1. FY16 RFA Frequently Asked Questions Fall 2015

2. About the Grant The 21 st Century CCLC grant is a Federal Title Program (TITLE IV B) and operates according to the Elementary Secondary Education Act statutes. This program provides funding to create models of afterschool programming for districts with high levels of student poverty. The purpose of the funding is to provide “seed money” for a district-community partnership to run an afterschool, before and afterschool and summer school program. As a state, we have defined the main academic goal to be literacy improvement, and other activities that are eligible for federal funding are clearly defined in the federal program guidance and application. Funding for this grant is limited, so unlike TITLE I, which provides a formula distribution to most districts based on free and reduced lunch data (student poverty), these funds are distributed via a competitive application.

3. Grant Competition Timeline RFA Released Applicant Workshops And Webinars Online Letter of Intent Applicant Webinar Grants Due Grants Due Peer Review Process Grant Award Process Awards Announced Contracts Sent Grants Begin July1 st for summer School Begin Summer School June 30 th expenses due before Aug 15 th July, Aug, Sept expenses due before Oct. 30th First Quarter Advance

4. Application Important Dates SEPT 25, 2015 Davenport, Iowa (Meeting and Workshop) Oct. 7 - Atlantic Technical Assistance Meeting - 10 a.m.-12 p.m., Iowa Western, Cass County Center, 705 Walnut Street, Atlantic, IA 50022 Oct. 22 - Des Moines Area Technical Assistance Meeting - 10 a.m.-12 p.m., Clive Public Library, 1900 NW 114th St, Clive, IA 50325 Oct. 30, 2015 - Letters of Intent to Apply must be submitted via an online application and survey of student needs Nov. 12, 2015 - FAQ Webinar and Virtual Technical Assistance Meeting - 9-11 a.m. http://sppg84.adobeconnect.com/iowa21cclc/ Call in information: 1-800-444-2801; passcode 2895301 http://sppg84.adobeconnect.com/iowa21cclc/

5. Application Important Dates Dec. 11, 2015 - New grant applications due date. Must be received inside, or delivered to, the Iowa Department of Education by 4:30 P.M. CDT (Hours 8:00 a.m. - 4:30 p.m. Monday-Friday.) No exceptions. Dec. 2015 - Jan. 2016 - Grant reviewers read and score applications for funding. Jan. 21, 2016 - Grant reviewers conference in Des Moines area. West Des Moines Learning Resource Center. Mar. 2016 - Grant awards announced. Apr. - Jun. 2016 - Grant contracts finalized. Jul. 1, 2016 – Contracts Begin, Program implementation begins. (Note: The Federal data reporting begins the school year with summer school.).

6. Application Important Dates N EW A PPLICATION D EADLINE : FRIDAY, DECEMBER 11, 2015; 4:30 PM CST FEDERAL FUNDING: TOTAL FUNDS AVAILABLE FY2014: $6,029,497.00 TOTAL FUNDS AVAILABLE FY2015: $6,681,550.45 TOTAL FUNDS AVAILABLE FY2016: $6,243,557.70

7. Eligibility

8. Is there a publication that we should use to reflect the free and reduced lunch rates? Yes: use the Iowa Department of Education Free and Reduced Lunch numbers document, by building, as available on September 1, 2015, so that both schools and community groups all have equal access to the data required for the application. Utilizing the building level numbers fits better with the application criteria and Free and Reduced Price Lunch numbers are generally higher at the building level than at the district level. A link to this document is provided: https://www.educateiowa.gov/documents/building- level/2015/03/2014-15-iowa-public-school-k-12-students- eligible-free-and-reduced https://www.educateiowa.gov/documents/building- level/2015/03/2014-15-iowa-public-school-k-12-students- eligible-free-and-reduced

9. What about communities where all students receive free and reduced price lunch? We are not using that criteria; however, you can reflect that in the narrative. The same numbers need to be used as community groups have access to in order to ensure equity. Schools receive a Free and Reduced Price lunch update in the late fall, but for the purposes of this grant application, we are using those numbers that are available at the time the application is released, which is September 1, 2015.

10. Can a subset of grades in a building be served if those grade levels meet the free and reduced price lunch criteria, but the building, as a whole, does not? For any out of the ordinary situation, please e-mail Vic Jaras at vic.jaras@iowa.gov and he will be happy to review your unique circumstances.vic.jaras@iowa.gov

11. That buildings we serve have the highest free and reduced lunch rate in our district, but they are not at 40 percent. The students residing within the communities are almost 100 percent free and reduced. Would we still be eligible to apply? No. We use one basic eligibility criteria which is required by the ESEA statute to ensure that this grant serves children in schools and those high poverty schools have met the minimum poverty criteria of 40 percent free and reduced price lunch.

12. Grant Cycle

13. What is the length of the grants and can an application be submitted again after 3 years of funding? The grants are 5-year grants. The grant cannot be stopped after 3 years in order to reapply for funding at that time during the new grant competition. After 3 years; however, a visit needs to be scheduled with the Iowa Department of Education so that an additional two years of funding at 75 percent can be considered for approval. Stopping a grant after 3 years to reapply for another 3 years of full funding would be an attempt to circumvent the grant process and this action would get you prohibited from receiving an award.

14. When does the grant cycle begin? Grant funding is awarded in July of 2016, and the program could begin as soon as the funding is awarded. This is a reimbursement grant, meaning that expenses are first accrued, and then submitted for reimbursement. The grant offers an initial startup cost payment after the grant award is signed, but after that, you must submit a claim for your expenses each quarter for reimbursement.

15. Funding

16. Are evaluator or grant writing funds allowed under this grant? No. Money cannot be spent out of the grant until the grant funding is awarded. This is a state policy. Evaluation services would be needed a year into the grant, and you should be working with an evaluator during your application process.

17. What if we currently have a program that essentially only provides care and not quality afterschool program, and we want to apply for the grant in order to be able to include that quality component, would this be considered supplanting? Yes, unless you continue your existing program and use 21CCLC funds to provide additional days or additional students, and have a reasonable sustainability plan to leverage those federal funds to be able to sustain afterschool in your community long term.

18. Consultation with Private Schools

19. What if we do not have a private school in our area? There is a checkbox on the included consultation form in the application where you would indicate this and then sign the required form.

20. What if we have several private schools in our area? Non-public consultation is to be done with non-public schools within your school’s boundaries (the boundaries of the schools you are applying to serve with the 21CCLC grant), not the boundaries of your district. A Non-Public Consultation Form is provided in the application to help you meet the federal compliance requirements for consulting with non-public schools.

21. Partnerships

22. Are MOUs Required? Yes, they are REQUIRED to document your partnerships. And this is different from a letter of support.

23. Do partners need to be within the district you are serving or can they be in a different district? Partners can be outside of the district you are serving; some partners can even be statewide, so long as you are able to meaningfully partner with them. One good example of a statewide partner is Iowa Public Television, which has online and electronic resources that can be used by multiple districts or grantees across the state.

24. Additional Clarifications

25. In the Scope of Operations section, it states that services may be offered to students during normal school hours on days when school is not in session? Does this include regular interaction with students in their school buildings? Iowa did not receive a waiver to allow extended day configurations with this funding. Therefore, the answer is that only before school and afterschool or summer school activities may be funded with Iowa 21CCLC grants. That is a requirement of the federal statute.

26. If the number of students we are serving increases, can additional funding for the following year be received? No, your grant award cannot be increased. However, this is why this grant is called “Community Learning Centers”. Local community groups should be approached with this success and asked to contribute to help support at-risk children. In Iowa, we are serving about 2,000 more children in this program than was originally budgeted for because of the generosity and support of local community groups.

27. How would a community group apply for a second grant to serve at risk children in poverty in an urban district? To qualify for a second grant in the same year. The School District must serve a population of students with substantial poverty. The programs must both provide academic and enrichment activities per the guidelines of the application. The two grants must have different community partners. This provision allows us to encourage partnerships within communities with substantial poverty and to provide an equitable distribution of federal funds to serve large populations of at-risk children.

28. Clarification A district with multiple schools may participate in up to two applications, but only one application may be made by the district. Community organizations may submit an application to support children in a high need (Title I) school on behalf of a district. Limit of one application per year per school district. Only one application may be submitted by each school district. This provision encourages equitable distribution of funds across the state.(ESEA 4204.23.f)

29. Guidance for Community Group Applicants Community groups applying for the 21CCLC grant must have a pre-application meeting with school administrators. The application should address which schools the community group will be partnering with or serving in the budget forms, even if the schools are not where the program occurs. The name of the school(s) and principal(s) who will sign the assurance agreement should also be listed. Iowa has a financial capacity check for all non-school applicants (see page 25, Determination of Awards). Community groups with over $750,000 in federal awards are required to annually submit the required single audit report to the Iowa Department of Education.

30. Guidance for Community Group Applicants Continued In large districts with many community partners, the district will have a process to decide which community groups it will partner with each year. The district has responsibility for the children who will be served by this grant, maintains and reports the student achievement data, and is in the best position to make a data-driven decision on how to strategically leverage local partnerships to provide the highest level of support for at-risk students.

31. If we are serving different sites, do we need to list each budget separately? Yes, you must list each site budget separately. The application contains the forms you need to use.

32. Who ultimately decides the grant winners? Grant funding is distributed through a Peer Review Process that is outlined on the Iowa Department of Education website.website Additionally, the Department does a compliance check before issuing awards.

33. QUESTIONS? Contact: Vic Jaras Iowa Department of Education Educational Technology, Community Education, Service- Learning, 21st CCLC Before and After School vic.jaras@iowa.gov 515-242-6354