Office of Innovation and Improvement; Overview Information; Teaching American History Grant Program; Notice Inviting Applications for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2007, 748-753 [E7-33]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Federal Register Volume 72, Number 4 (Monday, January 8, 2007)]
[Notices]
[Pages 748-753]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: E7-33]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Office of Innovation and Improvement; Overview Information; 
Teaching American History Grant Program; Notice Inviting Applications 
for New Awards for Fiscal Year (FY) 2007

    Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.215X.
    Dates:
    Applications Available: January 8, 2007.
    Deadline for Notice of Intent to Apply: February 7, 2007.
    Pre-Application Meeting: A pre-application meeting for prospective 
applicants will be held in January 2007 in Washington, DC. Further 
information on the date, time, and location will be made available 
through a notice published in the Federal Register and through the 
Teaching American History Web site at https://www.ed.gov/programs/
teachinghistory.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: March 9, 2007.
    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: May 8, 2007.
    Eligible Applicants: Local educational agencies (LEAs), including 
charter schools that are considered LEAs under State law and 
regulations, that must work in partnership with one or more of the 
following entities:
     An institution of higher education.
     A non-profit history or humanities organization.
     A library or museum.
    Estimated Available Funds: The Administration has requested 
$50,000,000 for this program for FY 2007. The actual level of funding, 
if any, depends on final Congressional action. However, we are inviting 
applications to allow enough time to complete the grant process if 
Congress appropriates funds for this program.
    Maximum Award: The following maximum award amounts are from the 
notice of final selection criteria and other application requirements 
for this program, published in the Federal Register on April 15, 2005 
(70 FR 19939).
    (1) Total funding for a three-year project period is a maximum of 
$500,000 for LEAs with enrollments of less than 20,000 students; 
$1,000,000 for LEAs with enrollments of 20,000-300,000 students; and 
$2,000,000 for LEAs with enrollments above 300,000 students. LEAs may 
form consortia and combine their enrollments in order to receive a 
grant reflective of their combined enrollment. For districts applying 
jointly as a consortium, the maximum award is based on the combined 
enrollment of the individual districts in the consortium. If more than 
one LEA wishes to form a consortium, they must follow the procedures 
for group applications described in 34 CFR 75.127 through 34 CFR 75.129 
of the Education Department General Administrative Regulations.
    (2) A maximum of one grant will be awarded per applicant per 
competition.
    Estimated Number of Awards: 120-135.

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

    Project Period: Up to 36 months.

Full Text of Announcement

I. Funding Opportunity Description

    Purpose of Program: Teaching American History grants support 
projects to raise student achievement by improving teachers' knowledge, 
understanding, and appreciation of traditional American history. Grant 
awards assist LEAs, in partnership with entities that have extensive 
content expertise, to develop, document, evaluate, and disseminate 
innovative, cohesive models of professional development. By helping 
teachers to develop a deeper understanding and appreciation of 
traditional American history as a separate subject within the core 
curriculum, these programs improve instruction and raise student 
achievement.
    Priorities: This competition includes one absolute priority and two 
competitive preference priorities that are explained in the following 
paragraphs.
    Absolute Priority: This priority is from the statute for this 
program (20 U.S.C. 6721(b)). Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(3) we consider only 
applications that meet this priority.
    This priority is:
    Partnerships with Other Agencies or Institutions. Each applicant 
LEA must propose to work in collaboration with one or more of the 
following:
     An institution of higher education.
     A non-profit history or humanities organization.
     A library or museum.
    Competitive Preference Priorities: These priorities are from the 
notice of final priorities for discretionary grant programs published 
in the Federal Register on October 11, 2006 (71 FR 60046). Under 34 CFR 
75.105(c)(2)(i), we award up to an additional 25 points

[[Page 749]]

to an application, depending on how well the application meets these 
priorities. These points are in addition to any points the application 
earns under the selection criteria.
    These priorities are:
    Priority 1--School Districts with Schools in Need of Improvement, 
Corrective Action, or Restructuring (up to 15 additional points). 
Projects that help school districts implement academic and structural 
interventions in schools that have been identified for improvement, 
corrective action, or restructuring under the Elementary and Secondary 
Education Act of 1965, as amended by the No Child Left Behind Act of 
2001.

    Note: In response to this priority, applicants are encouraged to 
describe how they will assess the district's or consortium of 
districts' needs and focus on recruiting U.S. history teachers from 
schools identified as in need of improvement, corrective action, or 
restructuring within the district or consortium of districts.

    Priority 2--Student Achievement Data (up to 10 additional points). 
Projects that collect pre- and post-intervention test data to assess 
the effects of the projects on the academic achievement of student 
participants relative to appropriate comparison or control groups.

    Note: In response to this priority, applicants are encouraged to 
submit a plan describing how they propose to collect test data on 
students of teachers trained in the Teaching American History 
program and compare those data to test data from students of 
teachers who are not trained in the Teaching American History 
program.


    Program Authority: 20 U.S.C. 6721.

    Applicable Regulations: (a) The Education Department General 
Administrative Regulations (EDGAR) in 34 CFR parts 75, 77, 79, 80, 81, 
82, 84, 85, 86, 97, 98, and 99. (b) The notice of final selection 
criteria and other application requirements for this program published 
in the Federal Register on April 15, 2005 (70 FR 19939). (c) The notice 
of final priorities for discretionary grant programs published in the 
Federal Register on October 11, 2006 (71 FR 60046).

    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: The Administration has requested 
$50,000,000 for this program for FY 2007. The actual level of funding, 
if any, depends on final congressional action. However, we are inviting 
applications to allow enough time to complete the grant process if 
Congress appropriates funds for this program.
    Maximum Award: The following maximum award amounts are from the 
notice of final selection criteria and other application requirements 
for this program published in the Federal Register on April 15, 2005 
(70 FR 19939).
    (1) Total funding for a three-year project period is a maximum of 
$500,000 for LEAs with enrollments of less than 20,000 students; 
$1,000,000 for LEAs with enrollments of 20,000-300,000 students; and 
$2,000,000 for LEAs with enrollments above 300,000 students. LEAs may 
form consortia and combine their enrollments in order to receive a 
grant reflective of their combined enrollment. For districts applying 
jointly as a consortium, the maximum award is based on the combined 
enrollment of the individual districts in the consortium. If more than 
one LEA wishes to form a consortium, they must follow the procedures 
for group applications described in 34 CFR 75.127 through 34 CFR 75.129 
of the Education Department General Administrative Regulations.
    (2) A maximum of one grant will be awarded per applicant per 
competition.
    Estimated Number of Awards: 120-135.

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

    Project Period: Up to 36 months.

III. Eligibility Information

    1. Eligible Applicants: LEAs, including charter schools that are 
considered LEAs under State law and regulations, that must work in 
partnership with one or more of the following entities:
     An institution of higher education.
     A non-profit history or humanities organization.
     A library or museum.
    2. Cost Sharing or Matching: This program does not involve cost 
sharing or matching.

IV. Application and Submission Information

    Address to Request Application Package: 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: https://www.ed.gov/
pubs/edpubs.html or you may contact ED Pubs at its e-mail address: 
edpubs@inet.ed.gov.
    If you request an application from ED Pubs, be sure to identify 
this competition as follows: CFDA number 84.215X.
    You may also obtain the application package for this program via 
the Internet at the following address: http//www.ed.gov/programs/
teachinghistory/applicant.html.
    Individuals with disabilities may obtain a copy of the application 
package in an alternative format (e.g., Braille, large print, 
audiotape, or computer diskette) by contacting one of the program 
contact persons listed in section VII 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 and instructions for this 
program.
    Notice of Intent to Apply: 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 LEAs that intend to apply for 
funding under this competition. Therefore, the Secretary strongly 
encourages each potential applicant to notify the Department with a 
short e-mail indicating the applicant's intent to submit an application 
for funding. The e-mail need not include information regarding the 
content of the proposed application, only the applicant's intent to 
submit it. This e-mail notification should be sent to Alex Stein at: 
TeachingAmericanHistory@ed.gov. Applicants who do not provide this e-
mail notification may still apply for funding.
    Page Limit: The application narrative (Part III of the application) 
is where you, the applicant, address the selection criteria that 
reviewers use to evaluate your application. Applicants are strongly 
encouraged to limit the application narrative to the equivalent of no 
more than 25 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 not less than 12-point font.


[[Page 750]]

The page limit does not apply to Part I, the cover sheet; Part II, the 
budget section, including the narrative budget justification; Part IV, 
the assurances and certifications; or the one-page abstract, the 
resumes, or letters of support. However, you must include all of the 
application narrative in Part III.
    Our reviewers will not read any pages of your application that--
     Exceed the page limit if you apply these standards; or
     Exceed the equivalent of the page limit if you apply other 
standards.
    3. Submission Dates and Times:
    Applications Available: January 8, 2007.
    Deadline for Notice of Intent to Apply: February 7, 2007.
    Pre-Application Meeting: A pre-application meeting for prospective 
applicants will be held in January 2007 in Washington, DC. Further 
information on the date, time, and location will be made available 
through a notice published in the Federal Register and through the 
Teaching American History Web site at https://www.ed.gov/programs/
teachinghistory.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: March 9, 2007.
    Applications for grants under this program must be submitted 
electronically using the Grants.gov Apply site (Grants.gov). For 
information (including dates and times) about how to submit your 
application electronically, or 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 in 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.
    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: May 8, 2007.
    4. Intergovernmental Review: This competition 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 
competition.
    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 Teaching American History Program--CFDA Number 84.215X must 
be submitted electronically using the Governmentwide Grants.gov Apply 
site at https://www.Grants.gov. Through this site, you will be able to 
download a copy of the application package, complete it offline, and 
then upload and submit your application. You may not e-mail an 
electronic copy of a grant application to us.
    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 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.
    You may access the electronic grant application for Teaching 
American History Grant Program at https://www.Grants.gov. You must 
search for the downloadable application package for this program or 
competition by the CFDA number. Do not include the CFDA number's alpha 
suffix in your search (e.g., search for 84.215, not 84.215X).
    Please note the following:
     When you enter the Grants.gov site, you will find 
information about submitting an application electronically through the 
site, as well as the hours of operation.
     Applications received by Grants.gov are date and time 
stamped. Your application must be fully uploaded and submitted, and 
must be date and time stamped by the Grants.gov system no later than 
4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline date. 
Except as otherwise noted in this section, we will not consider your 
application if it is date and time stamped by the Grants.gov system 
later than 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, on the application deadline 
date. When we retrieve your application from Grants.gov, we will notify 
you if we are rejecting your application because it was date and time 
stamped by the Grants.gov system after 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, 
on the application deadline date.
     The amount of time it can take to upload an application 
will vary depending on a variety of factors including the size of the 
application and the speed of your Internet connection. Therefore, we 
strongly recommend that you do not wait until the application deadline 
date to begin the submission process through Grants.gov.
     You should review and follow the Education Submission 
Procedures for submitting an application through Grants.gov that are 
included in the application package for this program to ensure that you 
submit your application in a timely manner to the Grants.gov system. 
You can also find the Education Submission Procedures pertaining to 
Grants.gov at https://e-grants.ed.gov/help/
GrantsgovSubmissionProcedures.pdf.
     To submit your application via Grants.gov, you must 
complete all steps in the Grants.gov registration process (see https://
www.grants.gov/applicants/get_registered.jsp).
    These steps include (1) registering your organization, a multi-part 
process that includes registration with the Central Contractor Registry 
(CCR); (2) registering yourself as an Authorized Organization 
Representative (AOR); and (3) getting authorized as an AOR by your 
organization. Details on these steps are outlined in the Grants.gov 3-
Step Registration Guide (see https://www.grants.gov/section910/
Grants.govRegistrationBrochure.pdf. You also must provide on your 
application the same D-U-N-S Number used with this registration. Please 
note that the registration process may take five or more business days 
to complete, and you must have completed all registration steps to 
allow you to submit successfully an application via Grants.gov. In 
addition you will need to update your CCR registration on an annual 
basis. This may take three or more business days to complete.
     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: 
Application for Federal Assistance (SF 424), the Department of 
Education Supplemental Information for SF 424, Budget Information--Non-
Construction Programs (ED 524), and all necessary assurances and 
certifications. Please note that two of these forms--the SF 424 and the 
Department of Education

[[Page 751]]

Supplemental Information for SF 424--have replaced the ED 424 
(Application for Federal Education Assistance).
     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.
     After you electronically submit your application, you will 
receive from Grants.gov an automatic notification of receipt that 
contains a Grants.gov tracking number. (This notification indicates 
receipt by Grants.gov only, not receipt by the Department.) The 
Department then will retrieve your application from Grants.gov and send 
a second notification to you by e-mail. This second notification 
indicates that the Department has received your application and has 
assigned your application a PR/Award number (an ED-specified 
identifying number unique to your application).
     We may request that you provide us original signatures on 
forms at a later date.
    Application Deadline Date Extension in Case of Technical Issues 
with the Grants.gov System: If you are experiencing problems submitting 
your application through Grants.gov, please contact the Grants.gov 
Support Desk at 1-800-518-4726. You must obtain a Grants.gov Support 
Desk Case Number and must keep a record of it.
    If you are prevented from electronically submitting your 
application on the application deadline date because of technical 
problems with the Grants.gov system, we will grant you an extension 
until 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, the following business day to 
enable you to transmit your application electronically or by hand 
delivery. You also may mail your application by following the mailing 
instructions described elsewhere in this notice.
    If you submit an application after 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, 
on the application deadline date, please contact the person listed 
elsewhere in this notice under FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT and 
provide an explanation of the technical problem you experienced with 
Grants.gov, along with the Grants.gov Support Desk Case Number. We will 
accept your application if we can confirm that a technical problem 
occurred with the Grants.gov system and that that problem affected your 
ability to submit your application by 4:30 p.m., Washington, DC time, 
on the application deadline date. The Department will contact you after 
a determination is made on whether your application will be accepted.

    Note: The extensions to which we refer in this section apply 
only to the unavailability of, or technical problems with, the 
Grants.gov system. We will not grant you an extension if you failed 
to fully register to submit your application to Grants.gov before 
the application deadline date and time or if the technical problem 
you experienced is unrelated to the Grants.gov system.

    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 the Grants.gov system because--
     You do not have access to the Internet; or
     You do not have the capacity to upload large documents to 
the Grants.gov system; 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 
prevent 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: Alex Stein, U.S. 
Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 4W206, 
Washington, DC 20202-5960. 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 applicable following address: By mail through 
the U.S. Postal Service: U.S. Department of Education, Application 
Control Center, Attention: (CFDA Number 84.215X), 400 Maryland Avenue, 
SW., Washington, DC 20202-5960; or By mail through a commercial 
carrier: U.S. Department of Education, Application Control Center, Stop 
4260, Attention: (CFDA Number 84.215X), 7100 Old Landover Road, 
Landover, MD 20785-1506.
    Regardless of which address you use, 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.
    (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 
84.215X), 550 12th Street, SW., Room 7041, Potomac Center Plaza, 
Washington, DC 20202-4260.
    The Application Control Center accepts hand deliveries daily 
between 8 a.m. and 4:30 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

[[Page 752]]

of your grant application. If you do not receive this 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 competition 
are from the notice of final selection criteria and other application 
requirements published in the Federal Register on April 15, 2005 (70 FR 
19939).
    The Secretary uses the following selection criteria to evaluate 
applications under this program. The maximum score for all of these 
criteria is 100 points.
    (1) Project Quality (50 points). The Secretary considers the 
quality of the proposed project by considering--
    (a) The likelihood that the proposed project will develop, 
implement, and strengthen programs to teach traditional American 
history as a separate academic subject (not as a component of social 
studies) within elementary school and secondary school curricula.
    (b) How specific traditional American history content will be 
covered by the grant (including the significant issues, episodes, and 
turning points in the history of the United States; how the words and 
deeds of individuals have determined the course of our Nation; and how 
the principles of freedom and democracy articulated in the founding 
documents of this Nation have shaped America's struggles and 
achievements and its social, political, and legal institutions and 
relations); the format in which the project will deliver the history 
content; and the quality of the staff and consultants responsible for 
delivering these content-based professional development activities, 
emphasizing, where relevant, their postsecondary teaching experience 
and scholarship in subject areas relevant to the teaching of 
traditional American history. The applicant may also attach curriculum 
vitae for individuals who will provide the content training to the 
teachers.
    (c) How well the applicant describes a plan that meets the 
statutory requirement to carry out activities under the grant in 
partnership with one or more of the following:
    (i) An institution of higher education.
    (ii) A nonprofit history or humanities organization.
    (iii) A library or museum.
    (d) The applicant's rationale for selecting the partner(s) and its 
description of specific activities that the partner(s) will contribute 
to the grant during each year of the project. The applicant should 
include a memorandum of understanding or detailed letters of commitment 
from the partner(s) in an appendix to the application narrative.

    Note: The Secretary encourages applicants to address this 
criterion by providing a detailed description of the actual history 
subject content of the professional development and teacher 
education activities to be carried out under this grant. The 
Secretary also encourages applicants to include a discussion of the 
research base for the professional development strategies and how 
this research can be used to assist the applicant in designing a 
project that ensures successful achievement of project objectives. 
Finally, the Secretary encourages applicants to describe their 
efforts to conduct a needs assessment of teachers' content needs and 
describe how that needs assessment is part of a comprehensive, long-
term strategy to upgrade teacher quality throughout the school 
districts.

    (2) Significance (20 points). The Secretary considers the 
significance of the proposed project. In determining the significance 
of the project, the Secretary considers--
    (a) The extent to which the proposed project is likely to build 
local capacity to improve or expand the LEA's ability to provide 
American history teachers professional development in traditional 
American history subject content and content-related teaching 
strategies.
    (b) The importance or magnitude of the results or outcomes likely 
to be attained by the proposed project, especially improvements in 
teaching and student achievement.
    (c) How teachers will use the knowledge acquired from project 
activities to improve the quality of instruction. This description may 
include plans for reviewing how teachers' lesson planning and classroom 
teaching are affected by their participation in project activities.

    Note: In meeting this criterion, the Secretary encourages the 
applicant to include a description of its commitment to build local 
capacity by primarily serving teachers in its LEA or consortium of 
LEAs. The Secretary also encourages the applicant to include 
background and statistical information to explain the project's 
significance. For example, the applicant could include information 
on: The extent to which teachers in the LEA are not certified in 
history or social studies; student achievement data in American 
history; and rates of student participation in courses such as 
Advanced Placement U.S. History.

    (3) Quality of the management plan (15 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:
    (a) 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.
    (b) 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.

    Note: The Secretary encourages applicants to address this 
criterion by including in the narrative the roles of partners in 
each phase of the project. In addition, applicants are encouraged to 
consider how they might demonstrate (e.g., through narrative 
discussion, letters of support, or formal memoranda of 
understanding) the commitment of partners to the project and the 
partners' understanding of responsibilities they have agreed to 
assume in service delivery. Finally, applicants may include in this 
narrative a schedule of activities with sufficient time for 
developing an adequate implementation plan.

    (4) Quality of the project evaluation (15 points). The Secretary 
considers the quality of the evaluation to be conducted on the proposed 
project. In determining the quality of the evaluation, the Secretary 
considers:
    (a) 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.
    (b) How well the evaluation plans are aligned with the project 
design explained under the Project Quality criterion.
    (c) Whether the evaluation includes benchmarks to monitor progress 
toward specific project objectives, and outcome measures to assess the 
impact on teaching and learning or other important outcomes for project 
participants.
    (d) Whether the applicant identifies the individual and/or 
organization that has agreed to serve as evaluator for the project and 
includes a description of the qualifications of that evaluator.
    (e) The extent to which the applicant indicates the following:
    (i) What types of data will be collected.
    (ii) When various types of data will be collected.
    (iii) What methods will be used to collect data.
    (iv) What data collection instruments will be developed.
    (v) How the data will be analyzed.
    (vi) When reports of results and outcomes will be available.
    (vii) How the applicant will use the information collected through 
the

[[Page 753]]

evaluation to monitor the progress of the funded project and to provide 
accountability information both about success at the initial site and 
about effective strategies for replication in other settings.
    (viii) How the applicant will devote an appropriate level of 
resources to project evaluation.

    Note: The Secretary encourages applicants to describe the 
project's capability to address the Teaching American History 
performance indicators (see section entitled ``Performance 
Measures''). Further, applicants are encouraged to describe how 
their evaluation plans will be designed to collect both output data 
(number of teacher participants, number of workshops held, etc.) and 
outcome data (improvements in teacher classroom practice, increases 
in student history achievement, etc.). Finally, applicants are 
encouraged to select an independent, objective evaluator who has 
experience in evaluating educational programs and who will play an 
active role in the design and development of the project.

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 also notify you informally.
    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. Budgets should include funds for at least 
two project staff members to attend a two-day annual meeting of the 
Teaching American History Grant program in Washington, DC, each year of 
the project. Applicants also should include in their budgets' funds to 
cover the travel and lodging expenses for these training activities 
during each year of the project.
    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 specified by the Secretary in 
34 CFR 75.118. For specific requirements on grantee reporting, please 
go to https://www.ed.gov/fund/grant/apply/appforms/appforms.html.
    4. Performance Measures: We have established two performance 
measures for the Teaching American History program. The measures are: 
(1) Students in experimental and quasi-experimental studies of 
educational effectiveness of Teaching American History projects will 
demonstrate higher achievement on course content measures and/or 
statewide U.S. history assessments than students in control and 
comparison groups, and (2) Teachers will demonstrate an increased 
understanding of American history through the use of nationally 
validated tests of American history that can be directly linked to 
their participation in the Teaching American History program.

VII. Agency Contact

    For Further Information Contact: Alex Stein or Emily Fitzpatrick, 
U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, SW., room 4W206, 
Washington, DC 20202-6200. Telephone: Alex Stein (202) 205-9085 or 
Emily Fitzpatrick (202) 260-1498 or by e-mail: 
TeachingAmericanHistory@ed.gov.
    If you use a telecommunications device for the deaf (TDD), you may 
call the Federal Relay Service (FRS) 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 program contact persons listed in this 
section.

VIII. Other Information

    Electronic Access to This Document: You may 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: https://www.ed.gov/news/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: https://www.gpoaccess.gov/
nara/.


    Dated: January 3, 2007.
Morgan S. Brown,
Assistant Deputy Secretary for Innovation and Improvement.
 [FR Doc. E7-33 Filed 1-5-07; 8:45 am]
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