include a budget narrative for each category of expenditure that is required for the grant (Professional Salaries, Support Staff Salaries, Purchased Services, Supplies and Materials, Travel Expenses, Employee Benefits, Indirect Cost, BOCES Services, Minor Remodeling, and Equipment). The narrative should include sufficient detail to allow reviewers to understand what the funds will be used for and the relationship between the proposed expenditures and project activities and goals.

Information about the categories of expenditures, general information on allowable costs and applicable federal costs principles and administrative regulations are available in the Fiscal Guidelines for Federal and State Aided Grants (Refer to the Application Guidance for additional specific requirements and information about the allowable and non-allowable activities for the program.)
Each FS-10 budget should include the applicant name and the title of the grant. Although the grant award period is for three years and five months (April 1, 2011 to August 31, 2014), applicants should submit a FS-10 form for the initial project period – the planning phase of April 1, 2011 to August 31, 2011 – AND the first year of implementation – September 1, 2011 to August 31, 2012. The project years and funding amounts will be as follows:
Year 1 April 1, 2011 through August 31, 2011 (10% of grant award)

Year 2 September 1, 2011 through August 31, 2012 (30% of grant award)

Year 3 September 1, 2012 through August 31, 2013 (30% of grant award)

Year 4 September 1, 2013 through August 31, 2014 (30% of grant award)
Program office staff will review budgets and eliminate any items that are deemed non-allowable or inappropriate.  Any non-allowable and/or inappropriate expenditures will be subtracted from the grant budget and points will be deducted from the budget evaluation score. Applicants will not have the opportunity to revise their budgets for the full amount.

The totals from each of the FS-10 pages must correspond to amounts shown on the Budget Summary Page of the FS-10. Please be sure to check your math.
Only equipment items with a unit cost that equals or exceeds $5,000 should be included under Equipment, Code 20. Equipment items under $5,000 should be included under Supplies and Materials, Code 45.

An approved copy of the FS-10 will be returned by Grants Finance to the contact person at the address completed on page one. A window envelope will be used for the return mailing; please make sure that the contact information is accurate, legible, and confined to the address field. If any modifications are made to the Budget Category Forms, they will be returned to the contact person by the program office.

Cost Per Student Information

A separate Attachment 1 is included to report the estimated students served, the total program cost, and the cost per pupil. This form should be returned with the FS-10 Budget.
Regional Distribution of Awards

The distribution of available funds in each region will be based on the percentage of public high school students enrolled in each of the ten Regents Higher Education Regions, after setting a minimum four-year award amount at $200,000. This figure is based on an estimate of the minimum amount of funding needed to support the planning and implementation of an early college high school program over four years.

The maximum four-year award is $450,000 or the amount available in each Region, whichever is lower. Regions with the following percentages of students will be allotted funding as follows:

Regents Higher Education Regions	% of All Public High School Students in NYS	Funding Available for Total Grant Period	Funding for Planning Phase Year 1 (10%)	Funding for Implementation Phase Years 2 – 4 (30%/yr.)
Capital	6%	$ 319,565	$ 31,957	$95,870
Central	5%	$ 266,304	$ 26,630	$79,891
Finger Lakes	7%	$ 372,826	$37,283	$111,848
Hudson Valley	13%	$ 692,391	$ 69,239	$207,717
Long Island	17%	$ 905,435	$ 90,544	$271,631
Mohawk Valley	3%	$ 200,000	$ 20,000	$60,000
NYC	37%	$1,970,652	$ 197,065	$591,196
North Country	2%	$ 200,000	$ 20,000	$60,000
Southern Tier	3%	$ 200,000	$ 20,000	$60,000
Western	7%	$ 372,826	$ 37,283	$111,848
Total	100%	$5,500,000	$550,000	$1,650,000

Note: Differences may result due to rounding
Review and Rating of Applications:

 

An application must receive a final average score of 53 points on the technical section of the proposal to be considered for funding. An explanation of the points assigned to items in the technical section of the proposal is provided in the Proposal Narrative section of this RFP. The Proposal Evaluation Rubric (Attachment 5) is also provided for your information. The scores of the two reviewers will be averaged to obtain the final average score. A third review will be performed if there is a difference of at least twenty points between the two scores. In cases where a third review is necessary, the three scores will be averaged to obtain the final average score.

Method of Award
The aggregate score of all the criteria listed will be calculated for each proposal received. In the event that more than one proposal obtains the same aggregate score and there are insufficient funds to award all proposals, the contract(s) will be awarded to the proposal(s) with the highest technical score(s) in section A. “Target Population and P-16 Partnership”.
Proposals will be ranked in accordance with the combined technical and cost score for all proposals receiving a minimum score of 53 points for the technical section. This minimum score is 70% of the available 75 points for this section (excluding the bonus points).

1. 
   Grant contracts will be fully funded and awards made to eligible bidders in rank order, from highest to lowest, within each of the ten Regents Higher Education Regions, based on the funds available for each region, as shown in the section Regional Distribution of Awards.
   

2. 
   If a bidder’s total requested award exceeds the remaining available allocation for their region, they may be partially funded at the regional level if the NYSED Program Officer deems the partial award would still allow the program to operate with fiscal viability.
   

3. 
   Any remaining regional allocations shall be pooled into a statewide allocation which will be distributed to remaining unfunded bidders in rank order of final score. A program may be partially funded at the State level if the NYSED Program Officer deems the partial award would still allow the program to operate with fiscal viability.
   

4. 
   In the event no bidder within a region submits an application or achieves the minimum score of 53 on the narrative, the State Education Department will allocate unspent funds from that region to unfunded eligible bidders in other regions of the State in rank order of highest scores.
   

5. Bidders who score below 53 points on the narrative section will not be eligible to receive an award.

THE BUDGET WILL BE REVIEWED IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE FOLLOWING CRITERIA
Financial Criteria: Total Points Allowed (25)

The budget section of the proposal represents 25 points of the overall score and will be awarded points pursuant to a formula that uses the Best Value approach. This calculation will be computed by the Contract Administration Unit upon completion of the final narrative scoring by the New York State Education Department.

The submitted budget will be awarded points pursuant to a formula which awards the highest score of twenty-five (25) points to the budget that reflects the lowest cost per student. The remaining budgets will be awarded points based on a calculation that computes the relative difference of each proposal against the lowest cost per student budget submitted. The resulting percentage is then applied to the maximum point value of twenty-five (25) points.

 

The New York State Education Department reserves the right to reject all proposals received or cancel this RFP if it is in the best interest of the Department.

Contract Award Protest Procedures
Applicants who receive a notice of non-award may protest the NYSED award decision subject to the following:
1. The protest must be in writing and must contain specific factual and/or legal allegations setting forth the basis on which the protesting party challenges the contract award by NYSED.

2. The protest must be filed within ten (10) business days of receipt of the notice of non-award. The protest letter must be filed with:

NYS Education Department

Contract Administration Unit

89 Washington Avenue

Room 505W EB

Albany, NY 12234
3. The NYSED Contract Administration Unit (CAU) will convene a review team that will include at least one staff member from each of NYSED’s Office of Counsel, CAU, and the Program Office. The review team will review and consider the merits of the protest and will decide whether the protest is approved or denied. Counsel’s Office will provide the applicant with written notification of the review team’s decision within seven (7) business days of the receipt of the protest. The original protest and decision will be filed with OSC when the contract procurement record is submitted for approval and CAU will advise OSC that a protest was filed.

4. The NYSED Contract Administration Unit (CAU) may summarily deny a protest that fails to contain specific factual or legal allegations, or where the protest only raises issues of law that have already been decided by the courts.

SMART SCHOLARS EARLY COLLEGE HIGH SCHOOL PARTNERSHIP SCHOOLS –Cohort 2
APPLICATION COVER PAGE

 Please refer to the Application Instructions for detailed information about completing this page and the other required components of this application. 

 Agency Code

 

Name:	Contact Person:
Address:                   City:                       Zip Code:	Title:
	Telephone:
	Fax:
	E-Mail:
County:	Funding Requested:
I hereby certify that I am the applicant’s chief school/administrative officer and that the information contained in this application is, to the best of my knowledge, complete and accurate. I further certify, to the best of my knowledge, that any ensuing program and activity will be conducted in accordance with all applicable Federal and State laws and regulations, application guidelines and instructions, Assurances, Certifications, Appendix A, and that the requested budget amounts are necessary for the implementation of this project.  It is understood by the applicant that this application constitutes an offer and, if accepted by the NYS Education Department or renegotiated to acceptance, will form a binding agreement. It is also understood by the applicant that immediate written notice will be provided to the grant program office if at any time the applicant learns that its certification was erroneous when submitted or has become erroneous by reason of changed circumstances.
Authorized Signature (in blue ink)		Title: Chief School/Administrative Officer
Typed Name:		Date:

Submit an original and four [4] copies of the Completed Application,

postmarked or hand-delivered by January 28, 2011

To:

New York State Education Department Contract Administration Unit 89 Washington Ave., Rm. EB505 W Albany, NY 12110

SMART SCHOLARS EARLY COLLEGE HIGH SCHOOL

PARTNERSHIP SCHOOLS –Cohort 2
APPLICATION CHECKLIST
Applicant Name:      

Listed below are the required documents for a complete application package, in the order that they should appear. Use this checklist to ensure that your application submission is complete and in compliance with the Application Instructions.

Required Documents	Checked – Applicant	Checked – SED
Application Cover Pages (with original signatures in blue ink)		
Completed Grant Application Checklist		
Assurances		
Part One – Proposal Summary and Narrative		
Part Two - Budget Category and Narrative Forms and Budget Summary Form (FS-10) and Attachment 1 Cost Per Student		
Part Three – other submission documents-		
Memorandum of Understanding (Attachment 2 is provided as an sample only)		
Letters of Intent (for support from participating collaborators/partners)		
Resumes of key staff (if available)		
Signed Mandatory Requirements (Attachment 3)		
Payee Information Form (Attachment 4 - for entities that have not previously received funding from the State Education Department)		
SED Comments: Has the applicant complied with the application instructions?  Yes  No Reviewer: ____________________________________ Date: _____________

SMART SCHOLARS EARLY COLLEGE HIGH SCHOOL

PARTNERSHIP SCHOOLS –Cohort 2

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