Carefully read and follow all guidelines.
Application deadline:  March 1, 2000.

	Application Steps:
	1. Identify educational need
	2. Develop and write a technology based proposal
	3. Organization of the Application
	4.  Submit the proposal packet
	4.  Awarding Funds
	5.  Rating Scale Criteria
	6.  TN Education Goals 2000 Home page

Identify educational need
First identify a weakness in your student population (Needs Assessment).  This weakness must be proven through statistical data such as Value Added, Terra Nova, or TCAP Writing Assessment scores on the State Report Card.  (http://www.k-12.state.tn.us/rptcrd99/) or results posted in the Tennessean ( http://www.tennessean.com/schools/ ).  Individual school test reports will yield more information.
Develop a projects that focuses on use of technology, innovative approaches.  This project will be linked to the objectives necessary to address the learning gap you have identified.  Use objectives from the state curriculum framework (http://www.state.tn.us/education/cicurframwkmain.htm). It is important that you discuss this project with your building principal and acquire his/her support before moving to the next step.
 

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Develop a technology based proposal
Purpose of Proposals:
Proposals should be innovative programs designed to target for improvement specific areas of need as identified in the Report Card of Tennessee Schools. The overall objective of the proposal should enhance academic achievement of children through implementation of the Goals 2000: Educate America Act.
 

I. Project Description
Include the following information in a 5 page narrative (use 12 point type):
1.Needs Assessment
Identify a need or area of weakness in your school (grade level) based on:TERRA Nova test scores, TCAP Writing Assessment scores, faculty/administration identification.  Try to show a downward trend in scores over a 3 year period of time.  Describe the need based on the assessment.  If your school has a high free/reduced lunch figure that will help, too.  These figures are on the web at http://www.connect-tn.org/FCC-ERate/free.html.  Consider the following:
Why does your school/system need this program or service?   Describe the need numerically, based on baseline data from school system report card and assessment tests, and then show what you expect the funding to accomplish. The readers will be examining your ability to “think outside of the box”. Your proposal should use strategies that are not the same old kind of things in  reading, using technology and raising the academic standards. This is an opportunity for you to try some new approaches or apply those approaches which have been researched, have shown results, but have not been widely implemented.
2.  Impact/Sustainability: Readers will be trying to ascertain how many children will benefit from this funding. For sustainability, you should describe how the project will continue after the year of funding.
You should also describe how your proposal addresses special needs and at-risk students.
3.  Timeline:  Include a timeline indicating goals and objectives that will be addressed each month during the project.
4. Specify a technology based project that will move students toward improvement in the need or area of weakness.  This must fit into the special area of focus for the Goals 2000 grant, see
5 .Research and describe the project and include a timetable of objectives.  Make sure that your proposal is clear and makes sense to someone else. You might want to have someone outside of education read it and see if they understand what you are trying to do. Remember, the grant readers are not familiar with you or your situation.
6.  The budget should be clear, realistic, and understandable. The readers will be considering whether you can accomplish the goals and objectives you have established for this money. There should be a
clear relationship to the expenditures and what you are proposing to do.
7.  Identify in regards to the project the National Goals
   http://www.state.tn.us/education/goals/sld004.htm
   Tennessee Master Plan Goals
   http://www.state.tn.us/education/goals/sld006.htm
   Tennessee Report Card Performance Indicators
   http://www.state.tn.us/education/goals/sld008.htm
   Other performance indicators
   http://www.state.tn.us/education/goals/sld009.htm
   Tennessee Curriculum Framework objectives
   http://www.state.tn.us/education/cicurframwkmain.htm
8.Include school improvement plan goals; your school technology plan goals found at each school web page; the Jefferson County Schools technology plan goals http://207.125.93.3/techplan.htm
9.Evaluation
Describe how your project will be evaluated for each item in number 5 above and who will analyze the evaluation.  The evaluation should be both subjective and objective in form.  Evaluation Plan: It will be necessary for you to establish some baseline data and show how your grant will improve your students or teachers in Special Focus area that you have chosen. Using numerical data such as found in the Tennessee Report Card information, or pre-tests and post-tests is a way to obtain baseline data. If your application is chosen for funding, performance measures based on your data will become a part of your contract. The evaluation plan needs to state how you will demonstrate that your project has achieved your proposed results, goals, objectives, etc. You should describe who will be responsible for conducting the evaluation.  You may want to consider using an outside team.
10.Benchmark
Identify your benchmark (where you are now) for each item in number 5 above.  Be specific and use percentages or exact figures, if possible.

The following is a layout form that could be used…
Goal or objective:  (the goal or object you identified)
Benchmark: (where your school is now in terms of that goal or objective)
Evaluation:  (how you will evaluate if you were successful in reading the goal or objective.  Be precise, telling what you will use to evaluate, who will evaluate, and what will be done with the results of the evaluation.)
Write a paragraph covering each of the following:
·Specify how the project addresses use of technology to deliver curriculum and the raising of academic standards.
·Identify how the project is innovative in its use of technology.
·Tell the number of students the project will serve (the more the better).
·Tell how the project will be continued at the end of the one year grant.

Special Focus Areas for Tennessee:
Proposals must focus on one or more of the performance measures reported by the Commissioner of Education in the Annual Report Card of Tennessee Schools. The measures include academic gain and achievement on the Comprehensive Assessment and High School Subject Matter tests, first-time freshmen passing Competency Test, Writing Assessment, Exit Exams, Second Grade proficiency in reading and math, dropout rate, promotion rate, and school attendance. Each proposal must include a description of need based on these measures and an evaluation plan dependent on these measures to demonstrate success.
Who Should Apply:
Schools, School Systems, or consortia of Schools/School Systems
Schools or School systems in partnership with student groups, parent groups, community groups, higher education institutions, business and industry, non-profit organizations, or any combination thereof.
Eligibility:
Completion of the school approval process and submission of a school improvement plan are required to be awarded a grant.  Before submitting a proposal, Superintendent Kenneth Scott has required each must be approved by the Goals 2000 Panel.
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Organization of the Application

• Cover page (Be sure to use the correct one.)
• Proposal Description (no more than 5 pages)
• Budget (Include: equipment, personnel, facilities, software, training, supplies identifying amount requested and in-kind contributions (best for these to be close amounts).  In-kind contributions could include existing technology equipment, if any, a percentage of your salary (depending on the percentage of your teaching time that will be devoted to the project), donated services, equipment, or materials, PTO funds, community funds, volunteer hours, etc. They are not necessary to apply for the grant, but need to be included in the budget if you have any. In-kind contributions can be an indicator of how well the project can be sustained after one year’s

funding. Please write a budget narrative that provides an overview of the expenditures. The descriptions for each item should be complete enough so that if someone who knew nothing about your project read your budget they would understand how you are proposing to spend the money. Generic terms such as materials or equipment should be fully explained.
• Letters of Partnership agreement (if applicable).  Partnerships are other entities that will be working with you to carry out the project.  This is not a requirement.  One document should list all partners and state that all agree to the concepts of the program and offer their support. The document should be signed by an appropriate representative for every partner. There is no specific form for this agreement, a letter signed by all those involved is sufficient.
• Assurance page The Assurance page included should not be signed.  If your proposal is approved the panel will then submit it to the Superintendent to review and sign.  Include an unsigned assurance page with each copy of the grant submitted.

Submit the proposal packet
In a large envelop submit 6 copies of the grant to Faye Humbard, Technology Coordinator, Jefferson County High School, to be evaluated by the county Goals 2000 Panel. (If you plan to send this packet by inner school mail be sure to allow adequate time for delivery before the deadline.)  Pages should not be folded and will not be accepted through fax or email.
To be reviewed by the panel this package must include:

• 6 copies of the grant (with assurance letter within each)
• A computer diskette with the proposal application on it. On the face of the diskette, please identify the school system, the computer platform (Macintosh/PC), and the software application used (Word, Word Perfect, ClarisWorks, etc.).  The pages of the application should be stapled together in the upper left-hand corner. Binders, notebooks, folders, etc., are not acceptable. Applications that arrive in a form other than stapled will be considered technically incorrect and will not be considered.
• Also include one copy of the principal's commitment.  Do not staple this letter to the application.

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Grants selected by the panel will then be submitted to the superintendent, Kenneth Scott, for final approval.   Approved grants will then be sent to the Tennessee Department of Education Goals 2000 Panel
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Awarding Funds
Awards will be made during the month of April to local education agencies through a competitive process. The funds will be available beginning July 1, 2000, for fiscal year 2000-2001. Invoices for reimbursement should not submitted to the State prior to July 1.  If approved for state funding you will be required to submit quarterly reports during the 2000-2001 school year to the state Goals 2000 director.
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Rating Scale Criteria
Criterion Maximum Points
Project Description 25 Points
Need for Project 25 Points
Evaluation of Project/Measurement of Success 25 Points
Budget: Clarity, Understandability 15 Points
Degree of Impact/Sustainability of Project 10 Points
TOTAL 100 Points
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