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Federal Register
/Vol. 66, No. 73/Monday, April 16, 2001/Notices
Rules Applicable to This Program forthe FY 2001 Competition
In calling for this program in theconference report accompanying theDepartment
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s FY 2001 AppropriationsAct, Congress said that the purpose of this program is to provide grants
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for local educational agencies, Stateeducational agencies, educationalservice agencies, or nonprofit agenciesand organizations, includingorganizations with expertise in teacherrecruitment, or partnerships comprisedof these entities to recruit, prepare,place and support mid-careerprofessionals from diverse fields whopossess strong subject matter skills to become teachers, particularly in high-need fields such as mathematics,science, foreign languages, bilingualeducation, reading, and specialeducation; and to attract, recruit, screen,select, train, place and provide financialincentives to recent college graduateswith outstanding academic records anda baccalaureate in a field other thaneducation to become fully qualifiedteachers through nontraditional routes.
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See
House (Conference) Report 106
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1033 on H.R. 4577, page 182.While this statement of purpose isclear, certain aspects of this new grantprogram
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such as how the Departmentcan fairly evaluate the relative quality of projects proposed by these verydifferent kinds of entities
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needdefinition. Therefore, in order toadminister the program fairly and in amanner that is consistent with thisstatement of purpose, the Departmenthas established the following rules togovern this competition and activities to be undertaken by those who receivegrant awards:
The Application Review Process
Given the variety of entities that mayapply for grants under this program, theDepartment expects the scope of proposed recruitment and placementefforts to vary widely. For example, anonprofit organization might proposeactivities in communities throughoutthe nation, an SEA might proposeactivities to be conducted on a statewide basis, and an LEA might proposeactivities that would focus on its ownteaching needs. In order to evaluatefairly the relative merits of applicationsproposing projects of such widelyvaried scope, applications will beplaced into and reviewed as part of oneof three categories, depending onwhether the LEAs to benefit from theproject are located (1) in more than oneState, (2) statewide or in more than onearea of a State, or (3) in a single area of a State. The anticipated average grantamounts and other informationregarding these three categories aremore fully explained in the noticeinviting applications for new awardsthat is published separately in thisedition of the
Federal Register
.Because of the variety of entities thatmay apply for grants under thisprogram, it is possible that an LEA may be the recipient of services under both(1) its own application and (2) theapplication of the SEA of the State inwhich the LEA is located or of aneducational service agency or nonprofitorganization. In this event, should thoseapplications propose duplicativerecruitment and placement activities,the Department will offer the LEA achoice of receiving its own grant awardor participating in the other entity
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sproject. In the event the LEA chooses toreceive its own award, the Departmentwill adjust the other entity
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s grant awardaccordingly.
Information That Must Be Included ina Project Application
The success of this program inenhancing the quality of the Nation
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steaching force depends on the quality of activities grantees undertake. Inparticular, it depends on: (1) How wellgrantees, in response to the teachershortage needs of participating LEAs,recruit and prepare mid-careerprofessionals with relevant workexperience, and recent college graduateswith outstanding academic records to become qualified teachers, (2) the extentto which these individuals becomeemployed as teachers in the LEAs andschools that most need them, and (3) thekinds of special support they receiveduring their first years of teaching.These, in turn, depend on thecommitment of the applicant and itspartners to ensure that the LEA or LEAsthat participate in the project will benefit from the new qualified teachersthe project will produce.How applicants propose toaccomplish the objectives of thisprogram is left to their own judgment,ingenuity, and imagination. However, toensure that funded projects are of highquality and respond to the teachershortage needs of participating LEAs, allapplications will need, at minimum, toidentify the following:1. The critical teacher shortage needsthat one or more LEAs have identified(for instance in such fields asmathematics, science, foreign languages, bilingual education, reading, andspecial education), and the basis for theLEA
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s assessment of these needs (e.g.,numbers of teachers teaching withoutcertification or out-of-field, high teacherattrition, etc.).2. The target group upon which theproject would focus, i.e., either or both
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Career-changing professionals withwork experience in the relevant subjectfields (along with any academic background that the LEA or LEAs whowould hire them may require), and
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Recent college graduates withoutstanding academic records butwithout a baccalaureate in education.3. For projects that recruit recentcollege graduates with outstandingacademic records, the applicant
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scriteria (e.g., minimum grade-pointaverage overall or in area of collegemajor, inclusion in top
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xx
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percent of the graduating class, receipt of academichonors, etc.) for what constitutes an
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outstanding academic record.
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4. The estimated number of theseindividuals who will become teachersthrough this project in eachparticipating LEA.5. The applicant
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s strategies forensuring that, to the maximum extentpossible, those recruited into theprogram make teaching in theparticipating LEA or LEAs their long-term career. In addressing this issue,applicants must describe the proposedstrategies with which they will
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Identify and recruit the target groupof individuals to become teachers inparticipating LEAs (including theapplicant
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s strategy for ensuring thatany recruitment costs
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including coststhat may be needed for non-localtravel
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are reasonable and necessary);and then ensure that these recruits
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Receive guidance and personalsupport needed to ease their transitionsfrom one career to another, as well asappropriate short-term training in areassuch as pedagogy and classroommanagement before they beginteaching
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which shall begin as quicklyas possible and no later than the beginning of the 2002
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03 school year;
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Complete high-quality training inpedagogy, supervised teaching, andother requirements of licensure orcertification of the State (and, whereapplicable, the LEA) in which they willteach;
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Become licensed or certified in thearea(s) in which they will teach through,where applicable, a State- (or LEA-)approved alternative route to teachercertification or licensure that does notrequire completion of a full course of study in a teacher preparation program;
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Teach only in subject areas inwhich they have prior experience orsufficient academic background untilthey receive a teaching license orcertificate confirming they have met allState (and, if applicable, LEA)
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