Archived Information

Absolute and Competitive Priorities 2008

**Slide 1:**

**2008 Teaching American History Absolute and Competitive Priorities**

**Slide 2:**

**Response to Priorities**

-   Applicants must respond to the Absolute Priority

-   Applicants may respond to the Competitive Preference Priority but
    are not penalized for not responding

-   Responses to the Priorities will be uploaded as a separate narrative
    under the Project Narrative section

-   The Competitive Preference Priority indicates the Department's focus

**Slide 3:**

**Absolute Priority**

**Partnerships with Other Agencies or Institutions**

Each applicant LEA must propose to work in

collaboration with one or more of the following:

-   An institution of higher education

-   A non-profit history or humanities organization

-   A library or museum

Notes: This priority is from the statute for this program (20 U.S.C.
6721(b)). Under 34 CFC 75.105(c)(3) we consider only applications that
meet this priority.

**Slide 4:**

**Competitive Preference Priority**

-   This priority is from the notice of final priorities for
    discretionary grant programs published in the [Federal
    Register]{.underline} on October 11, 2006 (71 FR 60046). Under 34.
    CFR 75.105(c)(2)(i), we award up to an additional 15 points to an
    application, depending on how well the application meets the
    priority. The points are in addition to any points the application
    earns under the selection criteria.

**Slide 5:**

**Competitive Preference Priority**

-   Department-wide priorities that support activities in areas of
    greatest educational need

-   Identified for improvement, corrective action, or restructuring is
    not the same as not making AYP

**Slide 6:**

**Competitive Preference Priority**

School Districts with Schools in Need of Improvement, Corrective Action,
or Restructuring (up to an additional 15 points)

Projects that help school districts implement academic and structural
interventions in schools that have been identified for improvement,
corrective action, or restructuring under the Elementary and Secondary
Education Act of 1965, as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of
2001.

**Slide 7:**

**Competitive Preference Priority**

In addressing this priority, each applicant is encouraged to include a
plan for how the applicant will assess the specific needs in the content
area of traditional American history in schools that have been
identified for improvement, corrective action, or restructuring. In
addition, each applicant is encouraged to include a plan for how the
applicant will recruit U.S. history teachers from schools that have been
identified for improvement, corrective action, or restructuring.
Further, each applicant is encouraged to include information on how each
of these two plans will be implemented

**Slide 8:**

**Competitive Preference Priority**

Applicants are not expected to provide a restructuring plan or to
restructure the school(s). However, applicants are encouraged to:

-   Include a plan of how the specific needs and content areas of
    traditional American history will be assessed

-   Include a plan for how U.S. history teachers from schools that have
    been identified for improvement, corrective action, or restructuring
    will be recruited

**Slide 9:**

**Needs Assessments**

Examples (not requirements) in developing a needs assessment include:

-   Teachers' educational backgrounds, including the number of history
    courses

-   Teaching credential and qualifications in American history

-   Teaching experience

-   Previous professional development opportunities in American history

**Slide 10:**

**Competitive Preference Priority and Changes to the Project Design**

-   Not as much leeway for change to project design for the Competitive
    Preference Priority

-   Additional points were awarded for responding to the Competitive
    Preference Priority, and grantees are expected to complete project
    activities under this priority