Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 24 / Friday, February 5, 2010 / Notices 6007 

1Leithwood, Kenneth et al. ‘‘How Leadership 

Influences Student Learning.’’ Wallace Foundation, 

2004. 

2Calkins, Andrew et al. ‘‘The Turnaround 

Challenge: Why America’s best opportunity to 

dramatically improve student achievement lies in 

our worst-performing schools.’’ 2007. 

of Applications is changed to read 

‘‘March 15, 2010.’’ 

On page 3213, the first column, the 

date listed for Deadline for 

Intergovernmental Review is changed to 

read ‘‘May 14, 2010.’’ 

On page 3214, third column, the date 

listed for Deadline for Transmittal of 

Applications is changed to read ‘‘March 

15, 2010.’’ 

On page 3214, third column, the date 

listed for Deadline for 

Intergovernmental Review is changed to 

read ‘‘May 14, 2010.’’ 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Rita 

Foy Moss, U.S. Department of 

Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., 

Potomac Center Plaza, Room 10006, 

Washington, DC 20202. Telephone: 

(202) 245–7866, or by e-mail at 

rita.foy.moss@ed.gov. 

If you use a telecommunications 

device for the deaf (TDD), call the 

Federal Relay Service (FRS), toll-free, at 

1–800–877–8339. 

Accessible Format: Individuals with 

disabilities can obtain this document in 

an alternative format (e.g., Braille, large 

print, audiotape, or computer diskette) 

on request to the contact person listed 

under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT. 

Electronic Access to This Document: 

You can view this document, as well as 

all other documents of this Department 

published in the Federal Register, in 

text or Adobe Portable Document 

Format (PDF) on the Internet at the 

following site: http://www.ed.gov/news/ 

fedregister. 

To use PDF you must have Adobe 

Acrobat Reader, which is available free 

at this site. 

Note: The official version of this document 

is the document published in the Federal 

Register. Free Internet access to the official 

edition of the Federal Register and the Code 

of Federal Regulations is available on GPO 

Access at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/ 

index.html. 

Dated: February 2, 2010. 

Kevin Jennings, 

Assistant Deputy Secretary for Safe and DrugFree Schools. 

[FR Doc. 2010–2555 Filed 2–4–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

Office of Innovation and Improvement; 

Overview Information; School 

Leadership Grant Program; Notice 

Inviting Applications for New Awards 

for Fiscal Year (FY) 2010 

Catalog of Federal Domestic 

Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.363A. 

DATES: Applications Available: February 

9, 2010. 

Deadline for Notice of Intent to Apply: 

March 8, 2010. 

Date of Pre-Application Meetings: 

February 19, 2010. 

Deadline for Transmittal of 

Applications: April 6, 2010. 

Deadline for Intergovernmental 

Review: June 7, 2010. 

Full Text of Announcement 

I. Funding Opportunity Description 

Purpose of Program: The School 

Leadership Grant Program (SLP) is 

designed to assist high-need local 

educational agencies (LEAs) in 

recruiting and training principals 

(including assistant principals) through 

such activities as: 

• Providing financial incentives to 

aspiring new principals. 

• Providing stipends to principals 

who mentor new principals. 

• Carrying out professional 

development programs in instructional 

leadership and management. 

• Providing incentives that are 

appropriate for teachers or individuals 

from other fields who want to become 

principals and that are effective in 

retaining new principals. 

Priorities: Under this competition we 

are particularly interested in 

applications that address the following 

three invitational priorities. 

Invitational Priorities: For FY 2010, 

these priorities are invitational 

priorities. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(1), 

we do not give an application that meets 

the invitational priorities a competitive 

or absolute preference over other 

applications. 

These priorities are: 

1. Projects that develop and 

implement, enhance, or expand 

innovative programs to build the 

capacity of principals (including 

assistant principals) to lead and achieve 

teaching and learning gains in 

persistently lowest-achieving schools. 

2. Projects that demonstrate evidence 

of the LEA’s commitment to identify, 

implement, and support school 

conditions that facilitate efforts by the 

principals (including assistant 

principals) prepared by this program to 

improve persistently lowest-achieving 

schools. 

3. Projects that collect and use student 

achievement data to assess the effect of 

principals (including assistant 

principals) prepared through this 

program on student learning and for 

continuous program improvement. 

Note: Applicants are encouraged to 

describe their methods or strategies for 

collecting and using data to assess the impact 

of participants prepared through the project 

on student learning in the participants’ 

schools. Applicants also are strongly 

encouraged to describe how these data will 

be used for continuous program 

improvement. 

Background: The Secretary has set an 

ambitious goal of turning around the 

nation’s 5,000 lowest-achieving schools 

over the next five years, as part of a 

broader strategy to reduce the dropout 

rate, improve the high school graduation 

rate, and increase the number of 

students who graduate prepared for 

success in college and their careers. 

Principals are a major driver of school 

improvement and teacher quality, and 

second only to teachers in their impact 

on student achievement.1 A strong 

principal can have a positive impact on 

teachers’ instructional practice, and on 

the learning outcomes of hundreds of 

students. In school ‘‘turnaround’’ models 

and instructional programs, a 

consistently recognized determinant of 

success is not only the quality of the 

model or program but the school 

leader’s ability to implement the model 

or program effectively. 

Despite their importance, school 

leaders are often denied the autonomy, 

resources, or support they need to 

implement models and programs and 

lead their schools effectively. To recruit 

and retain highly talented school 

leaders to serve in underperforming 

schools, district leaders must remove 

obstacles and give these individuals real 

flexibility over money, time, operations, 

and staffing to enable them to lead their 

schools.2

In the past, the SLP has funded 

projects that have focused on creating 

alternative pathways for principal 

certification or licensure and providing 

professional development to improve 

the skills of existing principals in 

schools in high-need LEAs. In this 

notice, the Secretary encourages 

applicants to look beyond preparation 

pathways and to promote district 

conditions that support these school 

leaders in leading and turning around 

the persistently lowest-achieving 

schools in the participating LEAs. In 

addition, the Secretary encourages 

applications for projects that will collect 

and use data to determine the effect of 

these school leaders on student learning 

in the schools in which they serve and 

for continuous program improvement. 


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6008 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 24 / Friday, February 5, 2010 / Notices 

For the purpose of these invitational 

priorities, the term ‘‘persistently lowestachieving school’’ is defined as it is 

under the Department’s State Fiscal 

Stabilization Fund Program (74 FR 

58436, 58487), School Improvement 

Grants (74 FR 65618, 65652), and Race 

to the Top Fund (74 FR 59836, 59840). 

The definition of persistently lowestachieving school is in this notice under 

Section III: Eligibility Information (3) 

Other. 

Addressing one or more of these 

priorities will not give an applicant an 

advantage over another applicant who 

does not choose to respond to the 

invitational priorities. 

Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 6651(b). 

Applicable Regulations: The 

Education Department General 

Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 

34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 80, 81, 82, 

84, 85, 86, 97, 98 and 99. 

Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 79 

apply to all applicants except federally 

recognized Indian tribes. 

Note: The regulations in 34 CFR part 86 

apply to institutions of higher education 

only. 

II. Award Information 

Type of Award: Discretionary grants. 

Estimated Available Funds: 

$11,000,000 

Estimated Range of Awards: 

$250,000–$750,000. 

Estimated Average Size of Awards: 

$500,000. 

Estimated Number of Awards: 15–20. 

Note: The Department is not bound by any 

estimates in this notice. 

Project Period: Up to 60 months. 

III. Eligibility Information 

1. Eligible Applicants: High-need 

LEAs; consortia of high-need LEAs; and 

partnerships of high-need LEAs, nonprofit organizations (which may be a 

community- or faith-based 

organization), and institutions of higher 

education. Applicants must identify and 

confirm in their applications that the 

participating LEAs meet the definition 

of high-need LEA in section 2102(3) of 

the ESEA. 

2. Cost Sharing or Matching: This 

program does not require cost sharing or 

matching. 

3. Other: Definitions of High-Need 

LEA and Persistently Lowest-Achieving 

Schools, and Other Eligibility 

Information. As defined in section 

2102(3) of the ESEA, the term high-need 

LEA means an LEA— 

(a)(1) That serves not fewer than 

10,000 children from families with 

incomes below the poverty line, or (2) 

for which not less than 20 percent of the 

children served by the LEA are from 

families with incomes below the 

poverty line; and 

(b) For which there is (1) a high 

percentage of teachers not teaching in 

the academic subjects or grade levels the 

teachers were trained to teach, or (2) a 

high percentage of teachers with 

emergency, provisional, or temporary 

certification or licensing. 

So that the Department may be able to 

confirm the eligibility of the LEAs that 

projects propose to serve, applicants are 

expected to include information in their 

applications that demonstrates that each 

participating LEA in the project is a 

high-need LEA, as defined in section 

2102(3) of the ESEA. This information 

should be based on the most recent 

available data on the number of children 

from families with incomes below the 

poverty line that the LEA serves. When 

presenting evidence to support that each 

participating LEA meets the ESEA 

definition of a high-need LEA, an 

applicant should consider the following: 

The Department is not aware of any 

reliable data that are available to LEAs— 

other than the data periodically 

gathered by the U.S. Census Bureau— 

that would show that an LEA serves the 

required number or percentage of 

children (individuals ages 5 through 17) 

from families below the poverty line (as 

defined in section 9101(33) of the 

ESEA). 

Note: The data that many LEAs collect on 

the number or percentage of children eligible 

for free- and reduced-priced meal subsidies 

may not be used to satisfy the requirements 

under component (a) of the ESEA definition 

of high-need LEA. Those data do not reflect 

children from families with incomes below 

the poverty line, as defined in section 

9101(33) of the ESEA. 

Therefore, absent a showing of 

alternative LEA data that reliably show 

the number of children from families 

with incomes below the poverty line 

that are served by the LEA, the 

eligibility of an LEA as a high-need LEA 

under component (a) would be 

determined on the basis of the most 

recent U.S. Census Bureau data. U.S. 

Census Bureau data are available for all 

school districts with geographic 

boundaries that existed when the U.S. 

Census Bureau collected its information. 

The link to the census data is: http:// 

www.census.gov/hhes/www/saipe/data/ 

index.html. 

The Department also makes these data 

available at its Web site at: http:// 

www.ed.gov/programs/lsl/ 

eligibility.html. (Although the 

Department posted this listing 

specifically for the Improving Literacy 

through School Libraries program, these 

same data apply to the ESEA definition 

of a high-need LEA used for purposes of 

determining eligibility under the SLP.) 

With regard to component (b)(1) of the 

ESEA definition of high-need LEA, the 

Department interprets the phrase ‘‘a high 

percentage of teachers not teaching in 

the academic subjects or grade levels 

that the teachers were trained to teach’’ 

as being equivalent to ‘‘a high 

percentage of teachers teaching out of 

field.’’ The Department expects that 

LEAs that rely on component (b)(1) of 

the ESEA definition of high-need LEA 

will demonstrate that they have a high 

percentage of teachers teaching out of 

field. The Department is not aware of 

any specific data that would 

demonstrate a ‘‘high percentage’’ of 

teachers teaching out of field. 

Accordingly, the Department will 

review this aspect of an LEA’s proposed 

eligibility on a case-by-case basis. To 

decrease the level of uncertainty, an 

applicant might choose instead to 

demonstrate that each participating LEA 

meets the eligibility test for a high-need 

LEA under component (b)(2) of the 

ESEA definition. 

For component (b)(2) of the ESEA 

definition of high-need LEA, the data 

that LEAs likely will find most readily 

available on the percentage of teachers 

with emergency, provisional, or 

temporary certification or licensing are 

the data they provide to their States for 

inclusion in the reports on the quality 

of teacher preparation that the States 

provide to the Department in October of 

each year as required by section 207 of 

the Higher Education Act of 1965, as 

amended (HEA). In these reports, States 

provide the percentage of teachers in 

their LEAs teaching on waivers of State 

certification, both on a statewide basis 

and in high-poverty LEAs. As reflected 

in the State reports the Department most 

recently received in October 2008, the 

national average percentage of teachers 

on waivers in high-poverty LEAs is 1.3 

percent. 

Persistently lowest-achieving school: 

For the purpose of the invitational 

priorities in this notice, a persistently 

lowest-achieving school is, as 

determined by the State, (1) any Title I 

school in improvement, corrective 

action, or restructuring that is (a) among 

the lowest-achieving five percent of 

Title I schools in improvement, 

corrective action, or restructuring or the 

lowest-achieving five Title I schools in 

improvement, corrective action, or 

restructuring in the State, whichever 

number of schools is greater; or (b) a 

high school that has had a graduation 

rate as defined in 34 CFR 200.19(b) that 

is less than 60 percent over a number of 

years; and (2) any secondary school that 


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is eligible for, but does not receive, Title 

I funds that is (a) among the lowestachieving five percent of secondary 

schools or the lowest-achieving five 

secondary schools in the State that are 

eligible for, but do not receive, Title I 

funds, whichever number of schools is 

greater; or (b) a high school that has had 

a graduation rate as defined in 34 CFR 

200.19(b) that is less than 60 percent 

over a number of years. 

IV. Application and Submission 

Information 

1. Address to Request Application 

Package: ED PUBS, U.S. Department of 

Education, P.O. Box 22207, Alexandria, 

VA 22304. Telephone, toll free: 1–877– 

433–7827. FAX: (703) 605–6794. If you 

use a telecommunications device for the 

deaf (TDD), call, toll free: 1–877–576– 

7734. 

You can contact ED Pubs at its Web 

site, also: http://www.EDPubs.gov or at 

its e-mail address: edpubs@inet.ed.gov. 

If you request an application package 

from ED Pubs, be sure to identify this 

program or competition as follows: 

CFDA number 84.363A. 

Individuals with disabilities can 

obtain a copy of the application package 

in an accessible format (e.g., braille, 

large print, audiotape, or computer 

diskette) by contacting the person or 

team listed under Accessible Format in 

section VIII of this notice. 

2. Content and Form of Application 

Submission: Requirements concerning 

the content of an application, together 

with the forms you must submit, are in 

the application package for this 

program. Page Limit: The application 

narrative is where you, the applicant, 

address the selection criteria that 

reviewers use to evaluate and score your 

application. Applicants are strongly 

encouraged to limit the application 

narrative to the equivalent of no more 

than 50 pages, using the following 

standards: 

• A ‘‘page’’ is 8.5′′ x 11′′, on one side 

only, with 1′′ margins at the top, bottom, 

and both sides. 

• Double space (no more than three 

lines per vertical inch) all text in the 

application narrative, including titles, 

headings, footnotes, quotations, 

references, and captions, as well as all 

text in charts, tables, figures, and 

graphs. 

• Use a font that is either 12 point or 

larger or no smaller than 10 pitch 

(characters per inch). 

• Use one of the following fonts: 

Times New Roman, Courier, Courier 

New, or Arial. An application submitted 

in any other font (including Times 

Roman or Arial Narrow) will not be 

accepted. 

The page limit does not apply to the 

application cover sheet; the budget 

section, including the narrative budget 

justification; the assurances and 

certifications; or the one-page abstract, 

the resumes, the bibliography, or the 

letters of support. However, the page 

limit does apply to all of the application 

narrative section. 

3. Submission Dates and Times: 

Applications Available: February 9, 

2010. 

Deadline for Notice of Intent to Apply: 

March 8, 2010. 

Date of Pre-Application Meetings: 

February 19, 2010. 

The Department will hold two preapplication meetings for prospective 

applicants on February 19, 2010. The 

first meeting will be held from 9:30 a.m. 

to 12:30 p.m., and the second meeting 

(a repeat of the morning meeting) will 

be held from 2:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. at 

the U.S. Department of Education, 

Barnard Auditorium, 400 Maryland 

Avenue, SW., Washington, DC 20202. 

Interested parties are invited to 

participate in this meeting to discuss the 

purpose of the SLP, invitational 

priorities, selection criteria, application 

content, submission requirements, and 

reporting requirements. This site is 

accessible by Metro on the Blue, Orange, 

Green, and Yellow lines at the Seventh 

Street and Maryland Avenue exit of the 

L’Enfant Plaza station. 

Individuals interested in attending 

this meeting are encouraged to preregister by e-mailing their name, 

organization, and contact information 

with the subject heading ‘‘PRE– 

APPLICATION MEETING’’ to 

Schoolleadershipmatters@ed.gov. There 

is no registration fee for attending this 

meeting. For further information contact 

Beatriz Ceja, U.S. Department of 

Education, Office of Innovation and 

Improvement, room 4W210, 400 

Maryland Avenue, SW., Washington, 

DC 20202. Telephone: (202) 205–5009 

or by e-mail: 

Schoolleadershipmatters@ed.gov. 

Assistance to Individuals With 

Disabilities at the Pre-Application 

Meeting 

The meeting site is accessible to 

individuals with disabilities. If you will 

need an auxiliary aid or service to 

participate in the meeting (e.g., 

interpreting service, assistive listening 

device, or materials in an alternate 

format), notify the contact person listed 

in section VII of this notice at least two 

weeks before the scheduled meeting 

date. Although we will attempt to meet 

a request we receive after that date, we 

may not be able to make available the 

requested auxiliary aid or service 

because of insufficient time to arrange 

it. 

Deadline for Transmittal of 

Applications: April 6, 2010. 

Applications for grants under this 

program must be submitted 

electronically using the Electronic Grant 

Application System (e-Application) 

accessible through the Department’s eGrants site. For information (including 

dates and times) about how to submit 

your application electronically, or in 

paper format by mail or hand delivery 

if you qualify for an exception to the 

electronic submission requirement, 

please refer to section IV.6. Other 

Submission Requirements of this notice. 

We do not consider an application 

that does not comply with the deadline 

requirements. 

Individuals with disabilities who 

need an accommodation or auxiliary aid 

in connection with the application 

process should contact the person listed 

under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT in section VII of this notice. If 

the Department provides an 

accommodation or auxiliary aid to an 

individual with a disability in 

connection with the application 

process, the individual’s application 

remains subject to all other 

requirements and limitations in this 

notice. 

Deadline for Intergovernmental 

Review: June 7, 2010. 

4. Intergovernmental Review: This 

program is subject to Executive Order 

12372 and the regulations in 34 CFR 

part 79. Information about 

Intergovernmental Review of Federal 

Programs under Executive Order 12372 

is in the application package for this 

program. 

5. Funding Restrictions: We reference 

regulations outlining funding 

restrictions in the Applicable 

Regulations section of this notice. 

6. Other Submission Requirements: 

Applications for grants under this 

program must be submitted 

electronically unless you qualify for an 

exception to this requirement in 

accordance with the instructions in this 

section. 

a. Electronic Submission of 

Applications. 

Applications for grants under the 

SLP—CFDA Number 84.363A must be 

submitted electronically using eApplication, accessible through the 

Department’s e-Grants Web site at: 

http://e-grants.ed.gov. 

We will reject your application if you 

submit it in paper format unless, as 

described elsewhere in this section, you 

qualify for one of the exceptions to the 

electronic submission requirement and 

submit, no later than two weeks before 


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the application deadline date, a written 

statement to the Department that you 

qualify for one of these exceptions. 

Further information regarding 

calculation of the date that is two weeks 

before the application deadline date is 

provided later in this section under 

Exception to Electronic Submission 

Requirement. 

While completing your electronic 

application, you will be entering data 

online that will be saved into a 

database. You may not e-mail an 

electronic copy of a grant application to 

us. 

Please note the following: 

• You must complete the electronic 

submission of your grant application by 

4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC time, on 

the application deadline date. EApplication will not accept an 

application for this program after 4:30 

p.m., Washington, DC time, on the 

application deadline date. Therefore, we 

strongly recommend that you do not 

wait until the application deadline date 

to begin the application process. 

• The hours of operation of the eGrants Web site are 6 a.m. Monday until 

7 p.m. Wednesday; and 6 a.m. Thursday 

until 8 p.m. Sunday, Washington, DC 

time. Please note that, because of 

maintenance, the system is unavailable 

between 8 p.m. on Sundays and 6 a.m. 

on Mondays, and between 7 p.m. on 

Wednesdays and 6 a.m. on Thursdays, 

Washington, DC time. Any 

modifications to these hours are posted 

on the e-Grants Web site. (Special Note: 

Due to internal database configuration 

changes, e-application will be closed 

from February 11–16, 2010; this does 

not affect the application deadline 

published in this notice.) 

• You will not receive additional 

point value because you submit your 

application in electronic format, nor 

will we penalize you if you qualify for 

an exception to the electronic 

submission requirement, as described 

elsewhere in this section, and submit 

your application in paper format. 

• You must submit all documents 

electronically, including all information 

you typically provide on the following 

forms: the Application for Federal 

Assistance (SF 424), the Department of 

Education Supplemental Information for 

SF 424, Budget Information—NonConstruction Programs (ED 524), and all 

necessary assurances and certifications. 

You must attach any narrative sections 

of your application as files in a .DOC 

(document), .RTF (rich text), or .PDF 

(Portable Document) format. If you 

upload a file type other than the three 

file types specified in this paragraph or 

submit a password protected file, we 

will not review that material. 

• Your electronic application must 

comply with any page limit 

requirements described in this notice. 

• Prior to submitting your electronic 

application, you may wish to print a 

copy of it for your records. 

• After you electronically submit 

your application, you will receive an 

automatic acknowledgment that will 

include a PR/Award number (an 

identifying number unique to your 

application). 

• Within three working days after 

submitting your electronic application, 

fax a signed copy of the SF 424 to the 

Application Control Center after 

following these steps: 

(1) Print SF 424 from e-Application. 

(2) The applicant’s Authorizing 

Representative must sign this form. 

(3) Place the PR/Award number in the 

upper right hand corner of the hardcopy signature page of the SF 424. 

(4) Fax the signed SF 424 to the 

Application Control Center at (202) 

245–6272. 

• We may request that you provide us 

original signatures on other forms at a 

later date. 

Application Deadline Date Extension 

in Case of E-Application Unavailability: 

If you are prevented from electronically 

submitting your application on the 

application deadline date because eApplication is unavailable, we will 

grant you an extension of one business 

day to enable you to transmit your 

application electronically, by mail, or by 

hand delivery. We will grant this 

extension if— 

(1) You are a registered user of eApplication and you have initiated an 

electronic application for this 

competition; and 

(2) (a) E-Application is unavailable for 

60 minutes or more between the hours 

of 8:30 a.m. and 3:30 p.m., Washington, 

DC time, on the application deadline 

date; or 

(b) E-Application is unavailable for 

any period of time between 3:30 p.m. 

and 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, DC time, 

on the application deadline date. 

We must acknowledge and confirm 

these periods of unavailability before 

granting you an extension. To request 

this extension or to confirm our 

acknowledgment of any system 

unavailability, you may contact either 

(1) the person listed elsewhere in this 

notice under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION

CONTACT (see VII. Agency Contact) or (2) 

the e-Grants help desk at 1–888–336– 

8930. If e-Application is unavailable 

due to technical problems with the 

system and, therefore, the application 

deadline is extended, an e-mail will be 

sent to all registered users who have 

initiated an e-Application. Extensions 

referred to in this section apply only to 

the unavailability of e-Application. 

Exception to Electronic Submission 

Requirement: You qualify for an 

exception to the electronic submission 

requirement, and may submit your 

application in paper format, if you are 

unable to submit an application through 

e-Application because— 

• You do not have access to the 

Internet; or 

• You do not have the capacity to 

upload large documents to 

e-Application; and 

• No later than two weeks before the 

application deadline date (14 calendar 

days or, if the fourteenth calendar day 

before the application deadline date 

falls on a Federal holiday, the next 

business day following the Federal 

holiday), you mail or fax a written 

statement to the Department, explaining 

which of the two grounds for an 

exception prevents you from using the 

Internet to submit your application. If 

you mail your written statement to the 

Department, it must be postmarked no 

later than two weeks before the 

application deadline date. If you fax 

your written statement to the 

Department, we must receive the faxed 

statement no later than two weeks 

before the application deadline date. 

Address and mail or fax your 

statement to: Beatriz Ceja, U.S. 

Department of Education, 400 Maryland 

Avenue, SW., Room 4W210, 

Washington, DC 20202. FAX: (202) 401– 

8466. 

Your paper application must be 

submitted in accordance with the mail 

or hand delivery instructions described 

in this notice. 

b. Submission of Paper Applications 

by Mail. 

If you qualify for an exception to the 

electronic submission requirement, you 

may mail (through the U.S. Postal 

Service or a commercial carrier) your 

application to the Department. You 

must mail the original and two copies 

of your application, on or before the 

application deadline date, to the 

Department at the following address: 

U.S. Department of Education, 

Application Control Center, Attention: 

(CFDA Number 84.363A), LBJ Business 

Level 1, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., 

Washington, DC 20202–4260. 

You must show proof of mailing 

consisting of one of the following: 

(1) A legibly dated U.S. Postal Service 

postmark. 

(2) A legible mail receipt with the 

date of mailing stamped by the U.S. 

Postal Service. 

(3) A dated shipping label, invoice, or 

receipt from a commercial carrier. 


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(4) Any other proof of mailing 

acceptable to the Secretary of the U.S. 

Department of Education. 

If you mail your application through 

the U.S. Postal Service, we do not 

accept either of the following as proof 

of mailing: 

(1) A private metered postmark. 

(2) A mail receipt that is not dated by 

the U.S. Postal Service. 

If your application is postmarked after 

the application deadline date, we will 

not consider your application. 

Note: The U.S. Postal Service does not 

uniformly provide a dated postmark. Before 

relying on this method, you should check 

with your local post office. 

c. Submission of Paper Applications 

by Hand Delivery. 

If you qualify for an exception to the 

electronic submission requirement, you 

(or a courier service) may deliver your 

paper application to the Department by 

hand. You must deliver the original and 

two copies of your application, by hand, 

on or before the application deadline 

date, to the Department at the following 

address: U.S. Department of Education, 

Application Control Center, Attention: 

(CFDA Number 84.363A), 550 12th 

Street, SW., Room 7041, Potomac Center 

Plaza, Washington, DC 20202–4260. 

The Application Control Center 

accepts hand deliveries daily between 

8:00 a.m. and 4:30:00 p.m., Washington, 

DC time, except Saturdays, Sundays, 

and Federal holidays. 

Note for Mail or Hand Delivery of Paper 

Applications: If you mail or hand deliver 

your application to the Department— 

(1) You must indicate on the envelope 

and—if not provided by the Department—in 

Item 11 of the SF 424 the CFDA number, 

including suffix letter, if any, of the 

competition under which you are submitting 

your application; and 

(2) The Application Control Center will 

mail to you a notification of receipt of your 

grant application. If you do not receive this 

grant notification within 15 business days 

from the application deadline date, you 

should call the U.S. Department of Education 

Application Control Center at (202) 245– 

6288. 

V. Application Review Information 

1. Selection Criteria: The selection 

criteria for this program are from 34 CFR 

75.210. The maximum score for all of 

the selection criteria is 100 points. The 

maximum score for each criterion is 

indicated in parentheses. Each criterion 

also includes the factors that the 

reviewers will consider in determining 

how well an application meets the 

criterion. Any notes following a 

selection criterion are intended to 

provide guidance to help applicants in 

preparing their applications only, and 

are not statutory or regulatory 

requirements for this competition. The 

criteria are as follows: 

A. Quality of the project design (45 

points). The Secretary considers the 

quality of the design of the proposed 

project. In determining the quality of the 

design of the proposed project, the 

Secretary considers the following 

factors: 

1. The extent to which there is a 

conceptual framework underlying the 

proposed research or demonstration 

activities and the quality of that 

framework. 

2. The extent to which the proposed 

activities constitute a coherent, 

sustained program of training in the 

field. 

3. The extent to which the proposed 

project is part of a comprehensive effort 

to improve teaching and learning and 

support rigorous academic standards for 

students. 

4. The extent to which the design for 

implementing and evaluating the 

proposed project will result in 

information to guide possible 

replication of project activities or 

strategies, including information about 

the effectiveness of the approach or 

strategies employed by the project. 

5. The extent to which project 

participants are to be selected on the 

basis of academic excellence. 

Note: The Secretary encourages applicants 

to address this criterion by discussing the 

overall project framework. The applicant is 

encouraged to identify its proposed partner 

or partners; its capacity to prepare leaders for 

schools in high-need LEAs; criteria for 

selecting and assessing program participants; 

and implementation strategies including the 

processes, tools, and protocols to be used in 

selecting, preparing, assessing, and 

supporting leaders to significantly improve 

schools in high-need LEAs. The Secretary 

also encourages applicants to describe their 

proposed program delivery strategies, such as 

(1) Plans for participants to have schoolbased work experiences or serve as residents 

with experienced, highly effective school 

leaders, (2) plans for participants to receive 

intensive induction support, including 

mentoring and coaching, and (3) placement 

and retention strategies that include followup support. 

B. Quality of the project evaluation 

(25 points). The Secretary considers the 

quality of the evaluation to be 

conducted of the proposed project. In 

determining the quality of the 

evaluation, the Secretary considers the 

following factors: 

1. The extent to which the methods of 

evaluation include the use of objective 

performance measures that are clearly 

related to the intended outcomes of the 

project and will produce quantitative 

and qualitative data to the extent 

possible. 

2. The extent to which the methods of 

evaluation will provide performance 

feedback and permit periodic 

assessment of progress toward achieving 

intended outcomes. 

Note: The Secretary encourages applicants 

to consider how this criterion may affect both 

their annual performance reports and the 

final evaluation submitted under 34 CFR 

75.590. In addition, the Secretary encourages 

applicants to address this criterion by 

including proposed benchmarks for assessing 

both short- and long-term progress toward 

the specific project objectives and outcome 

measures they would use to assess the 

project’s impact on teaching and learning or 

other important outcomes for project 

participants. Applicants may consider the 

use of ‘‘logic models’’ to identify the project’s 

inputs, outputs, and outcomes. 

Questions to consider when 

responding to the evaluation criterion 

might include: 

• What types of data will be 

collected? 

• When will the data be collected? 

• What evaluation instruments will 

be developed and when? 

• How will the data be analyzed? 

• How will the applicant use the data 

to monitor progress of the funded 

project and to provide accountability 

information both about the success at 

the initial site or sites and about 

effective strategies for replication in 

other settings? 

C. Significance (20 points). The 

Secretary considers the significance of 

the proposed project. In determining the 

significance of the proposed project, the 

Secretary considers the following 

factors: 

1. The potential contribution of the 

proposed project to increased 

knowledge or understanding of 

educational problems, issues, or 

effective strategies. 

2. The likelihood that the proposed 

project will result in system change or 

improvement. 

3. The importance or magnitude of the 

results or outcomes likely to be attained 

by the proposed project, especially 

improvements in teaching and student 

achievement. 

Note: Applicants are encouraged to 

describe how the proposed project will affect 

teaching and student learning in the 

proposed service area, and, in particular, 

how it will enable the LEA to meet its need 

for principals who have the skills and 

competencies necessary to significantly 

improve schools in high-need LEAs. 

D. Quality of the management plan 

(10 points). The Secretary considers the 

quality of the management plan for the 

proposed project. In determining the 

quality of the management plan for the 

proposed project, the Secretary 

considers the following factors: 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES
6012 Federal Register / Vol. 75, No. 24 / Friday, February 5, 2010 / Notices 

1. The adequacy of the management 

plan to achieve the objectives of the 

proposed project on time and within 

budget, including clearly defined 

responsibilities, timelines, and 

milestones for accomplishing project 

tasks. 

2. How the applicant will ensure that 

a diversity of perspectives are brought to 

bear in the operation of the proposed 

project, including those of parents, 

teachers, the business community, a 

variety of disciplinary and professional 

fields, recipients or beneficiaries of 

services, or others, as appropriate. 

3. The adequacy of procedures for 

ensuring feedback and continuous 

improvement in the operation of the 

proposed project. 

Note: The Secretary encourages applicants 

to address this criterion by providing such 

information as: 

• The title, responsibilities, and time 

commitment of each key individual helping 

implement the project’s goals and objectives. 

• A year-to-year timeline for undertaking 

important project activities, with benchmarks 

for determining whether the project is 

achieving its stated goals and objectives. 

• The strategies for monitoring whether or 

not the project is meeting its goals and 

objectives, and for making mid-course 

corrections, as appropriate. 

• The strategies for including the 

identified partners and other stakeholders in 

meeting the project’s goals and objectives. 

• Evidence of committed engagement by 

identified partners. 

2. Applicant’s Past Performance and 

Compliance History: In accordance with 

34 CFR 75.217(d)(3)(ii), the Secretary 

may consider an applicant’s past 

performance and compliance history 

when evaluating applications and in 

making funding decisions. 

VI. Award Administration Information 

1. Award Notices: If your application 

is successful, we notify your U.S. 

Representative and U.S. Senators and 

send you a Grant Award Notification 

(GAN). We may notify you informally, 

also. 

If your application is not evaluated or 

not selected for funding, we notify you. 

2. Administrative and National Policy 

Requirements: We identify 

administrative and national policy 

requirements in the application package 

and reference these and other 

requirements in the Applicable 

Regulations section of this notice. 

We reference the regulations outlining 

the terms and conditions of an award in 

the Applicable Regulations section of 

this notice and include these and other 

specific conditions in the GAN. The 

GAN also incorporates your approved 

application as part of your binding 

commitments under the grant. 

3. Reporting: At the end of your 

project period, you must submit a final 

performance report, including financial 

information, as directed by the 

Secretary. If you receive a multi-year 

award, you must submit an annual 

performance report that provides the 

most current performance and financial 

expenditure information as directed by 

the Secretary under 34 CFR 75.118. The 

Secretary may also require more 

frequent performance reports under 34 

CFR 75.720(c). For specific 

requirements on reporting, please go to 

http://www.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/ 

appforms/appforms.html. 

4. Performance Measures: The 

Secretary has established two 

performance measures for assessing the 

effectiveness of the SLP: (1) the 

percentage of participants who become 

certified principals including assistant 

principals who are then placed and 

retained in schools in high-need LEAs, 

and (2) the percentage of principals 

including assistant principals who 

participate in professional activities, 

show an increase in their pre-post 

scores on a standardized measure of 

principal skills, and are retained in their 

positions in schools in high-need LEAs 

for at least two years. Grantees will be 

expected to provide data on each 

component of the two measures. 

VII. Agency Contacts 

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: 

Beatriz Ceja, U.S. Department of 

Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., 

room 4W210, Washington, DC 20202– 

5960. Telephone: (202) 205–5009 or by 

e-mail: 

Schoolleadershipmatters@ed.gov. 

If you use a TDD, call the FRS, toll 

free, at 1–800–877–8339. 

VIII. Other Information 

Accessible Format: Individuals with 

disabilities can obtain this document 

and a copy of the application package in 

an accessible format (e.g., braille, large 

print, audiotape, or computer diskette) 

on request to the program contact 

person listed under FOR FURTHER

INFORMATION CONTACT in section VII of 

this notice. 

Electronic Access to This Document: 

You can view this document, as well as 

all other documents of this Department 

published in the Federal Register, in 

text or Adobe Portable Document 

Format (PDF) on the Internet at the 

following site: http://www.ed.gov/news/ 

fedregister. To use PDF you must have 

Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is 

available free at this site. 

Note: The official version of this document 

is the document published in the Federal 

Register. Free Internet access to the official 

edition of the Federal Register and the Code 

of Federal Regulations is available on GPO 

Access at: http://www.gpoaccess.gov/nara/ 

index.html. 

Dated: February 2, 2010. 

James H. Shelton, III, 

Assistant Deputy Secretary for Innovation and 

Improvement. 

[FR Doc. 2010–2561 Filed 2–4–10; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 4000–01–P 

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION 

National Assessment of Educational 

Progress (NAEP) in Reading 

AGENCY: U.S. Department of Education, 

National Assessment Governing Board. 

ACTION: Notice of opportunity for public 

comment for evaluating and finalizing 

achievement levels definitions for the 

National Assessment of Educational 

Progress (NAEP) in Reading. 

SUMMARY: The National Assessment 

Governing Board is soliciting public 

comment and recommendations for 

improvements to the achievement levels 

definitions for the National Assessment 

of Educational Progress (NAEP) in 

reading. These achievement levels 

definitions describe the reading skills 

and abilities that students should 

demonstrate at each achievement level. 

Public and private parties and 

organizations are invited to provide 

written comments and 

recommendations. Voluntary 

participation by all interested parties is 

urged. This notice sets forth the review 

schedule, identifies the kind of 

information that the Governing Board is 

required to verify regarding 

achievement levels, and provides 

information for accessing additional 

materials that will be useful for this 

review. This document is intended to 

notify members of the general public of 

their opportunity to provide comment. 

Background 

Under Public Law 107–279, the 

National Assessment Governing Board 

(NAGB) is authorized to formulate 

policy guidelines for NAEP. The 

legislation specifies that the Governing 

Board is to develop appropriate student 

achievement levels for each subject and 

grade tested, as provided in section 

303(e). Such levels are determined by 

identifying the knowledge that can be 

measured and verified objectively using 

widely accepted professional 

assessment standards; and developing 

achievement levels that are consistent 

with relevant widely accepted 

professional assessment standards and 


srobinson on DSKHWCL6B1PROD with NOTICES