18298 Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 68 / Monday, April 10, 1995 / Notices

DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[CFDA No. 84.168R]

Eisenhower Regional Mathematics and

Science Education Consortium; Notice

Inviting Applications for New Awards

for Fiscal Year (FY) 1995

Purpose of Program: To award grants

to support the establishment and

operation of regional mathematics and

science consortia.

Eligible Applicants: Private nonprofit

organizations, institutions of higher

education, elementary or secondary

schools, State or local education

agencies, regional educational

laboratories in consortium with

federally-supported research and

development centers established under

section 931(c)(1)(B)(i) of the Educational

Research, Development, Dissemination,

and Improvement Act of 1994 (‘‘Act’’),

(20 U.S.C. 6031)(c)(1)(B)(i), or any

combination of these entities.

Deadline for Transmittal of

Applications: June 16, 1995.

Deadline for Intergovernmental

Review: August 15, 1995.

Applications Available: April 17,

1995.

Available Funds: $15,000,000.

Estimated Range of Awards:

$1,000,000–$1,500,000.

Estimated Average Size of Awards:

$1,500,000.

Estimated Number of Awards: 10–12.

Note: The Department is not bound by any

estimates in this notice.

Project Period: Up to 60 months.

Budget Period: 12 months.

Applicable Regulations: The

Education Department General

Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in

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

85, and 86.

Supplementary Information: Congress

first authorized the establishment of ten

regional consortia in 1988 in order to

support improvement of mathematics

and science education throughout the

nation. The purposes of these regional

consortia are to coordinate mathematics

and science resources within the region,

disseminate exemplary mathematics

and science educational instructional

materials, and provide technical

assistance for the implementation of

teaching methods and assessment tools

for use by elementary and secondary

school students, teachers, and

administrators. The regional consortia

have been reauthorized under the

Improving America’ Schools Act of 1994

(20 U.S.C. 8671–8677) to continue this

work.

The new legislation stipulates that the

regions are the same as those for the

currently-funded regional educational

laboratories supported by the Office of

Educational Research and Improvement.

The statutory list of eligible entities

includes: (a) A private nonprofit

organization of demonstrated

effectiveness; (b) an institution of higher

education; (c) an elementary or

secondary school; (d) a state or local

education agency; (e) a Regional

Educational Laboratory in consortium

with the Research and Development

Center established under Section

931(c)(1)(B)(i) of the Educational

Research, Development, Dissemination,

and Improvement Act of 1994, or (f) any

combination of these entities. All

eligible entities shall have demonstrated

expertise in mathematics and science

education. The project periods for the

current research and development

centers will expire in early December,

1995. Awards for new research and

development centers under Section

931(c)(1)(B)(i) of the Act will not be

made when the applicants for the

regional consortia submit their

proposals for review. Therefore, each

Regional Education Laboratory

applicant must provide an assurance

that it will form a consortium with a

research and development center with

demonstrated expertise in mathematics

or science education if such centers are

reestablished under section

931(c)(1)(B)(i).

The Secretary believes that the

regional consortia supported through

this grant competition should play an

important role in coordinating

mathematics and science education

resources for the States and local

education agencies in their regions. In

particular, he believes the regional

consortia should work cooperatively

with other organizations committed to

improving mathematics and science

education in schools, including those

funded by the Department of Education

(ED) and the National Science

Foundation (NSF). The Secretary

believes that cooperative efforts with the

Eisenhower National Clearinghouse for

Science and Mathematics should be

continued and enhanced.

Invitational Priority: Under 34 CFR

75.105(c)(1), the Secretary is interested

in applications that meet the following

invitational priority. However, an

application that meets this invitational

priority does not receive competitive or

absolute preference over other

applications.

Development and Operation of

Regional Consortia to Support Systemic

Reform in Mathematics and Science at

the Elementary and Secondary Grades

The authorizing statute establishes

many activities that the Regional

Consortia may undertake. However, the

Secretary believes that the consortia

should focus their activities to achieve

maximum impact. The Secretary

therefore urges the applicants to focus

on the following activities:

(A) Collaborate with others within the

region involved in systemic reform of

mathematics and science education.

(B) Develop a plan that establishes

priorities for what services will be

provided by the consortium to schools

and teachers in each state in the region,

including criteria the consortium will

use to determine who receives direct

services from the regional consortium.

(C) Provide training and assistance to

classroom teachers, administrators, and

other educators to enable them to

instruct other teachers, administrators,

and educators, particularly those

working with at-risk students, in the use

of instructional materials, teaching

methods and assessment tools for

mathematics and science education that

will help students achieve challenging

State content and student performance

standards. This should include

assistance in using new forms of

technology, including on-line electronic

systems, in schools and classrooms.

(D) Promote the increased use of

informal education entities (such as

science technology centers, museums,

libraries, Saturday academies, and 4H

programs) to expand student knowledge

and understanding of mathematics and

science.

(E) Collaborate with the Eisenhower

National Clearinghouse for Mathematics

and Science Education in identifying

instructional resources for inclusion in

the Clearinghouse data base and

disseminating information about that

data base, and by providing feedback to

the Clearinghouse on the quality and

effectiveness of its products and

operations.

(F) Collect data on consortium

activities, especially data on outcomes

and impact, that will be useful in

evaluating the effectiveness of these

activities.

Selection Criteria: The Secretary

evaluates an application on the basis of

selection criteria under 34 CFR 75.210.

Under 34 CFR 75.210(c), the Secretary is

authorized to distribute an additional 15

points among the criteria to bring the

total to a maximum of 100 points. For

the purpose of this competition, the

Secretary will distribute the additional

points as follows:
Federal Register / Vol. 60, No. 68 / Monday, April 10, 1995 / Notices 18299

Plan of Operation. (34 CFR

75.210(b)(3)). Ten (10) additional points

will be added for a possible total of 25

points for this criterion.

Evaluation Plan. (34 CFR

75.210(b)(6)). Five (5) additional points

will be added for a possible total of 10

points for this criterion.

For Applications or Information

Contact: Liz Barnes at (202) 219–2210 or

Jim Clemmens at (202) 219–2068, or fax

(202) 219–2106, U.S. Department of

Education, 555 New Jersey Avenue,

NW., Room 500, Washington, DC

20208–5572. Individuals who use a

telecommunications device for the deaf

(TDD) may call the Federal Information

Relay Service (FIRS) at 1–800–877–8339

between 8 a.m. and 8 p.m., Eastern time,

Monday through Friday.

Information about the Department’s

funding opportunities, including copies

of application notices for discretionary

grant competitions, can be viewed on

the Department’s electronic bulletin

board (ED Board), telephone (202) 260–

9950; or on the Internet Gopher Server

at GOPHER.ED.GOV (under

Announcements, Bulletins and Press

Releases). However, the official

application notice for a discretionary

grant competition is the notice

published in the Federal Register.

Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 8671–8677.

Dated: April 5, 1995.

Sharon P. Robinson,

Assistant Secretary for Educational Research

and Improvement.

[FR Doc. 95–8744 Filed 4–7–95; 8:45 am]

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