High Quality School Readiness Grant (FY19)

Grant Title: High Quality School Readiness Grant (FY19)
Funding Source: Utah General Fund
Maximum Award Amount: Unknown
Expected Number of Awards: Unknown
Estimated Total Program Funding: Unknown
Application Deadline: Monday, April 13, 2018, 5:00 p.m. (MDT) : Proposals must be received no later than 5:00 p.m (MDT). See RFGA for full submission details. Late proposals will not be accepted. Proposals may not be faxed.
Program Start Date: July 1, 2018
Program End Date: June 30, 2019
Pre-Proposal Bidders Meeting: Monday, March 26, 2018
Bidders Meeting information (webinar only):
Location: 140 East 300 South, Room 101 South
Contact Information: Florencia Schapira
schoolreadiness@utah.gov

Purpose

The High Quality School Readiness (HQSR) Grant is defined by the Utah School Readiness Initiative, Utah Code §53A-1b-106 (hereafter called the Initiative). The purposes of the Utah School Readiness Initiative are to increase school readiness, improve academic performance, and reduce remediation costs associated with poor academic outcomes. One component of the Initiative is the HQSR Grant Program. The HQSR Grant Program provides resources to existing early education programs administered by Local Education Agencies (LEAs), private child care providers, and home-based educational technology programs. The grants are available to programs serving eligible three- and four-year- old students who are not receiving special education services. It is highly encouraged that programs serve students with disabilities in an inclusive environment (i.e., with both typically developing students and students with disabilities being educated together in the same room).

Eligibility Requirements

This grant is not intended to fund the expansion of preschools, which may include providing additional slots for children or opening new preschool classrooms.

Programs must meet all of the following criteria to be eligible for this grant. Applications from inclusive programs are encouraged.

  1. Applicant must be an existing, early childhood education program, primarily serving typically developing students;
  2. Applicant must be one of the following:
    1. LEA or charter school using federal (Title I) or state education funding for its current early childhood education (pre-kindergarten) program (these programs apply through the USBE); or
    2. Private child care provider, home-based educational technology provider or charter school that does not use federal or state education funding for its current early childhood education (pre-kindergarten), and uses a private or third-party provider on its campus (these programs apply through DWS).
  3. Applicant must agree to use the awarded funds in schools serving at least 25 percent of economically disadvantaged students, as defined in Utah Code 53A-1b-102(2);
  4. Applicant’s school readiness program must agree to register and maintain a minimum enrollment of 25 percent of economically disadvantaged 3- and 4-year -old students throughout the grant cycle and prioritize enrollment for those students;
  5. Applicant’s school readiness program must currently exhibit some elements of high-quality programs, as defined in Utah Code 53A-1b-105;
  6. Applicant must have, or be willing to obtain, a data system with the capacity to collect longitudinal, academic outcome data, including special education use by student;
  7. Applicant must partner with USBE to provide each student with a statewide unique student identifier (SSID); 
  8. The following preschool programs are not eligible for this grant:
    1. Pay for Success participants (i.e. entities with a results-based contract under Utah Code 53A-1b-110);
    2. Applicants receiving HQSR-E grant funding;
    3. Applicants from private preschool programs receiving funds through the Utah Office of Child Care Preschool Quality Improvement grant; or
    4. Applicants having received three years of funding through this Grant.
  9. Applicant must file one application for each tax identification number. Where there are multiple sites under one tax identification number, applicants must apply for all sites using a single application; and
  10. Applicant must agree to cooperate with the independent evaluator. In addition, a minimum of 80 percent of the economically disadvantaged families must submit parent consent forms for data collection and tracking SSID number purposes.

Addendum

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