[Federal Register Volume 67, Number 110 (Friday, June 7, 2002)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39369-39374]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 02-14383]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[CFDA No.: 84.359A (Pre-Application) and 84.359B (Full Application]


Early Reading First Program; Notice Inviting Applications for New 
Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2002

SUMMARY: The Secretary invites applications for new grant awards for FY 
2002 for the Early Reading First Program. These grants are authorized 
by subpart 2, part B, title I, of the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act (ESEA), as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act, 
Public Law 107-110. The Secretary also announces final procedures, 
requirements, and priorities for this competition.

Purpose of Program

    The purpose of the Early Reading First Program is to create 
preschool centers of excellence by improving the instruction and 
classroom environment of early childhood programs that are located in 
urban or rural high-poverty communities and that serve primarily 
children from low-income families. These programs will provide 
preschool age children, including children with disabilities and 
children with limited English proficiency, with high-quality 
environments and early reading curricula and activities, based on 
scientifically based reading research, to support the age-appropriate 
development of: oral language, phonological awareness, print awareness, 
and alphabetic knowledge. These activities (with tactile and 
communication accommodations for children with disabilities, as 
appropriate), in combination with professional development based on 
scientific research and with screening assessments, will form an 
integrated, coherent instructional program that will further children's 
language and literacy skills and prevent them from encountering reading 
difficulties when they enter school.
    These grants complement the Reading First State Grants Program, 
which provides support for high-quality, scientifically based 
classroom-focused reading instruction for kindergarten through grade 
three. The Early Reading First Program is joined by several other 
significant endeavors that are designed to enhance the school readiness 
of young children, such as the Department's Early Childhood Educator 
Professional Development Grants Program, which is designed to improve 
the knowledge and skills of early childhood educators, and the 
Preschool Curriculum Evaluation Research Grants Program, which will 
implement rigorous evaluations of preschool curricula to provide 
information to support informed choices of classroom curricula for 
early childhood programs.
    Early Reading First grants will help support the President's new 
Early Childhood Initiative, by strengthening early learning 
environments and instruction for young children. These grants also will 
support that initiative by helping ensure that preschool programs are 
more closely coordinated with State educational goals, including goals 
for kindergarten through grade 12, so that there is continuity with 
formal school instruction and so that what children are doing before 
they enter school is aligned with what is expected of them once they 
are in school.
    Early Reading First grants will use research-based strategies to 
generate information about effective practices in providing children 
with the essential language, literacy, and cognitive experiences that 
will best prepare them for later school success. The Department plans 
to disseminate information about Early Reading First projects that 
prove to be effective models for early childhood education.
    Applications Available: June 7, 2002.
    Deadline for Receipt of Applications: Pre-Application: July 15, 
2002 (by 4:30 p.m., if hand delivered). Full Application (for invited 
applicants only): October 11, 2002 (by 4:30 p.m., if hand delivered) 
(which is at least 6 weeks after the date applicants will be invited to 
submit Full Applications).
    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: December 10, 2002.
    Estimated Available Funds: $75,000,000.
    Estimated Range of Awards (per year): $250,000-$1,500,000.
    Estimated Average Size of Awards (per year): $425,000 (based on 175 
awards).
    Estimated Number of Awards: 50--300.

    Note: The Department is not bound by any estimates in this 
notice.

    Project Period: Up to three years.

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:

Background

    As the President's new Early Childhood Initiative recognizes, 
research demonstrates the strong relationship between high-quality 
educational experiences for children before kindergarten and their 
later success in school. The National Research Council report, 
Preventing Reading Difficulties in Young Children (1998), concludes 
that the majority of reading problems faced by today's adolescents and 
adults could have been avoided or resolved in the early years of 
childhood. The Cost, Quality and Child Outcomes report (June 1999), 
partially funded by the Department, concludes that children's cognitive 
and social competence in the second grade can be predicted by the 
experiences that they had four years previously in child care, even 
after taking into account kindergarten and first-grade classroom 
experiences. The report also found that

[[Page 39370]]

children who have traditionally been at risk for not doing well in 
school are more affected by the quality of child care experiences than 
are other children.
    Early Reading First grants will help meet this challenge by funding 
projects that demonstrate the capacity to provide high-quality, 
research-based experiences in language and early literacy for preschool 
age children. These grants will improve the instruction and environment 
of programs primarily serving young children living in poverty, in 
programs such as Title I preschools and schoolwide programs, Head 
Start, Even Start Family Literacy programs, and publicly funded or 
subsidized child care.
    Early Reading First projects must provide the following activities, 
with accommodations as needed for children with disabilities: High-
quality oral language and print-rich environments; professional 
development for staff based on scientifically based reading research 
knowledge of language, cognitive, and early reading development that 
will assist in developing preschool age children's oral language, 
phonological awareness, print awareness, and alphabet knowledge; 
activities and instructional materials based on scientifically based 
reading research for use in developing language, cognitive, and early 
reading skills; acquisition, training, and implementation of screening 
reading assessments; and integration of the instructional materials, 
activities, tools, and measures into the applicant's overall programs. 
These activities, required by section 1222(d) of the ESEA, are more 
specifically described in the application guide.
    The Secretary is particularly interested in Early Reading First 
projects that will serve a significant number of children with special 
needs, including those with disabilities and those with limited English 
proficiency. These programs would provide those children access, 
through appropriate accommodations, to the same high-quality 
environments and early reading curricula and activities based on 
scientifically based reading research as would be provided to children 
without special needs, to support their age-appropriate development of 
oral language, phonological awareness, print awareness, and alphabetic 
knowledge.

Eligible Applicants

    (1) One or more local educational agencies (LEAs) identified as 
being eligible on the list of ``Eligible LEAs'' on the Department's Web 
site at http://www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/earlyreading/index.html; (2) one 
or more public or private organizations or agencies located in a 
community served by one of those LEAs, which organization or agency is 
acting on behalf of one or more programs (which may include themselves) 
that serve young children, such as a Head Start program, a child care 
program, an Even Start program; or (3) one or more of the eligible 
LEAs, applying in collaboration with one or more of the eligible 
organizations or agencies. In addition to obtaining the list of 
``Eligible LEAs'' from the Department's Web site, the public may obtain 
that list by contacting one of the individuals identified below under 
FOR APPLICATIONS AND FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT.

Definitions

    As defined for the Early Reading First Program under section 
1221(b)(2) and (3) of the ESEA, the terms listed have the following 
meanings:
    (1) The term ``scientifically based reading research,'' as defined 
in section 1208--(6) of the ESEA, means research that--
    (A) applies rigorous, systematic, and objective procedures to 
obtain valid knowledge relevant to reading development, reading 
instruction, and reading difficulties; and
    (B) includes research that--
    (i) employs systematic, empirical methods that draw on observation 
or experiment;
    (ii) involves rigorous data analyses that are adequate to test the 
stated hypotheses and justify the general conclusions drawn;
    (iii) relies on measurements or observational methods that provide 
valid data across evaluators and observers and across multiple 
measurements and observations; and
    (iv) has been accepted by a peer-reviewed journal or approved by a 
panel of independent experts through a comparably rigorous, objective, 
and scientific review.
    (2) The term ``screening reading assessment,'' as defined in 
section 1208(7)(B) of the ESEA, means an assessment that is--
    (i) valid, reliable, and based on scientifically based reading 
research; and
    (ii) a brief procedure designed as a first step in identifying 
children who may be at high risk for delayed development or academic 
failure and in need of further diagnosis of their need for special 
services or additional reading instruction.

Applicability of Regulations

    The following provisions of the Education Department General 
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) contained in Title 34 of the Code of 
Federal Regulations (CFR) apply to these Early Reading First Program 
grants: 34 CFR parts 74, 75, 77, 79, 80, 81, 82, 85, 86, 97, 98, and 
99.

Waiver of Proposed Rulemaking

    It is the Secretary's practice, in accordance with the 
Administrative Procedure Act (5 U.S.C. 553), to offer interested 
parties the opportunity to comment on proposed rules that are not taken 
directly from statute. Ordinarily, this practice would have applied to 
the priorities and requirements in this notice. Section 437(d)(1) of 
the General Education Provisions Act (GEPA), however, exempts from this 
requirement rules that apply to the first competition under a new or 
substantially revised program. The Secretary, in accordance with 
section 437(d)(1) of GEPA, has decided to forgo public comment with 
respect to the rules in this grant competition in order to ensure 
timely awards. These rules will apply only to the FY 2002 grant 
competition.

Application Process

    The FY 2002 Early Reading First grant competition will be conducted 
through a Pre-Application and Full Application process. All applicants 
must submit a Pre-Application, which must include a narrative that 
briefly describes the existing preschool program(s) to be supported and 
improved with Early Reading First funds, and then addresses four key 
concepts related to the proposed project that are described below under 
Pre-Application Selection Criteria. In addition, the Pre-Application 
must include an estimated budget and brief budget justification. The 
Pre-Application is limited to: 2 double-spaced pages for describing the 
context, 10 double-spaced pages to address the selection criteria and 
priorities, and 3 double-spaced pages for the budget justification, 
with formatting requirements and limited appendices that are described 
in the application guide.
    The Secretary, through a peer review panel of experts convened 
under section 1203(c)(2) of the ESEA in accordance with section 1222(c) 
of the ESEA, will evaluate each Pre-Application based upon the Pre-
Application selection criteria and three competitive priorities 
included in this notice. The Secretary will invite those applicants to 
submit Full Applications whose Pre-Applications the peer review panel 
rate

[[Page 39371]]

highly in the competitive Pre-Application review process and recommend 
as having the potential to become successful projects. The Department 
will inform applicants of the outcome of the Pre-Application phase.
    The Full Application must include a narrative addressing the Full 
Application selection criteria, a budget, and a budget narrative. Those 
Full Application selection criteria are different than the Pre-
Application selection criteria. The Secretary, through a separate peer 
review panel of experts also convened under section 1203(c)(2) of the 
ESEA in accordance with section 1222(c) of the ESEA, will evaluate each 
Full Application based upon the Full Application selection criteria and 
Full Application competitive priority included in this notice. The Full 
Application is limited to: 35 pages for the narrative, and 5 pages for 
the budget narrative, with formatting requirements and limited 
appendices that are described in the application guide.
    The Secretary will select applicants for funding based on the 
quality of the Full Applications and the recommendations of the Full 
Application peer review panel. The Secretary will consider for funding 
only those applications that the peer review panel recommends as 
demonstrating the greatest potential for creating improvements in early 
childhood education programs and for becoming successful projects that 
are centers of excellence for early learning.
    In making funding decisions, the Department will use the procedures 
in EDGAR, 34 CFR 75.217, which may include the use of on-site reviews 
for some or all Full Applications following the peer review process. 
When making awards, the Secretary may take into consideration other 
information that is relevant to obtaining a variety of types of funded 
projects and an equitable distribution of awards throughout the nation, 
such as geographical representation, location in high-need urban and 
rural areas, project size, and type of program. The Department 
anticipates making final awards in December 2002.

Pre-Application Priorities

Pre-Application Competitive Priorities

    Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(2), the Secretary gives three separate 
competitive preferences to Pre-Applications as follows:
Pre-Application Competitive Priority 1--State Educational System 
Partnership
    Early Reading First projects that are operated by a partnership 
that includes at least the following two partners: (1) a State 
educational agency (SEA) or a local educational agency (LEA) (or both); 
and (2) a preschool that is not under the administrative control of an 
LEA. The Secretary considers a preschool to be under the administrative 
control of an LEA for the purpose of this competitive priority if the 
LEA is the fiscal agent, operates, supervises, controls, or manages the 
preschool. A preschool that is located in a school or LEA building is 
not necessarily under the administrative control of an LEA.
    Programs that form new qualifying partnerships for Early Reading 
First will meet this priority, as will programs operated through 
existing partnerships between LEAs and preschools that are not under 
the administrative control of an LEA. To qualify for points under this 
first Pre-Application competitive priority, at least one partner must 
qualify as an eligible applicant. In addition, to qualify under this 
competitive priority all preschools that will be supported by the 
proposed Early Reading First project must be located in a community 
served by an eligible LEA or primarily serve children who will attend 
kindergarten in an eligible LEA (see list of eligible LEAs on the 
Department's Web site listed above under ``Eligible Applicants'').

    Note: (Eligible applicants that meet this competitive priority, 
if invited to submit a Full Application, must attach a Partnership 
Agreement to the Full Application that describes the specific 
responsibilities and roles each partner will have with respect to 
the Early Reading First project.)

    An application that meets this first Pre-Application competitive 
priority would receive 10 points in the Pre-Application portion of the 
grant competition. These points are in addition to any points the 
applicant earns under the Pre-Application selection criteria and any 
other Pre-Application competitive priority.
    This competitive priority is designed to: Ensure that the preschool 
programs supported with Early Reading First funds are closely 
coordinated and aligned with the State's kindergarten through grade 12 
(K-12) educational system and goals; enhance collaboration and 
instructional continuity between those preschools and the elementary 
schools children will enter after preschool; and give State and local 
support to preschools not part of the State K-12 public education 
system.
Pre-Application Competitive Priority 2--Children from Low-Income 
Families
    The preschool program(s) to be supported by the proposed Early 
Reading First project primarily serve children from low-income 
families.
    An application that meets this second Pre-Application competitive 
priority would receive from 0-15 points in the Pre-Application portion 
of this grant competition, based on the applicant's demonstration of 
the degree to which the program serves children from low-income 
families. These points are in addition to any points the applicant 
earns under the Pre-Application selection criteria or any other Pre-
Application competitive priority.
    When awarding points, the Secretary will consider the relative 
percentage of children from low-income families. Applicants must 
include in their Early Reading First Program Pre-Application Narrative 
a description of the preschool program(s) to be served by the proposed 
project, which includes demographic and socioeconomic information on 
the preschool age children enrolled in those programs. Applicants may 
use data of their choice to demonstrate that the preschool age children 
primarily are from low-income families. For example, an applicant may 
use such information such as census data, the percentage of children 
receiving a free or reduced price lunch, or other similar measures of 
poverty to demonstrate the percentage of children from low-income 
families. The Secretary will consider the different definitions of 
poverty used in these data sources in determining the extent to which a 
project primarily serves children from low-income families.
    This competitive priority is designed to ensure that Early Reading 
First funds are used to support local efforts to enhance the early 
language, literacy, and prereading development, particularly of 
preschool children who are from low-income families.
Pre-Application Competitive Priority 3--Novice Applicant
    The applicant is a novice applicant (or a group of novice 
applicants) under 34 CFR 75.225 that is otherwise eligible to apply 
under this competition. A ``novice applicant'' under 34 CFR 75.225 
means the following for this Pre-Application competitive priority: an 
applicant that has not had an active discretionary grant from the 
Federal Government in the five years before the deadline date for the 
Pre-Application in this grant competition. For the purposes of this 
requirement, a grant is active until the end of the grant's project or 
funding period, including any

[[Page 39372]]

extensions of those periods that extend the grantee's authority to 
obligate funds. In the case of applications from more than one eligible 
applicant (that is, a group application), every eligible applicant must 
be a novice applicant to meet this Pre-Application competitive 
priority.
    This competitive priority is included to broaden and diversify the 
pool of qualified applicants and provide greater opportunities for 
inexperienced applicants with high-quality applications to receive 
funding. An application that meets this third Pre-Application 
competitive priority would receive 5 points in the competition. These 
points are in addition to any points the applicant earns under the Pre-
Application selection criteria or any other Pre-Application competitive 
priority.

Full Application Priority

    Under 34 CFR 75.225, the Secretary gives a competitive priority to 
Full Applications as follows:

Full Application Competitive Priority--Novice Applicant

    The applicant is a novice applicant (or a group of novice 
applicants) under 34 CFR 75.225 that is otherwise eligible to apply 
under this competition. A ``novice applicant'' under 34 CFR 75.225 
means the following for this initial competition in the new Early 
Reading First Program: an applicant that has not had an active 
discretionary grant from the Federal Government in the five years 
before the deadline date for a Full Application under this grant 
competition. For the purposes of this requirement, a grant is active 
until the end of the grant's project or funding period, including any 
extensions of those periods that extend the grantee's authority to 
obligate funds. In the case of applications from more than one eligible 
applicant (that is, a group application), every eligible applicant must 
be a novice applicant to meet this Full Application competitive 
priority.
    This competitive priority is included to broaden and diversify the 
pool of qualified applicants and provide greater opportunities for 
inexperienced applicants with high-quality applications to receive 
funding. An application that meets this Full Application competitive 
priority would receive 5 points in the competition. These points are in 
addition to any points the applicant earns under the selection 
criteria.

Pre-Application Selection Criteria

    The Secretary will use the following selection criteria in 
accordance with 34 CFR 75.200(b)(2) and 75.209 to evaluate Pre-
Applications under this grant competition. The maximum score for all of 
these selection criteria is 100 points. The maximum score for each 
criterion is indicated in parenthesis with the criterion.
    Applicants must first use up to two (2) pages of their applications 
to describe the context of the existing early childhood education 
programs serving preschool age children (preschool programs) that they 
propose to support with Early Reading First funds. The Secretary 
recommends that, in the case of center-based programs, applicants 
generally include no more than a total of 5 centers to ensure that 
funds are sufficiently concentrated to achieve the program goals. This 
description must include the following information: the ages and number 
of children being served; demographic and socioeconomic information on 
those children; information on the type of special needs that any of 
the children may have; the average hours the children attend the 
program (hours/day, days/week, and months/year); primary funding 
source(s) for the program; the basic instructional program; and the 
number of staff and their qualifications.
    In addition to the 2-page context description, applicants must also 
include, in the Appendix to the Pre-Application: (1) A list of the 
names and addresses of the preschool programs that the Early Reading 
First project will support, and, if the applicant intends to qualify 
under Pre-Application Competitive Priority 1 (State Educational System 
Partnership), the name of the eligible LEA in which each preschool is 
located or the name(s) of the eligible LEA(s) in which the 
kindergartens are located that the preschool age children primarily 
will attend; and (2) a one-page organizational chart showing the 
relationship between the members of the project proposal, which 
indicates the eligible applicant(s), the fiscal agent, and the 
preschools to be served.
    Each applicant must then use no more than a total of 10 additional 
pages to address the following selection criteria and Pre-Application 
Competitive Priority 2 (Children from Low-Income Families). (Pre-
Application Competitive Priority 1 (State Educational System 
Partnership) and Pre-Application Competitive Priority 3 (Novice 
Applicant) will be addressed by separate forms in the application 
package.)

Selection Criteria

    (1) Vision (up to 25 points): Starting from the context of the 
existing early childhood education program(s) that the Early Reading 
First project would support, applicants must describe their vision for 
what those programs would look like if they were to become centers of 
educational excellence. Using the scientific reading research upon 
which their vision is based, applicants must describe the overall goals 
for their proposed Early Reading First project.
    In evaluating the response to this first Pre-Application selection 
criterion, the Secretary will consider the clarity, creativity, 
comprehensiveness, and feasibility of the overall vision. The Secretary 
also will consider how well the goals reflect the vision, and the 
extent to which those goals incorporate high expectations, based on 
scientific research, for improvements in the early learning 
environment, curricula, teacher instruction, and enhancing children's 
language, cognitive, and early reading skills.
    (2) Key Research and Program Design (up to 40 points): Applicants 
must discuss the key scientifically based research in the areas of 
language, cognitive, and early reading development for preschool age 
children, and include citations to the sources of that research. 
Applicants must tie that research to their program design by explaining 
the research-based strategies they would use, and the changes they 
would make, which appropriately address the needs of all children in 
the project including children with special needs, in each of the 
following core areas: classroom environment, professional development, 
curricula and instruction, and on-going screening assessment or other 
appropriate measures to monitor the children's progress. Applicants 
must explain any changes that they would make in the amount of time the 
program spends on developing children's language, cognition, and early 
reading skills, and how they would engage parents in helping with their 
children's development in those areas.
    In evaluating the response to this second Pre-Application selection 
criterion, the Secretary will consider the relevance and rigor of the 
research cited, and how well the program design clearly links the 
proposed strategies with the major findings of up-to-date 
scientifically based reading research about best practices in language, 
cognitive, and early reading development. These best practices may 
include, for example, how the Early Reading First project will create 
high-quality print-rich environments, use on-going intensive 
professional development for preschool staff, support children's 
learning through explicit and

[[Page 39373]]

scaffolded instruction in phonological awareness, oral language skills, 
print awareness, and alphabet knowledge, and use continuous screening 
assessments to monitor children's progress.
    The Secretary also will consider the clarity and feasibility of the 
overall program design, based upon the Pre-Application estimated budget 
and budget justification and the proposed project activities, including 
the extent to which, in the case of center-based early education 
programs for preschool age children, the number of centers to be 
supported by Early Reading First is limited enough (generally, to no 
more than five (5) centers) to achieve the project goals with the 
amount of funds requested.
    (3) Continuity and Coordination with Formal School Instruction (up 
to 10 points): Applicants must describe how they would work with the 
LEA that the preschool children would later attend to link the Early 
Reading First activities with the instructional program in kindergarten 
through third grade (including with any activities in the LEA under the 
Reading First State Grants Program authorized by subpart 1 of part B of 
title I of the ESEA). This will ensure close coordination with the 
State's educational goals and to promote continuity so that cognitive 
and literacy gains that children made in the preschool are sustained 
and supported once the children begin formal classroom instruction. 
Applicants must indicate whether or not their State has preschool 
standards in the cognitive domain, and if it does, briefly describe 
those standards. Applicants must explain how their proposed Early 
Reading First project would prepare young children to meet their 
State's preschool content standards (if any) and their State's reading 
or language arts content standards for kindergarten or the lowest 
elementary grade for which the State has those content standards.
    In evaluating the response to this third Pre-Application selection 
criterion, the Secretary will consider how well the project design 
would result in the language, cognitive, and early reading gains 
children make in preschool being sustained once they begin formal 
schooling, and how well the Early Reading First strategies and 
activities would prepare children to meet the State's preschool 
cognitive standards (if any), and the State's content standards in 
reading or language arts for the lowest grade for which the State has 
those standards.
    (4) Measuring success (up to 25 points): Applicants must describe 
how they will evaluate the success of their Early Reading First 
activities. Specifically, applicants must explain how they will 
determine whether the early language, literacy, and pre-reading 
development of the preschool age children served by the Early Reading 
First Program has improved and been enhanced as a result of their Early 
Reading First strategies and changes. Applicants must describe the key 
outcomes that they would expect to see in the classroom environment, 
instructional practice, and children's learning, how they plan to 
measure those outcomes, and how they would use the results for 
continuous program improvement.
    In evaluating the response to this fourth Pre-Application selection 
criterion, the Secretary will consider how well the expected outcomes 
are linked to the program's goals, and how well the proposed child 
measures will demonstrate those outcomes. The Secretary will also 
consider the validity and rigor of the proposed measures, their 
appropriateness for the target population, and the degree to which the 
program will use the results to inform future instruction and program 
improvement.

Full Application Selection Criteria

    The Secretary will use the following selection criteria in 
accordance with 34 CFR 75.200(b)(2) and 75.209 to evaluate Full 
Applications under this grant competition. The maximum score for all of 
the Full Applicant selection criteria is 100 points. The maximum score 
for each criterion is indicated in parenthesis with the criterion.
    In addition, when making awards, the Secretary will consider for 
awards only those high-quality applications that the peer review panel 
recommends as demonstrating the greatest potential for creating 
improvements in early childhood education programs and for becoming 
successful projects that are centers of excellence for early learning. 
When making awards, the Secretary may take into consideration other 
information that is relevant to obtaining a variety of types of funded 
projects and an equitable distribution of awards throughout the nation, 
such as geographical representation, location in high-need urban and 
rural areas, project size, and type of program.
    In evaluating Full Applications, the Secretary will take into 
consideration the responsiveness of the applicant to the comments of 
peer reviewers on the applicant's Pre-Application, including the extent 
to which the applicant refines its initial vision and the broad plan 
described in that Pre-Application, based upon the comments of the Pre-
Application reviewers and other new information the applicant may have 
obtained.

Selection Criteria

    (a) Significance of project (up to 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 likelihood that the applicant's vision (as described in the 
Pre-Application and refined as appropriate for the Full Application) 
will result in a project that is a center of educational excellence for 
at-risk preschool age children, as demonstrated by the learning 
environment, instruction, and student achievement.
    (ii) The extent to which the field of early childhood education can 
benefit from the project through products such as information, 
materials, and techniques, and the potential for those resources being 
used effectively in other settings.
    (b) Quality of project activities and services (up to 35 points). 
(1) The Secretary considers the quality of the proposed project's 
activities and services.
    (2) In determining the quality of the proposed project's activities 
and services, the Secretary considers the following factors:
    (i) The extent to which the applicant presents a detailed plan 
(with research citations where appropriate) that describes the 
activities and services that the project will provide, to support the 
development of language, cognitive, and early reading skills for 
preschool age children, in all of the following areas, and how those 
activities and services are based on up-to-date knowledge from 
scientifically based reading research:
    (A) Providing a rich oral language and print-rich environment.
    (B) Preparing and providing ongoing assistance to staff, through 
professional development and other support.
    (C) Providing services and using instructional materials and 
activities, and integrating those instructional materials and 
activities into the applicant's preschool programs and family literacy 
services.
    (D) Using screening reading assessments or other appropriate 
measures to determine the skills children are learning and identify 
children who might be at risk of reading failure.
    (E) Helping children, especially those experiencing difficulty with 
language and early reading skills, to make the transition from 
preschool to formal classroom instruction.

[[Page 39374]]

    (F) Involving parents meaningfully in their children's early 
education.
    (ii) The extent to which the planned activities and services in 
each of the above areas will help staff in the programs to meet more 
effectively the diverse needs of preschool age children in the 
community, including those with limited English proficiency, 
disabilities, or other special needs.
    (c) Quality of project personnel (up to 10 points). (1) The 
Secretary considers quality of project personnel.
    (2) In determining the quality of project personnel, the Secretary 
considers the following factors:
    (i) The strength of the qualifications, including relevant training 
and experience, of the project staff.
    (ii) The strength of the qualifications, including relevant 
training and experience, of personnel with whom the project will 
contract to assist in project activities, including research-based 
professional development for staff to support children's development of 
language, cognitive, and early reading skills.
    (d) Quality of management plan (up to 20 total points).
    (1) The Secretary considers the quality of the management plan for 
the proposed project.
    (2) In determining the quality of the management plan, the 
Secretary considers the feasibility of the proposed project and the 
likelihood that the project will be able to achieve its expected goals 
(as described in the applicant's Pre-Application and refined as 
appropriate for the Full Application), taking into consideration the 
strength of any partnership, and using the following factors:
    (i) The adequacy of the management plan to achieve the goals of the 
proposed project on time and within budget, including: clearly defined 
goals, activities, responsibilities, and timeline for accomplishing 
project tasks (up to 10 points).
    (ii) The extent to which the time commitments of the project 
director and principal investigator and other key project personnel, 
including any partnership commitments, are appropriate and adequate to 
meet the objectives of the proposed project (up to 5 points).
    (iii) The extent to which the proposed costs are adequate in 
relation to the proposed activities, the number of persons to be 
served, and the anticipated results and benefits (up to 5 points).
    (e) Quality of the project evaluation (up to 20 total points).
    (1) The Secretary considers the quality of the proposed project 
evaluation.
    (2) In considering the quality of the proposed project evaluation, 
the Secretary considers the extent to which the methods of evaluation 
include the use of objective, valid, and reliable performance measures 
that are clearly related to the intended outcomes of the project and 
will produce quantitative and qualitative data in the following areas:
    (i) Improvement in classroom environment (up to 5 points).
    (ii) Improvement in teacher knowledge and qualifications (up to 5 
points).
    (iii) Improvement in teacher instruction and planning (up to 5 
points).
    (iv) Improvement in outcomes for children's language, cognitive, 
and early reading skills (up to 5 points).

Paperwork Reduction Act Considerations

    The procedures and requirements contained in this notice relate to 
an application package that the Department has developed for the Early 
Reading First Program grants. The public may obtain copies of this 
application package by calling or writing the individual identified 
below as the Department's contact, or through the Department's Web site 
at: www.ed.gov/GrantApps/#84.359; or http://www.ed.gov/offices/OESE/earlyreading/index.html.
    As required by the Paperwork Reduction Act, the Office of 
Management and Budget has approved the use of this application package 
under OMB control number 1810-0654, which expires October 31, 2002.

For Applications Contact

    Education Publications Center (ED Pubs), P.O. Box 1398, Jessup, MD 
20794-1398. Telephone (toll free): 1-877-433-7827. FAX: (301) 470-1244. 
If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may call 
(toll free): 1-877-576-7734.
    You may also contact ED Pubs at its Web site: http://www.ed.gov/pubs/edpubs.html.
    Or you may contact ED Pubs at its e-mail address: 
[email protected].
    If you request an application from ED Pubs, be sure to identify 
this competition as follows: CFDA number 84.359(A and B).
    The public also may obtain a copy of the application package on the 
Department's Web site at the following address: www.ed.gov/GrantApps/#84.359.

FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tracy Bethel or Jennifer Flood, Office 
of Elementary and Secondary Education, 400 Maryland Avenue SW, 
Washington, DC 20202-6132. Telephone: (202) 260-4555, or via Internet: 
[email protected].
    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you 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 by contacting that person. However, 
the Department is not able to reproduce in an alternative format the 
standard 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 this site. If you have questions about using 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 Access at: http://www.access.gpo.gov/nara/index.html.


    Program Authority:  20 U.S.C. 6371-6376 and Public Law No. 107-
110.

    Dated: June 4, 2002.
Susan B. Neuman,
Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education.
[FR Doc. 02-14383 Filed 6-6-02; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4000-01-P