[Federal Register Volume 66, Number 113 (Tuesday, June 12, 2001)]
[Notices]
[Pages 31621-31624]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 01-14765]



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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[CFDA No.: 84.351-B]


The Cultural Partnerships for At-Risk Children and Youth Program

AGENCY: Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice inviting applications for new awards for fiscal year 
(FY) 2001.

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    Purpose of Program: The Cultural Partnerships for At-Risk Children 
and Youth Program, funded under Subpart 2 of Part D of Title X of the 
Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), makes demonstration 
grants to eligible entities for the development of school-community 
partnership programs designed to improve the educational performance 
and future educational potential of at-risk children by providing 
comprehensive, coordinated educational and arts programs and services.
    Eligible Applicants: A local educational agency (LEA), acting on 
behalf of an individual school or schools in which 75 percent or more 
of the children enrolled in such school(s) are from low-income families 
based on data used in determining a school's eligibility to operate a 
schoolwide program pursuant to Title I Section 1114 of the ESEA, in 
partnership with at least one: institution of higher education, museum, 
local arts agency, or cultural entity that is accessible to individuals 
within the school district of such school(s) and that has a history of 
providing quality services to the community. Such entities may include: 
(i) Nonprofit institutions of higher education, museums, libraries, 
performing, presenting and exhibiting arts organizations, literary arts 
organizations, State and local arts organizations, cultural 
institutions, and zoological and botanical organizations; or (ii) 
private for-profit entities with a history of training children and 
youth in the arts. To be eligible, such partnerships shall serve: (1) 
Students enrolled in schools participating or eligible to participate 
in a schoolwide program under ESEA Title I Section 1114 and, to the 
extent practicable, the families of such students; (2) out-of-school 
children and youth at risk of disadvantages resulting from teenage 
parenting, substance abuse, recent migration, disability, limited 
English proficiency, illiteracy, being the child of a teenage parent, 
living in a single parent household, or dropping out of school; or (3) 
any combination of in-school and out-of-school at-risk children and 
youth. Any school or schools to be served through grants received under 
this program must submit evidence for inclusion in the grant 
application to the Secretary demonstrating that the school or schools 
meet the poverty criteria described above. Applicants may submit 
records kept for the purpose of ESEA Title I that provide proof of 
eligibility for each school to be served or to participate in the 
partnership.


    Note: The LEA must serve as the fiscal agent for the program.


    Applications Available: June 12, 2001.
    Applications Must be Received By: July 27, 2001.
    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: August 28, 2001.
    Available Funds: Approximately $2,000,000.
    Estimated Number of Awards: 7-10.
    Estimated Size of Awards: $100,000-$250,000.
    Average Size of Awards: $200,000.
    Matching Requirement: Recipients of grants under this program must 
share in the cost of the activities assisted under the grant. Grant 
recipients must make available non-Federal contributions, as authorized 
under Section 10414 of the program statute, in cash or in-kind in the 
following percentage: 20 percent of the cost of carrying out project 
activities for the project period. Applicant in-kind resources must be 
described as required in Sections B and C of the ED Form 524 Non-
Construction Programs found within the application package.
    Project Period: 12 months.


    Note: The Department of Education is not bound by any estimates 
in this notice. The Administration is not requesting funding for 
this program in FY 2002.


    Applicable Regulations: The Education Department General 
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR Parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 81, 
82, 85, 86, 97, 98, and 99.
    E-mail Notification of Intent to Apply for Funding: The Department 
will be able to develop a more efficient process for reviewing grant 
applications if it has a better understanding of the number of entities 
that intend to apply for funding under this competition. Therefore, the 
Secretary strongly encourages each potential applicant to notify the 
Department by e-mail that it intends to submit an application for 
funding. The Secretary requests that this e-mail notification be sent 
no later than July 12, 2001. The e-mail notification should be sent to 
Ms. Madeline Baggett at [email protected]. Applicants that fail 
to provide this e-mail notification may still apply for funding.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    Arts education programs are beneficial to all students. 
Participation in the arts enhances a student's knowledge of self and 
the full range of human experience and potential. Involvement in music, 
literature, dance, theater, and the visual arts has the potential to 
transform the lives of children and youth, who often exhibit a greater 
sense of accomplishment and self-confidence through participation in 
arts education activities.
    Recent studies, such as those conducted by the National Endowment 
for the Arts, continue to reveal the positive correlation between 
participation in arts education and the academic, social, and 
experiential growth of children and youth. Improvements in academic 
achievement, standardized test scores, and school dropout rates are 
reported. Arts and humanities programs foster the development of 
creative thinking, higher-order skills, problem-solving, and a 
motivation to learn for all students, especially those considered to be 
at-risk.
    Studies have shown social and behavioral benefits for students 
engaged in arts education as well. Participation in arts activities is 
linked to these indicators: decreased anti-social behavior, decreased 
drug and alcohol use, and increased motivation for learning and 
participation in school activities.
    While it is important for all children and youth to benefit from 
arts education, at-risk children and youth are especially in need of 
quality arts and cultural programs both during and after school. 
Unfortunately, at-risk students are generally less likely to have 
access to and participate in arts education programs, which are often 
inadequately funded in high-poverty rural and urban areas. Beleaguered 
school systems must frequently curtail or eliminate music and other 
arts programs due to budget constraints. Consequently, at-risk children 
and youth have even less opportunity to benefit from the arts.
    Partnership programs that document ways in which to effectively 
coordinate local, State, and Federal resources into comprehensive, 
integrated arts education service delivery systems are needed. Such 
partnerships help ensure that all children have greater opportunities 
to benefit from and enjoy arts education programs and experiences. At-
risk students will enjoy greater access to, and participation in, high-
quality arts education activities and programs through funded projects, 
and successful approaches may be replicated in other communities for 
similar purposes and target populations.

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Partnership Purposes

    Through combined resources, facilities, services, materials, 
expertise, and funding, the arts activities and programs offered 
through a school-community partnership can reach those youth most in 
need of such opportunities and experiences. Cultural partnership 
programs developed, enhanced, or expanded to meet the outcomes 
described within this program will maximize the outreach and impact of 
arts education programs and enrichment activities for at-risk middle 
and high school students, both in and out of school.
    The Cultural Partnerships for At-Risk Children and Youth Program 
will support the development of school-community partnership programs 
that coordinate and integrate local, State, and Federal resources for 
arts education and enrichment into a coordinated and comprehensive 
service delivery system for at-risk children and youth. The cultural 
partnership projects will evaluate their effectiveness in achieving the 
following program outcomes for both in- and out-of-school at-risk 
children and youth:
     Increased access to and participation in high-quality arts 
education programs and enrichment activities linked to educational 
improvement.
     Improved student academic performance through 
participation in comprehensive and coordinated high-quality arts 
education programs.
     Increased range in the types of arts education programs 
(i.e., a variety of music programs in addition to drama and dance, for 
example) and activities available.
    At the end of the project period, the Department will disseminate 
information and materials on successful approaches for developing, 
enhancing, or expanding cultural partnerships designed to improve the 
educational performance or future potential of at-risk children and 
youth through comprehensive and coordinated educational services. This 
will include any evidence of improved educational achievement or 
potential educational achievement of at-risk students along with 
information regarding the arts education programs and methodologies 
linked to such improvements. The Department requires that, upon 
completion of the project, any materials or products developed be 
provided to the Department for further dissemination. Dissemination 
efforts will be carried out in full compliance with Departmental 
copyright requirements.
    Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking: In accordance with the 
Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553), it is the practice of the 
Secretary to offer interested parties the opportunity to comment on 
proposed rules. Section 437(d)(1) of the General Education Provisions 
Act (GEPA), however, allows the Secretary to exempt rules governing the 
first competition under a new or substantially revised program 
authority (20 U.S.C. 1232(d)(1)). Funding was provided for this new 
initiative in the Fiscal Year 2001 Department of Education 
Appropriations Act, enacted in December 2000. Because this competition 
is the first competition under the program, it therefore qualifies as a 
new competitive grants program. The Secretary, in accordance with 
section 437(d)(1) of GEPA, has decided to forego public comment in 
order to ensure timely grant awards. These regulations will apply for 
the FY 2001 grant competition only.
    Absolute Priority: Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3), the Secretary gives 
an absolute priority to partnership programs that focus school and 
cultural resources in the community on coordinated arts education 
services to address the needs of at-risk middle and high school-aged 
children and youth both in- and out-of-school. In addition, the project 
must fully address all of the desired outcomes for at-risk children and 
youth as described under the Partnership Purpose section.
    Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3), the Secretary will fund under this 
competition only applicants that meet the absolute priority.
    Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities: Under 34 CFR 299.3 
and 34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(i), the Secretary gives a 5-point competitive 
preference to applications whose partnerships are located within an 
Empowerment Zone, including Supplemental Empowerment Zones, or an 
Enterprise Community as designated by the United States Department of 
Housing and Urban Development or the United States Department of 
Agriculture.

    Note: A list of areas that have been designated as Empowerment 
Zones and Enterprise Communities may be found at this website: 
http://www.ezec/mainmap.html.

    Coordination Requirement: Under subpart 2 of Part D of Title X 
ESEA, section 10412(b)(3), grants under this competition may only be 
awarded to eligible entities (i.e., partnerships) that agree to 
coordinate activities carried out under the grant with other Federal, 
State and local grants administered by the individual partners. The 
applicant must demonstrate how the services supported through the 
Cultural Partnerships for At-Risk Children and Youth Program and other 
similar services supported through grants administered by the 
individual partners will be coordinated into an integrated service 
delivery system. The integrated services must be coordinated at a 
school, cultural, or other community-based site accessible to and 
utilized by at-risk youth. An applicant must provide evidence that the 
partnership members have met this requirement in order to receive 
funding under this program.
    General Requirements: The following requirements must be met for 
any application submitted under this program: the program narrative is 
limited to no more than 45 double-spaced pages using the following 
standards: (1) A ``page'' is 8.5"  x  11" (on one side only) with one 
inch margins (top, bottom, and sides); and (2) Double-space (no more 
than three lines per vertical inch) all text in the application 
narrative, including titles, headings, footnotes, quotations, and 
captions, as well as all text in charts, tables, figures, and graphs. 
The page limit applies to the narrative section only. However, all of 
the application narrative must be included in the narrative section. If 
the narrative section of an application exceeds the page limitation, 
the application will not be reviewed. (b) The projects funded under 
this priority must budget for a two-day Project Directors' meeting in 
Washington, D.C. (c) The project application must address the following 
factors as required by the statute in ESEA Section 10413(c)(2): (1) the 
cultural entity or entities that will participate in the partnership; 
(2) the target population to be served; (3) the services to be 
provided; (4) a plan for evaluating the success of the program; (5) for 
each local educational agency or school participating in the 
partnership, how the activities assisted by the grant will be 
perpetuated beyond the duration of the grant; (6) the manner in which 
the eligible entity will improve the educational achievement or future 
potential of at-risk youth through more effective coordination of 
cultural services in the community; (7) the overall and operational 
goals of the program; (8) the nature and location of all planned sites 
where services will be delivered and a description of services to be 
provided at each site; and (9) training activities provided to 
individuals who are not trained to work with children and youth, and 
how teachers will be involved. Most of these application requirements 
should be addressed in the application narrative, which applicants are 
encouraged to organize around the selection criteria for

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this competition. However, items 1, 2, 8, and 9, which are not directly 
covered within the selection criteria, should be addressed separately 
and included as appendices to the program narrative.
    Selection Criteria: The Secretary will use the following selection 
criteria to evaluate applications under this competition. The maximum 
score for all of the selection criteria is 100 points. The maximum 
score for each criterion is indicated in parenthesis with the 
criterion. The criteria are as follows:
    (a) Significance (15 Points). (1) The Secretary considers the 
significance of the proposed project.
    (2) In determining the significance of the proposed project, the 
Secretary considers the following factors:
    (i) The extent to which the proposed project involves the 
development or demonstration of promising new strategies that build on, 
or are alternatives to, existing strategies.
    (ii) The potential contribution of the proposed project to 
increased knowledge or understanding of educational problems, issues, 
or effective strategies for implementing cultural partnership programs 
for at-risk children and youth.
    (b) Improvement in the Educational Achievement or Future Potential 
of At-Risk Youth (15 points).
    Under 34 CFR 75.209(a)(1)(ii), the Secretary reviews each 
application to determine the manner in which the partnership will 
improve the educational achievement or future potential of at-risk 
youth through comprehensive and coordinated services designed to: (1) 
enhance student academic performance in core academic subjects and on 
standardized tests; and (2) foster the academic potential of at-risk 
students.
    (c) Quality of the Project Design (20 points). (1) The Secretary 
considers the quality of the project design of the proposed project.
    (2) In determining the quality of the project design, the Secretary 
considers the following factors:
    (i) The extent to which the proposed project represents an 
exceptional approach for meeting the priority or priorities established 
for the competition.
    (ii) The extent to which the goals, objectives, and outcomes to be 
achieved by the proposed project are clearly specified and measurable 
and appropriate to the needs of the intended recipients of the project 
services.
    (iii) 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.
    (d) Quality of Project Personnel (10 points). (1) The Secretary 
considers the quality of the personnel who will carry out the proposed 
project.
    (2) In determining the quality of project personnel, the Secretary 
considers the extent to which the applicant encourages applications for 
employment from persons who are members of groups that have 
traditionally been under-represented based on race, color, national 
origin, gender, age, or disability.
    (3) In addition, the Secretary considers the following factors:
    (i) The qualifications, including relevant training and experience, 
of the project director.
    (ii) The qualifications, including relevant training and 
experience, of key project personnel.
    (iii) The qualification, including relevant training and 
experience, of project consultants or subcontractors.
    (e) Adequacy of Resources (10 points). (1) The Secretary considers 
the adequacy of resources for the proposed project.
    (2) In determining the adequacy of resources for the proposed 
project, the Secretary considers the following factors:
    (i) The adequacy of support, including facilities, equipment, 
supplies, and other resources, from the lead applicant organization.
    (ii) The extent to which the budget is adequate to support the 
proposed project.
    (iii) The potential for continued support of the project after 
Federal funding ends, including, as appropriate, the demonstrated 
commitment of appropriate entities to such support.
    (f) Quality of the Management Plan (15 points). (1) The Secretary 
considers the quality of the management plan for the proposed project.
    (2) In determining the quality of the management plan for the 
proposed project, the Secretary considers the following factors:
    (i) The adequacy of the management plan to achieve the objectives 
of the proposed project on time and within budget, including clearly 
defined responsibilities, time lines, and milestones for accomplishing 
project tasks.
    (ii) The adequacy of procedures for ensuring continuous feedback 
and continuous improvement in the operation of the proposed project.
    (iii) The extent to which the time commitments of the project 
director and other key project personnel are appropriate and adequate 
to meet the objectives of the proposed project.
    (iv) How the applicant will ensure that a diversity of perspectives 
are brought to bear in the operation of the proposed project.
    (g) Quality of the Project Evaluation (15 points). (1) The 
Secretary considers the quality of the project evaluation.
    (2) In determining the quality of the project evaluation, the 
Secretary considers one or more of the following factors:
    (i) The extent to which the methods of evaluation include 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.
    (ii) The extent to which the evaluation will provide guidance about 
effective strategies suitable for replication or testing in other 
settings.
    For Applications or Information Contact: Madeline E. Baggett, U.S. 
Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Washington, DC 
20202-6140. Telephone (202) 260-2502. Individuals who use a 
telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD) may call the Federal 
Information Relay Service (FIRS) at 1-800-877-8339.
    Individuals with disabilities may obtain this document in an 
alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, audiotape, or computer 
diskette) on request to the contact person listed in the preceding 
paragraph.
    Individuals with disabilities may obtain a copy of the application 
package in an alternative format also by contacting that person. 
However, the Department is not able to reproduce in an alternative 
format the standards forms included in the application package.

Electronic Access to this Document:

    You may view this document, as well as all other Department of 
Education documents published in the Federal Register, in text or Adobe 
Portable Document Format (PDF) on the Internet at the following site: 
www.ed.gov/legislation/FedRegister.
    To use PDF you must have Adobe Acrobat Reader, which is available 
free at the previous site. If you have questions about using the PDF, 
call the U.S. Government Printing Office (GPO) toll free at 1-888-293-
6498, or in the Washington, DC area at 202-512-1530.

    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

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Access at: http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/index.html.


    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 7909.

    Dated: June 7, 2001.
Thomas M. Corwin,
Acting Deputy Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary 
Education.
[FR Doc. 01-14765 Filed 6-11-01; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-U