Applications for New Awards; Promise Neighborhoods Program-Planning Grant Competition, 39630-39644 [2011-16760]

Agencies

• DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION

[Federal Register Volume 76, Number 129 (Wednesday, July 6, 2011)]
[Notices]
[Pages 39630-39644]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Printing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2011-16760]


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DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION


Applications for New Awards; Promise Neighborhoods Program--
Planning Grant Competition

AGENCY: Office of Innovation and Improvement, Department of Education.

ACTION: Notice.

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Overview Information

    Promise Neighborhoods Program--Planning Grant Competition Notice 
inviting applications for new awards for fiscal year (FY) 2011.

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number: 84.215P 
(Planning grants).

    Dates:
    Applications Available: July 6, 2011.
    Deadline for Notice of Intent to Apply: July 22, 2011.
    Date of Pre-Application Webinars: Planning Applications: July 14, 
2011 and August 2, 2011. Implementation Applications: July 19, 2011 and 
July 28, 2011.
    Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: September 6, 2011.
    Deadline for Intergovernmental Review: November 3, 2011.

Full Text of Announcement

I. Funding Opportunity Description

    Purpose of Program: The Promise Neighborhoods program is carried 
out under the legislative authority of the Fund for Improvement of 
Education (FIE), title V, part D, subpart 1, sections 5411 through 5413 
of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), as 
amended (20 U.S.C. 7243-7243b). FIE supports nationally significant 
programs to improve the quality of elementary and secondary education 
at the State and local levels and to help all children meet challenging 
State academic content and student academic achievement standards.
    The purpose of the Promise Neighborhoods program is to 
significantly improve the educational and developmental outcomes of 
children and youth in our most distressed communities, and to transform 
those communities by--
    (1) Identifying and increasing the capacity of eligible 
organizations (as defined in this notice) that are focused on achieving 
results for children and youth throughout an entire neighborhood;
    (2) Building a complete continuum of cradle-through-college-to-
career solutions (continuum of solutions) (as defined in this notice) 
of both educational programs and family and community supports (both as 
defined in this notice), with great schools at the center. All 
solutions in the continuum of solutions must be accessible to children 
with disabilities (CWD)(as defined in this notice) and English learners 
(ELs) (as defined in this notice);
    (3) Integrating programs and breaking down agency ``silos'' so that 
solutions are implemented effectively and efficiently across agencies;
    (4) Developing the local infrastructure of systems and resources 
needed to sustain and scale up proven, effective solutions across the 
broader region beyond the initial neighborhood; and
    (5) Learning about the overall impact of the Promise Neighborhoods 
program and about the relationship between particular strategies in 
Promise Neighborhoods and student outcomes, including through a 
rigorous evaluation of the program.
    Background: The vision of this program is that all children and 
youth growing up in Promise Neighborhoods have access to great schools 
and strong systems of family and community support that will prepare 
them to attain an excellent education and successfully transition to 
college and a career.
    A Promise Neighborhood is both a place and a strategy. A place 
eligible to become a Promise Neighborhood is a geographic area that is 
distressed, often facing inadequate access to high-quality early 
learning programs and services, with struggling schools, low high 
school and college graduation rates, high rates of unemployment, high 
rates of crime, and indicators of poor health. These conditions 
contribute to and intensify the negative outcomes associated with 
children and youth living in poverty. Children who are from low-income 
families and grow up in neighborhoods of concentrated poverty face 
educational and life challenges above and beyond the challenges faced 
by children who are from low-income families who grow up in 
neighborhoods without a high concentration of poverty. A Federal 
evaluation of the reading and mathematics outcomes of elementary 
students in 71 schools in 18 districts and 7 States found that even 
when controlling for individual student poverty, there is a significant 
negative association between school-level poverty and student 
achievement.\1\ The evaluation found that students have lower academic 
outcomes when a higher percentage of their same-school peers qualify 
for free and reduced-priced lunch (FRPL) compared to when a lower 
percentage of their same-school peers qualify for FRPL. The compounding 
effects of neighborhood poverty continue later in life: Another study 
found that, for children with similar levels of family income, growing 
up in a neighborhood where the number of families in poverty was 
between 20 and 30 percent increased the chance of downward economic 
mobility--moving down the income ladder relative to their parents--by 
more than 50 percent compared with children who grew up in 
neighborhoods with under 10 percent of families in poverty.\2\
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    \1\ Westat and Policy Studies Associate. The longitudinal 
evaluation of school change and performance (LESCP) in title I 
schools. Prepared for the U.S. Department of Education. Available 
January 2010 online at https://www.policystudies.com/studies/school/lescp_vol2.pdf.
    \2\ Sharkey, Patrick. ``Neighborhoods and the Black-White 
Mobility Gap.'' Economic Mobility Project: An Initiative of The Pew 
Charitable Trusts, 2009.
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    A Promise Neighborhood is also a strategy for addressing the issues 
in distressed communities. Promise Neighborhoods are led by 
organizations

[[Page 39631]]

that work to ensure that all children and youth in the target 
geographic area have access to the continuum of solutions needed to 
graduate from high school college- and career-ready. Within these 
geographic areas, Promise Neighborhoods create a high level of 
participation in cradle-through-college-to-career supports for children 
and youth, where over time a greater proportion of the neighborhood is 
served by programs and neighborhood indicators show significant 
progress. For this reason, each Promise Neighborhood grantee must have 
several core features: (1) Significant need in the neighborhood the 
grant serves; (2) a strategy to build a continuum of solutions with 
strong schools at the center; and (3) the capacity to achieve results. 
As the proportion of neighborhood children, students, and families 
accessing services and attending great schools increases, the entire 
neighborhood will be positively affected.
    While there are a number of organizations and communities that are 
working on developing Promise Neighborhoods strategies, these entities 
are at different stages of readiness to create a Promise Neighborhood. 
Therefore, we have established priorities, requirements, definitions, 
and selection criteria for both planning and implementation grants in a 
notice of final priorities, requirements, definitions, and selection 
criteria published elsewhere in this issue of the Federal Register. The 
priorities, requirements, and selection criteria are different for 
planning grant and implementation grant applicants, while the 
definitions apply to both groups of applicants. This notice invites 
applications for planning grants. Elsewhere in this issue of the 
Federal Register, we have published a notice inviting applications for 
FY 2011 for implementation grants.
    Planning grants will support eligible organizations that need to 
develop feasible plans to create a continuum of solutions with the 
potential to significantly improve the educational and developmental 
outcomes of children and youth in a neighborhood. These grants will 
support eligible organizations that demonstrate the need for creating a 
Promise Neighborhood in the geographic areas they are targeting, a 
sound strategy for developing a feasible plan to create a continuum of 
solutions, and the capacity to develop the plan.
    Under Absolute Priority 1 for planning grants, Promise 
Neighborhoods planning grantees generally must undertake the following 
activities during the planning year (the complete and exact 
requirements of the priority are specified elsewhere in the notice):
    (1) Conduct a comprehensive needs assessment and segmentation 
analysis (as defined in this notice) of children and youth in the 
neighborhood.
    (2) Develop a plan to deliver a continuum of solutions with the 
potential to drive results. This includes building community support 
for and involvement in the development of the plan.
    (3) Establish effective partnerships both to provide solutions 
along the continuum and to commit resources to sustain and scale up 
what works.
    (4) Plan, build, adapt, or expand a longitudinal data system that 
will provide information that the grantee will use for learning, 
continuous improvement, and accountability.
    (5) Participate in a community of practice (as defined in this 
notice).
    Implementation grants will support eligible organizations in 
carrying out their plans to create a continuum of solutions that will 
significantly improve the educational and developmental outcomes of 
children and youth in the target neighborhood. These grants will aid 
eligible organizations that have developed a plan that demonstrates the 
need for the creation of a Promise Neighborhood in the geographic area 
they are targeting, a sound strategy for implementing a plan to create 
a continuum of solutions, and the capacity to implement the plan. More 
specifically, grantees will use implementation grant funds to develop 
the administrative capacity necessary to successfully implement a 
continuum of solutions, such as managing partnerships, integrating 
multiple funding sources, and supporting the grantee's longitudinal 
data system. While implementation grantees will be best positioned to 
determine the allocation of grant funds given the results of their 
needs assessments and plans to build their organizational capacity, the 
Department expects that the majority of resources to provide solutions 
within the continuum of solutions will come from public and private 
funding sources that are integrated and aligned with the Promise 
Neighborhoods strategy.
    Under Absolute Priority 1 for implementation grants, Promise 
Neighborhoods implementation grantees generally will undertake the 
following activities during the implementation years (the complete and 
exact requirements of the priority are specified elsewhere in the 
notice):
    (1) Implement a continuum of solutions that addresses neighborhood 
challenges, as identified through a needs assessment and segmentation 
analysis, and that will improve results for children and youth in the 
neighborhood.
    (2) Continue to build and strengthen partnerships that will provide 
solutions along the continuum of solutions and that will commit 
resources to sustain and scale up what works.
    (3) Collect data on indicators at least annually, and use and 
improve a longitudinal data system for learning, continuous 
improvement, and accountability.
    (4) Demonstrate progress on goals for improving systems, such as by 
making changes in policies and organizations, and by leveraging 
resources to sustain and scale up what works.
    (5) Participate in a community of practice (as defined in this 
notice).
    Considering the time and urgency required to dramatically improve 
outcomes of children and youth in our most distressed neighborhoods and 
to transform those neighborhoods, implementation grantees will 
establish both short- and long-term goals to define success.
    Consistent with the approach of the Promise Neighborhoods program, 
we believe that it is important for communities to develop a 
comprehensive neighborhood revitalization strategy that addresses 
neighborhood assets (as defined in this notice) that are essential to 
transforming distressed neighborhoods into healthy and vibrant 
communities of opportunity. Although not a proposed requirement for 
planning or implementation applicants, we believe that a Promise 
Neighborhood will be most successful when it is part of, and 
contributing to, an area's broader neighborhood revitalization 
strategy. We believe that only through the development of such 
comprehensive neighborhood revitalization plans that embrace the 
coordinated use of programs and resources in order to effectively 
address the interrelated needs within a community will the broader 
vision of neighborhood transformation occur.
    Because a diverse group of communities could benefit from Promise 
Neighborhoods, the Secretary has established an absolute priority for 
applicants that propose to serve one or more rural communities only (as 
defined in this notice) and an absolute priority for applicants that 
propose to serve one or more Indian Tribes (as defined in this notice).

    Note: In developing their strategies for planning or 
implementing a continuum of

[[Page 39632]]

solutions, applicants should be mindful of the importance of 
ensuring that all children, including infants and toddlers in the 
neighborhood, have an opportunity to benefit. For example, 
individuals with disabilities and language minorities, particularly 
recent immigrants, may encounter unique challenges that prevent them 
from accessing the benefits of a Promise Neighborhoods project.

    Successful applicants under this competition must comply with 
Federal civil rights laws that apply to recipients and subrecipients of 
Federal financial assistance including: Title VI of the Civil Rights 
Act of 1964 (prohibiting discrimination on the basis of race, color, or 
national origin); Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 and 
Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (prohibiting 
discrimination on the basis of disability); Title IX of the Education 
Amendments of 1972 (prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sex); 
and the Age Discrimination Act of 1975 (prohibiting discrimination on 
the basis of age).
    Applicants, therefore, in designing their projects and preparing 
their required General Education Provisions Act (GEPA) Section 427 
assurance, will need to address barriers to participation for 
individuals, including individuals with disabilities and limited 
English proficiency, and must consider the steps they will take to 
ensure equitable participation of all children and families in the 
project, in compliance with civil rights obligations. (Section 427 
requires each applicant to include in its application a description of 
the steps the applicant proposes to take to ensure equitable access to, 
and participation in, its federally-assisted program for students, 
teachers and other program beneficiaries with special needs.)
    Priorities: This competition includes three absolute priorities, 
four competitive preference priorities, and one invitational priority 
that are explained in the following paragraphs. These priorities are 
from the 2011 Promise Neighborhoods NFP, published elsewhere in this 
issue of the Federal Register.
    Absolute Priorities: For FY 2011 and any subsequent year in which 
we make awards from the list of unfunded applicants from this 
competition, these priorities are absolute priorities. Under 34 CFR 
75.105(c)(3) we consider only applications that meet one or more of 
these priorities.

    Note: Applicants must indicate in their application whether they 
are applying under Planning Grant Priority 1 (Absolute), Planning 
Grant Priority 2 (Absolute), or Planning Grant Priority 3 
(Absolute). An applicant that applies under Planning Grant Priority 
2 (Absolute) but is not eligible for funding under Planning Grant 
Priority 2 (Absolute), or applies under Planning Grant Priority 3 
(Absolute) but is not eligible for funding under Planning Grant 
Priority 3 (Absolute), may be considered for funding under Planning 
Grant Priority 1 (Absolute).

    These priorities are:

Planning Grant Priority 1 (Absolute) Proposal To Develop a Promise 
Neighborhood Plan

    To meet this priority, an applicant must submit a proposal for how 
it will plan to create a Promise Neighborhood. This proposal must 
describe the need in the neighborhood, a strategy to build a continuum 
of solutions, and the applicant's capacity to achieve results. 
Specifically, an applicant must--
    (1) Describe the geographically defined area \3\ (neighborhood) to 
be served and the level of distress in that area based on indicators of 
need and other relevant indicators. Applicants may propose to serve 
multiple, non-contiguous geographically defined areas. In cases where 
target areas are not contiguous, the applicant must explain its 
rationale for including non-contiguous areas;
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    \3\ For the purposes of this notice, the Department uses the 
terms ``geographic area'' and ``neighborhood'' interchangeably.
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    (2) Describe how it will plan to build a continuum of solutions 
based on the best available evidence including, where available, strong 
or moderate evidence (as defined in this notice) designed to 
significantly improve educational outcomes and to support the healthy 
development and well-being of children and youth in the neighborhood. 
The applicant must also describe how it will build community support 
for and involvement in the development of the plan. The plan must be 
designed to ensure that over time, children and youth in the 
neighborhood who attend the target school or schools have access to a 
complete continuum of solutions, and ensure, as appropriate, that 
children and youth in the neighborhood who do not attend the target 
school or schools have access to solutions within the continuum of 
solutions. The plan must also ensure that students not living in the 
neighborhood who attend the target school or schools have access to 
solutions within the continuum of solutions.
    The success of the applicant's strategy to build a continuum of 
solutions will be based on the results of the project, as measured 
against the project indicators defined in this notice and described in 
Table 1 and Table 2. In its strategy, the applicant must describe how 
it will determine which solutions within the continuum of solutions to 
implement, and must include--
    (a) High-quality early learning programs and services designed to 
improve outcomes across multiple domains of early learning (as defined 
in this notice) for children from birth through third grade;
    (b) Ambitious, rigorous, and comprehensive education reforms that 
are linked to improved educational outcomes for children and youth in 
preschool through the 12th grade. Public schools served through the 
grant may include persistently lowest-achieving schools (as defined in 
this notice) or low-performing schools (as defined in this notice) that 
are not also persistently lowest-achieving schools. An applicant (or 
one or more of its partners) may serve an effective school or schools 
(as defined in this notice) but only if the applicant (or one or more 
of its partners) also serves at least one low-performing school (as 
defined in this notice) or persistently lowest-achieving school (as 
defined in this notice). An applicant must identify in its application 
the public school or schools that would be served and the current 
status of reforms in the school or schools, including, if applicable, 
the type of intervention model being implemented. In cases where an 
applicant operates a school or partners with a school that does not 
serve all students in the neighborhood, the applicant must partner with 
at least one additional school or schools that also serves students in 
the neighborhood. An applicant proposing to work with a persistently 
lowest-achieving school must include as part of its strategy one of the 
four school intervention models (turnaround model, restart model, 
school closure, or transformation model) described in Appendix C of the 
Race to the Top (RTT) notice inviting applications for new awards for 
FY 2010 that was published in the Federal Register on November 18, 2009 
(74 FR 59836, 59866).
    An applicant proposing to work with a low-performing school must 
include, as part of its strategy, ambitious, rigorous, and 
comprehensive interventions to assist, augment, or replace schools, 
which may include implementing one of the four school intervention 
models, or may include another model of sufficient ambition, rigor, and 
comprehensiveness to significantly improve academic and other outcomes 
for students. An applicant proposing to work with a low-performing 
school must include an intervention that addresses the effectiveness of 
teachers and leaders and

[[Page 39633]]

the school's use of time and resources, which may include increased 
learning time (as defined in this notice);

    Note regarding school reform strategies: So as not to penalize 
an applicant for proposing to work with an LEA that has implemented 
rigorous reform strategies prior to the publication of this notice, 
an applicant is not required to propose a new reform strategy in 
place of an existing reform strategy in order to be eligible for a 
Promise Neighborhoods planning grant. For example, an LEA might have 
begun to implement improvement activities that meet many, but not 
all, of the elements of a transformation model of school 
intervention. In this case, the applicant could propose, as part of 
its Promise Neighborhood strategy, to work with the LEA as the LEA 
continues with its reforms.

    (c) Programs that prepare students to be college- and career-ready; 
and
    (d) Family and community supports (as defined in this notice).
    To the extent feasible and appropriate, the applicant must 
describe, in its plan, how the applicant and its partners will leverage 
and integrate high-quality programs, related public and private 
investments, and existing neighborhood assets into the continuum of 
solutions.
    An applicant must also describe in its plan how it will identify 
Federal, State, or local policies, regulations, or other requirements 
that would impede its ability to achieve its goals and how it will 
report on those impediments to the Department and other relevant 
agencies.
    As part of the description of how it will plan to build a continuum 
of solutions, the applicant must describe how it will participate in, 
organize, or facilitate, as appropriate, communities of practice (as 
defined in this notice) for Promise Neighborhoods.
    (3) Specify how it will conduct a comprehensive needs assessment 
and segmentation analysis of children and youth in the neighborhood 
during the planning grant project period and explain how it will use 
this needs assessment and segmentation analysis to determine the 
children with the highest needs and ensure that those children receive 
the appropriate services from the continuum of solutions. In this 
explanation of how it will use the needs assessment and segmentation 
analysis, the applicant must identify and describe in the application 
both the educational indicators and the family and community support 
indicators that the applicant will use in conducting the needs 
assessment during the planning year. During the planning year, the 
applicant must--
    (a) Collect data for the educational indicators listed in Table 1 
and use them as both program and project indicators;
    (b) Collect data for the family and community support indicators in 
Table 2 and use them as program indicators; and
    (c) Collect data for unique family and community support 
indicators, developed by the applicant, that align with the goals and 
objectives of projects and use them as project indicators or use the 
indicators in Table 2 as project indicators.

    Note: Planning grant applicants are not required to propose 
solutions in their applications; however, they are required to 
describe how they will identify solutions, including the use of 
available evidence, during the planning year that will result in 
improvements on the project indicators.


 Table 1--Education Indicators and Results They Are Intended To Measure
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                 Indicator                             Result
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--  and % of children birth to     Children enter kindergarten
 kindergarten entry who have a place where   ready to succeed in school.
 they usually go, other than an emergency
 room, when they are sick or in need of
 advice about their health.
--  and % of three-year-olds and
 children in kindergarten who demonstrate
 at the beginning of the program or school
 year age-appropriate functioning across
 multiple domains of early learning (as
 defined in this notice) as determined
 using developmentally appropriate early
 learning measures (as defined in this
 notice).
--  & % of children, from birth
 to kindergarten entry, participating in
 center-based or formal home-based early
 learning settings or programs, which may
 include Early Head Start, Head Start,
 child care, or preschool.
--  & % of students at or above    Students are proficient in
 grade level according to State              core academic subjects.
 mathematics and reading or language arts
 assessments in at least the grades
 required by the ESEA (3rd through 8th and
 once in high school).
-- Attendance rate of students in 6th,      Students successfully
 7th, 8th, and 9th grade.                    transition from middle
                                             school grades to high
                                             school.
-- Graduation rate (as defined in this      Youth graduate from high
 notice).                                    school.
--  & % of Promise Neighborhood    High school graduates obtain
 students who graduate with a regular high   a postsecondary degree,
 school diploma, as defined in 34 CFR        certification, or
 200.19(b)(1)(iv), and obtain                credential.
 postsecondary degrees, vocational
 certificates, or other industry-
 recognized certifications or credentials
 without the need for remediation.
------------------------------------------------------------------------


  Table 2--Family and Community Support Indicators and Results They Are
                           Intended To Measure
------------------------------------------------------------------------
                 Indicator                             Result
------------------------------------------------------------------------
--  & % of children who            Students are healthy.
 participate in at least 60 minutes of
 moderate to vigorous physical activity
 daily; and
--  & % of children who consume
 five or more servings of fruits and
 vegetables daily; or
-- possible third indicator, to be
 determined (TBD) by applicant
--  & % of students who feel safe  Students feel safe at school
 at school and traveling to and from         and in their community.
 school, as measured by a school climate
 needs assessment (as defined in this
 notice); or
-- possible second indicator, TBD by
 applicant
-- Student mobility rate (as defined in     Students live in stable
 this notice); or                            communities.
-- possible second indicator, TBD by
 applicant.
-- For children birth to kindergarten       Families and community
 entry, the  and % of parents or    members support learning in
 family members who report that they read    Promise Neighborhood
 to their child three or more times a        schools.
 week;
-- For children in kindergarten through
 the eighth grade, the  and % of
 parents or family members who report
 encouraging their child to read books
 outside of school; and

[[Page 39634]]

 
-- For children in the ninth through
 twelfth grades, the  and % of
 parents or family members who report
 talking with their child about the
 importance of college and career; or
-- possible fourth indicator TBD by
 applicant. For children in the ninth
 through twelfth grades, the  and
 % of parents or family members who report
 talking with their child about the
 importance of college and career; or
-- possible fourth indicator TBD by
 applicant
--  & % of students who have       Students have access to 21st
 school and home access (and % of the day    century learning tools.
 they have access) to broadband internet
 (as defined in this notice) and a
 connected computing device; or
-- possible second indicator TBD by
 applicant.
------------------------------------------------------------------------


    Note: The indicators in Table 1 and Table 2 are not intended to 
limit an applicant from collecting and using data for additional 
indicators. Examples of additional indicators are--
    (i) The  and % of children who participate in high-
quality learning activities during out-of-school hours or in the 
hours after the traditional school day ends;
    (ii) The  and % of children who are suspended or 
receive discipline referrals during the school year;
    (iii) The share of housing stock in the geographically defined 
area that is rent-protected, publicly assisted, or targeted for 
redevelopment with local, State, or Federal funds; and
    (iv) The  and % of children who are homeless or in 
foster care and who have an assigned adult advocate.


    Note: While the Department believes there are many programmatic 
benefits of collecting data on every child in the proposed 
neighborhood, the Department will consider requests to collect data 
on only a sample of the children in the neighborhood for some 
indicators so long as the applicant describes in its application how 
it would ensure the sample would be representative of the children 
in the neighborhood.

    (4) Describe the experience and lessons learned, and describe how 
the applicant will build the capacity of its management team and 
project director in all of the following areas:
    (a) Working with the neighborhood and its residents, including 
parents and families that have children or other family members with 
disabilities or ELs, as well as with the school(s) described in 
paragraph (2) of this priority; the LEA in which the school or schools 
are located; Federal, State, and local government leaders; and other 
service providers.
    (b) Collecting, analyzing, and using data for decision-making, 
learning, continuous improvement, and accountability. The applicant 
must describe--
    (i) Its proposal to plan to build, adapt, or expand a longitudinal 
data system that integrates student-level data from multiple sources in 
order to measure progress on educational and family and community 
support indicators for all children in the neighborhood, disaggregated 
by the subgroups listed in section 1111(b)(3)(C)(xiii) of the ESEA;
    (ii) How the applicant will link the longitudinal data system to 
school-based, LEA, and State data systems; make the data accessible to 
parents, families, community residents, program partners, researchers, 
and evaluators while abiding by Federal, State, and other privacy laws 
and requirements; and manage and maintain the system;
    (iii) How the applicant will use rapid-time (as defined in this 
notice) data both in the planning year and, once the Promise 
Neighborhood strategy is implemented, for continuous program 
improvement; and
    (iv) How the applicant will document the planning process, 
including by describing lessons learned and best practices;
    (c) Creating formal and informal partnerships, for such purposes as 
providing solutions along the continuum of solutions and attaining 
resources to sustain and scale up what works. An applicant, as part of 
its application, must submit a preliminary memorandum of understanding, 
signed by each organization or agency with which it would partner in 
planning the proposed Promise Neighborhood. The preliminary memorandum 
of understanding must describe--
    (i) Each partner's financial and programmatic commitment; and
    (ii) How each partner's existing vision, theory of change (as 
defined in this notice), theory of action (as defined in this notice), 
and existing activities align with those of the proposed Promise 
Neighborhood strategy;
    (d) The governance structure proposed for the Promise Neighborhood, 
including a system for holding partners accountable, how the eligible 
entity's governing board or advisory board is representative of the 
geographic area proposed to be served (as defined in this notice), and 
how residents of the geographic area would have an active role in the 
organization's decision-making; and
    (e) Securing and integrating funding streams from multiple public 
and private sources from the Federal, State, and local level. Examples 
of public funds include Federal resources from the U.S. Department of 
Education, such as the 21st Century Community Learning Centers program 
and title I of the ESEA, and from other Federal agencies, such as the 
U.S. Departments of Health and Human Services, Housing and Urban 
Development, Justice, Labor, and Treasury.
    (5) Describe the applicant's commitment to work with the 
Department, and with a national evaluator for Promise Neighborhoods or 
another entity designated by the Department, to ensure that data 
collection and program design are consistent with plans to conduct a 
rigorous national evaluation of the Promise Neighborhoods program and 
of specific solutions and strategies pursued by individual grantees. 
This commitment must include, but need not be limited to--
    (a) Ensuring that, through memoranda of understanding with 
appropriate entities, the national evaluator and the Department have 
access to relevant program and project data (e.g., administrative data 
and program and project indicator data), including data on a quarterly 
basis if requested by the Department;
    (b) Developing, in consultation with the national evaluator, an 
evaluation strategy, including identifying a credible comparison group; 
and
    (c) Developing, in consultation with the national evaluator, a plan 
for identifying and collecting reliable and valid baseline data for 
both program participants and a designated comparison group of non-
participants.

Planning Grant Priority 2 (Absolute) Promise Neighborhoods in Rural 
Communities

    To meet this priority, an applicant must propose to develop a plan 
for implementing a Promise Neighborhood strategy that (1) Meets all of 
the

[[Page 39635]]

requirements in Absolute Priority 1; and (2) proposes to serve one or 
more rural communities only.

Planning Grant Priority 3 (Absolute) Promise Neighborhoods in Tribal 
Communities

    To meet this priority, an applicant must propose to develop a plan 
for implementing a Promise Neighborhood strategy that (1) Meets all of 
the requirements in Absolute Priority 1; and (2) proposes to serve one 
or more Indian tribes (as defined in this notice).
    Competitive Preference Priorities: For FY 2011, these priorities 
are competitive preference priorities. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(2)(i) we 
award additional points to an application depending on how well the 
application meets Planning Grant Priorities 4, 5, 6, or 7 (Competitive 
Preference). Applicants may address more than one of the competitive 
preference priorities; however, the Department will review and award 
points only for a maximum of two of the competitive preference 
priorities. Therefore, an applicant must identify in the project 
narrative section of its application the priority or the two priorities 
it wishes the Department to consider for purposes of earning the 
competitive preference priority points.

    Note: The Department will not review or award points under any 
competitive preference priority for an application that (1) fails to 
clearly identify the competitive preference priority or two 
priorities it wishes the Department to consider for purposes of 
earning the competitive preference priority points, or (2) 
identifies more than two competitive preference priorities.

    These priorities are:

Planning Grant Priority 4 (Competitive Preference) Comprehensive Local 
Early Learning Network (Zero, One, or Two Points)

    To meet this priority, an applicant must propose to develop a plan 
to expand, enhance, or modify an existing network of early learning 
programs and services to ensure that they are high-quality and 
comprehensive for children from birth through the third grade. The plan 
must also ensure that the network establishes a high standard of 
quality across early learning settings and is designed to improve 
outcomes across multiple domains of early learning. Distinct from the 
early learning solutions described in paragraph (2) of Absolute 
Priority 1, this priority supports proposals to develop plans that 
integrate various early learning services and programs in the 
neighborhood in order to enhance the quality of such services and 
programs, i.e., school-based early learning programs; locally- or 
State-funded preschool programs; Early Head Start and Head Start; the 
local child care resource and referral agency, if applicable; 
Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) services and 
programs; services through private providers; home visiting programs; 
public and private child care providers that are licensed by the State, 
including public and private providers and center-based care; and 
family, friend, or neighbor care in the Promise Neighborhood.
    The local early learning network must address or incorporate 
ongoing State-level efforts regarding the major components of high-
quality early learning programs and services, such as State early 
learning and development standards, program quality standards, 
comprehensive assessment systems, workforce and professional 
development systems, health promotion, family and community engagement, 
a coordinated data infrastructure, and a method of measuring, 
monitoring, evaluating, and improving program quality. For example, an 
applicant might address how the Promise Neighborhoods project will use 
the State's early learning standards, as applicable, and the Head Start 
Child Development and Early Learning Framework (Framework), as 
applicable, to define the expectations of what children should know and 
be able to do before entering kindergarten. The Framework is available 
on the Office of Head Start's Web site at: https://eclkc.ohs.acf.hhs.gov/hslc/ecdh/eecd/Assessment/Child%20Outcomes/HS_Revised_Child_Outcomes_Framework.pdf. Similarly, an applicant that 
addresses this priority must discuss, where applicable, how it would 
align with the State's Quality Rating and Improvement System (QRIS), as 
applicable, professional development and workforce infrastructure, and 
other appropriate State efforts. In addition, the proposal must 
describe how the project will provide, to the extent practicable, early 
learning opportunities on multiple platforms (e.g., public television, 
web-based) and in multiple locations (e.g., at home, at school, and at 
other community locations.)

    Note regarding accessibility of early learning programs and 
services: These early learning opportunities must be fully 
accessible to individuals with disabilities, including individuals 
who are blind or have low vision; otherwise, the plans must describe 
how accommodations or modifications will be provided to ensure that 
the benefits of the early learning opportunities are provided to 
children and youth with disabilities in an equally effective and 
equally integrated manner.

    The proposal to develop a plan for a high-quality and comprehensive 
local early learning network must describe the governance structure and 
how the applicant will use the planning year to plan solutions that 
address the major components of high-quality early learning programs 
and services as well as establish goals, strategies, and benchmarks to 
provide early learning programs and services that result in improved 
outcomes across multiple domains of early learning (as defined in this 
notice). An applicant addressing this priority must designate an 
individual responsible for overseeing and integrating the early 
learning initiatives and must include a resume or position description 
and other supporting documentation to demonstrate that the individual 
designated, or individual hired to carry out those responsibilities, 
possesses the appropriate State certification, and has experience and 
expertise in managing and administering high-quality early learning 
programs, including in coordinating across various high-quality early 
learning programs and services.

Planning Grant Priority 5 (Competitive Preference) Quality Internet 
Connectivity (Zero or One Point)

    To meet this priority, an applicant must propose to develop a plan 
to ensure that almost all students in the geographic area proposed to 
be served have broadband internet access (as defined in this notice) at 
home and at school, the knowledge and skills to use broadband internet 
access effectively, and a connected computing device to support 
schoolwork.

Planning Grant Priority 6 (Competitive Preference) Arts and Humanities 
(Zero or One Point)

    To meet this priority, an applicant must propose to develop a plan 
to include opportunities for children and youth to experience and 
participate actively in the arts and humanities in their community so 
as to broaden, enrich, and enliven the educational, cultural, and civic 
experiences available in the neighborhood. Applicants may propose to 
develop plans for offering these activities in school and in out-of-
school settings and at any time during the calendar year.

Planning Grant Priority 7 (Competitive Preference) Quality Affordable 
Housing (Zero or One Point)

    To meet this priority, an applicant must propose to serve 
geographic areas that were the subject of an affordable housing 
transformation pursuant to a Choice Neighborhoods or HOPE VI grant

[[Page 39636]]

awarded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development during 
FY 2009 or later years. To be eligible under this priority, the 
applicant must either (1) be able to demonstrate that it has received a 
Choice Neighborhoods or HOPE VI grant or (2) provide, in its 
application, a memorandum of understanding between it and a partner 
that is a recipient of Choice Neighborhoods or HOPE VI grant. The 
memorandum must indicate a commitment on the part of the applicant and 
partner to coordinate planning and align resources to the greatest 
extent practicable.
    Invitational Priority: For FY 2011, this priority is an 
invitational priority. Under 34 CFR 75.105(c)(1) we do not give an 
application that meets this invitational priority a competitive or 
absolute preference over other applications.
    This priority is:

Planning Grant Priority 8 (Invitational) Family Engagement in Learning 
Through Adult Education

    To meet this priority, an applicant must propose to develop a plan 
that is coordinated with adult education providers serving neighborhood 
residents, such as those funded through the Adult Education and Family 
Literacy Act, as amended. Coordinated services may include adult basic 
and secondary education and programs that provide training and 
opportunities for family members and other members of the community to 
support student learning and establish high expectations for student 
educational achievement. Examples of services and programs include 
preparation for the General Education Development (GED) test; English 
literacy, family literacy, and work-based literacy training; or other 
training that prepares adults for postsecondary education and careers 
or supports adult engagement in the educational success of children and 
youth in the neighborhood.

Definitions

    The following definitions apply to this program:
    Broadband internet access means internet access sufficient to 
provide community members with the internet available when and where 
they need it and for the uses they require.
    Children with disabilities or CWD means individuals who meet the 
definition of child with a disability in 34 CFR 300.8, infant or 
toddler with a disability in 34 CFR 300.25, handicapped person in 34 
CFR 104.3(j), or disability as it pertains to an individual in 42 
U.S.C. Sec.  12102.
    Community of practice means a group of grantees that agrees to 
interact regularly to solve a persistent problem or improve practice in 
an area that is important to them and the success of their projects. 
Establishment of communities of practice under Promise Neighborhoods 
will enable grantees to meet, discuss, and collaborate with each other 
regarding grantee projects.
    Continuum of cradle-through-college-to-career solutions or 
continuum of solutions means solutions that--
    (1) Include programs, policies, practices, services, systems, and 
supports that result in improving educational and developmental 
outcomes for children from cradle through college to career;
    (2) Are based on the best available evidence, including, where 
available, strong or moderate evidence (as defined in this notice);
    (3) Are linked and integrated seamlessly (as defined in this 
notice); and
    (4) Include both education programs and family and community 
supports.
    Credible comparison group includes a comparison group formed by 
matching project participants with non-participants based on key 
characteristics that are thought to be related to outcomes. These 
characteristics include, but are not limited to: (1) Prior test scores 
and other measures of academic achievement (preferably the same 
measures that will be used to assess the outcomes of the project); (2) 
demographic characteristics, such as age, disability, gender, English 
proficiency, ethnicity, poverty level, parents' educational attainment, 
and single- or two-parent family background; (3) the time period in 
which the two groups are studied (e.g., the two groups are children 
entering kindergarten in the same year as opposed to sequential years); 
and (4) methods used to collect outcome data (e.g., the same test of 
reading skills administered in the same way to both groups).
    Developmentally appropriate early learning measures means a range 
of assessment instruments that are used in ways consistent with the 
purposes for which they were designed and validated; appropriate for 
the ages and other characteristics of the children being assessed; 
designed and validated for use with children whose ages, cultures, 
languages spoken at home, socioeconomic status, abilities and 
disabilities, and other characteristics are similar to those of the 
children with whom the assessments will be used; and used in compliance 
with the measurement standards set forth by the American Educational 
Research Association (AERA), the American Psychological Association 
(APA), and the National Council for Measurement in Education (NCME) in 
the 1999 Standards for Educational and Psychological Testing.
    Education programs means programs that include, but are not limited 
to--
    (1) High-quality early learning programs or services designed to 
improve outcomes across multiple domains of early learning for young 
children. Such programs must be specifically intended to align with 
appropriate State early learning and development standards, practices, 
strategies, or activities across as broad an age range as birth through 
third grade so as to ensure that young children enter kindergarten and 
progress through the early elementary school grades demonstrating age-
appropriate functioning across the multiple domains;
    (2) For children in preschool through the 12th grade, programs, 
inclusive of related policies and personnel, that are linked to 
improved educational outcomes. The programs--
    (a) Must include effective teachers and effective principals;
    (b) Must include strategies, practices, or programs that encourage 
and facilitate the evaluation, analysis, and use of student 
achievement, student growth (as defined in this notice), and other data 
by educators, families, and other stakeholders to inform decision-
making;
    (c) Must include college- and career-ready standards, assessments, 
and practices, including a well-rounded curriculum, instructional 
practices, strategies, or programs in, at a minimum, core academic 
subjects as defined in section 9101(11) of the ESEA, that are aligned 
with high academic content and achievement standards and with high-
quality assessments based on those standards; and
    (d) May include creating multiple pathways for students to earn 
regular high school diplomas (e.g., using schools that serve the needs 
of over-aged, under-credited, or other students with an exceptional 
need for flexibility regarding when they attend school or the 
additional supports they require; awarding credit based on demonstrated 
evidence of student competency; or offering dual-enrollment options); 
and
    (3) Programs that prepare students for college and career success, 
which may include programs that--
    (a) Create and support partnerships with community colleges, four-
year colleges, or universities and that help

[[Page 39637]]

instill a college-going culture in the neighborhood;
    (b) Provide dual-enrollment opportunities for secondary students to 
gain college credit while in high school;
    (c) Provide, through relationships with businesses and other 
organizations, apprenticeship opportunities to students;
    (d) Align curricula in the core academic subjects with requirements 
for industry-recognized certifications or credentials, particularly in 
high-growth sectors;
    (e) Provide access to career and technical education programs so 
that individuals can attain the skills and industry-recognized 
certifications or credentials for success in their careers;
    (f) Help college students, including CWD and ELs from the 
neighborhood to transition to college, persist in their academic 
studies in college, graduate from college, and transition into the 
workforce; and
    (g) Provide opportunities for all youth (both in and out of school) 
to achieve academic and employment success by improving educational and 
skill competencies and providing connections to employers. Such 
activities may include opportunities for on-going mentoring, supportive 
services, incentives for recognition and achievement, and opportunities 
related to leadership, development, decision-making, citizenship, and 
community service.
    Effective school means a school that has--
    (1) Significantly closed the achievement gaps between subgroups of 
students (as identified in section 1111(b)(3)(C)(xiii) of the ESEA) 
within the school or district; or
    (2)(a) Demonstrated success in significantly increasing student 
academic achievement in the school for all subgroups of students (as 
identified in section 1111(b)(3)(C)(xiii) of the ESEA) in the school; 
and (b) made significant improvements in other areas, such as 
graduation rates (as defined in this notice) or recruitment and 
placement of effective teachers and effective principals.
    Eligible organization means an organization that--
    (1) Is representative of the geographic area proposed to be served 
(as defined in this notice);
    (2) Is one of the following:
    (a) A nonprofit organization that meets the definition of a 
nonprofit under 34 CFR 77.1(c), which may include a faith-based 
nonprofit organization.
    (b) An institution of higher education as defined by section 101(a) 
of the Higher Education Act of 1965, as amended.
    (c) An Indian tribe (as defined in this notice);
    (3) Currently provides at least one of the solutions from the 
applicant's proposed continuum of solutions in the geographic area 
proposed to be served; and
    (4) Operates or proposes to work with and involve in carrying out 
its proposed project, in coordination with the school's LEA, at least 
one public elementary or secondary school that is located within the 
identified geographic area that the grant will serve.
    English learners or ELs means individuals who meet the definition 
of limited English proficient, as defined in section 9101(25) of the 
ESEA.
    Family and community supports means--
    (1) Child and youth health programs, such as physical, mental, 
behavioral, and emotional health programs (e.g., home visiting 
programs; Early Head Start; programs to improve nutrition and fitness, 
reduce childhood obesity, and create healthier communities);
    (2) Safety programs, such as programs in school and out of school 
to prevent, control, and reduce crime, violence, drug and alcohol use, 
and gang activity; programs that address classroom and school-wide 
behavior and conduct; programs to prevent child abuse and neglect; 
programs to prevent truancy and reduce and prevent bullying and 
harassment; and programs to improve the physical and emotional security 
of the school setting as perceived, experienced, and created by 
students, staff, and families;
    (3) Community stability programs, such as programs that--
    (a) Increase the stability of families in communities by expanding 
access to quality, affordable housing, providing legal support to help 
families secure clear legal title to their homes, and providing housing 
counseling or housing placement services;
    (b) Provide adult education and employment opportunities and 
training to improve educational levels, job skills and readiness in 
order to decrease unemployment, with a goal of increasing family 
stability;
    (c) Improve families' awareness of, access to, and use of a range 
of social services, if possible at a single location;
    (d) Provide unbiased, outcome-focused, and comprehensive financial 
education, inside and outside the classroom and at every life stage;
    (e) Increase access to traditional financial institutions (e.g., 
banks and credit unions) rather than alternative financial institutions 
(e.g., check cashers and payday lenders);
    (f) Help families increase their financial literacy, financial 
assets, and savings; and
    (g) Help families access transportation to education and employment 
opportunities;
    (4) Family and community engagement programs that are systemic, 
integrated, sustainable, and continue through a student's transition 
from K-12 school to college and career. These programs may include 
family literacy programs and programs that provide adult education and 
training and opportunities for family members and other members of the 
community to support student learning and establish high expectations 
for student educational achievement; mentorship programs that create 
positive relationships between children and adults; programs that 
provide for the use of such community resources as libraries, museums, 
television and radio stations, and local businesses to support improved 
student educational outcomes; programs that support the engagement of 
families in early learning programs and services; programs that provide 
guidance on how to navigate through a complex school system and how to 
advocate for more and improved learning opportunities; and programs 
that promote collaboration with educators and community organizations 
to improve opportunities for healthy development and learning; and
    (5) 21st century learning tools, such as technology (e.g., 
computers and mobile phones) used by students in the classroom and in 
the community to support their education. This includes programs that 
help students use the tools to develop knowledge and skills in such 
areas as reading and writing, mathematics, research, critical thinking, 
communication, creativity, innovation, and entrepreneurship.
    Graduation rate means the four-year or extended-year adjusted 
cohort graduation rate as defined by 34 CFR 200.19(b)(1).

    Note: This definition is not meant to prevent a grantee from 
also collecting information about the reasons why students do not 
graduate from the target high school, e.g., dropping out or moving 
outside of the school district for non-academic or academic reasons.

    Increased learning time means using a longer school day, week, or 
year to significantly increase the total number of school hours. This 
strategy is used to redesign the school's program in a manner that 
includes additional time for (a) instruction in core academic subjects 
as defined in section 9101(11) of the

[[Page 39638]]

ESEA; (b) instruction in other subjects and enrichment activities that 
contribute to a well-rounded education, including, for example, 
physical education, service learning, and experiential and work-based 
learning opportunities that are provided by partnering, as appropriate, 
with other organizations; and (c) teachers to collaborate, plan, and 
engage in professional development within and across grades and 
subjects.
    Indian tribe means any Indian or Alaska Native tribe, band, nation, 
pueblo, village or community that the Secretary of the Interior 
acknowledges to exist as an Indian tribe, 25 U.S.C. 479a and 479a-1 or 
any Alaska Native village or regional or village corporation as defined 
in or established pursuant to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act, 
43 U.S.C. 1601, et seq., that is recognized as eligible for the special 
programs and services provided by the United States to Indians because 
of their status as Indians. The term ``Indian'' means a member of an 
Indian tribe.
    Indicators of need means currently available data that describe--
    (1) Education need, which means--
    (a) All or a portion of the neighborhood includes or is within the 
attendance zone of a low-performing school that is a high school, 
especially one in which the graduation rate (as defined in this notice) 
is less than 60 percent or a school that can be characterized as low-
performing based on another proxy indicator, such as students' on-time 
progression from grade to grade; and
    (b) Other indicators, such as significant achievement gaps between 
subgroups of students (as identified in section 1111(b)(3)(C)(xiii) of 
the ESEA) within a school or LEA, high teacher and principal turnover, 
or high student absenteeism; and
    (2) Family and community support need, which means--
    (a) Percentages of children with preventable chronic health 
conditions (e.g., asthma, poor nutrition, dental problems, obesity) or 
avoidable developmental delays;
    (b) Immunization rates;
    (c) Rates of crime, including violent crime;
    (d) Student mobility rates;
    (e) Teenage birth rates;
    (f) Percentage of children in single-parent or no-parent families;
    (g) Rates of vacant or substandard homes, including distressed 
public and assisted housing; or
    (h) Percentage of the residents living at or below the Federal 
poverty threshold.
    Linked and integrated seamlessly, with respect to the continuum of 
solutions, means solutions that have common outcomes, focus on similar 
milestones, support transitional time periods (e.g., the beginning of 
kindergarten, the middle grades, or graduation from high school) along 
the cradle-through-college-to-career continuum, and address time and 
resource gaps that create obstacles for students in making academic 
progress.
    Low-performing schools means schools receiving assistance through 
title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as 
amended (ESEA), that are in corrective action or restructuring in the 
State, as determined under section 1116 of the ESEA, and the secondary 
schools (both middle and high schools) in the State that are equally as 
low-achieving as these Title I schools and are eligible for, but do not 
receive, Title I funds.
    Moderate evidence means evidence from previous studies with designs 
that can support causal conclusions (i.e., studies with high internal 
validity) but have limited generalizability (i.e., moderate external 
validity) or from studies with high external validity but moderate 
internal validity.
    Multiple domains of early learning means physical well-being and 
motor development; social-emotional development; approaches toward 
learning, which refers to the inclinations, dispositions, or styles, 
rather than skills, that reflect ways that children become involved in 
learning and develop their inclinations to pursue learning; language 
and literacy development, including emergent literacy; and cognition 
and general knowledge, which refers to thinking and problem-solving as 
well as knowledge about particular objects and the way the world works. 
Cognition and general knowledge include mathematical and scientific 
knowledge, abstract thought, and imagination.
    Neighborhood assets means--
    (1) Developmental assets that allow residents to attain the skills 
needed to be successful in all aspects of daily life (e.g., educational 
institutions, early learning centers, and health resources);
    (2) Commercial assets that are associated with production, 
employment, transactions, and sales (e.g., labor force and retail 
establishments);
    (3) Recreational assets that create value in a neighborhood beyond 
work and education (e.g., parks, open space, community gardens, and 
arts organizations);
    (4) Physical assets that are associated with the built environment 
and physical infrastructure (e.g., housing, commercial buildings, and 
roads); and
    (5) Social assets that establish well-functioning social 
interactions (e.g., public safety, community engagement, and 
partnerships with youth, parents, and families).
    Persistently lowest-achieving school means, as determined by the 
State--
    (1) Any school receiving assistance through Title I that is in 
improvement, corrective action, or restructuring and that--
    (a) Is among the lowest-achieving five percent of Title I schools 
in improvement, corrective action, or restructuring or the lowest-
achieving five Title I schools in improvement, corrective action, or 
restructuring in the State, whichever number of schools is greater; or
    (b) Is a high school that has had a graduation rate that is less 
than 60 percent over a number of years; and
    (2) Any secondary school that is eligible for, but does not 
receive, Title I funds that--
    (a) Is among the lowest-achieving five percent of secondary schools 
or the lowest-achieving five secondary schools in the State that are 
eligible for, but do not receive, Title I funds, whichever number of 
schools is greater; or
    (b) Is a high school that has had a graduation rate that is less 
than 60 percent over a number of years.
    Program indicators are indicators that the Department will use only 
for research and evaluation purposes and for which an applicant is not 
required to propose solutions.
    Project indicators are indicators for which an applicant proposes 
solutions intended to result in progress on the indicators.
    Public officials means elected officials (e.g., council members, 
aldermen and women, commissioners, State legislators, Congressional 
representatives, members of the school board), appointed officials 
(e.g., members of a planning or zoning commission, or of any other 
regulatory or advisory board or commission), or individuals who are not 
necessarily public officials, but who have been appointed by a public 
official to serve on the Promise Neighborhoods governing board or 
advisory board.
    Rapid-time, in reference to reporting and availability of locally-
collected data, means that data are available quickly enough to inform 
current lessons, instruction, and related education programs and family 
and community supports.
    Representative of the geographic area proposed to be served means 
that residents of the geographic area

[[Page 39639]]

proposed to be served have an active role in decision-making and that 
at least one-third of the eligible entity's governing board or advisory 
board is made up of--
    (1) Residents who live in the geographic area proposed to be 
served, which may include residents who are representative of the 
ethnic and racial composition of the neighborhood's