Department of State May 10, 2011 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Office of Global Educational Programs of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), U.S. Department of State, announces an open competition for three assistance awards to administer components of the Office's Teacher Exchange Program in Fiscal Year 2012. Public and private non-profit organizations or consortia or other combinations of eligible organizations meeting the provisions described in Internal Revenue Code section 501(c)(3) may submit proposals to cooperate with the Bureau in the administration of the teacher exchange programs as categorized below. To facilitate effective communication between ECA's Teacher Exchange Branch (ECA/A/S/ X) and the organization(s) cooperating on these programs, applicant organizations should have offices and staffs located in Washington, DC at the time of application. In recent years, the Bureau has revised and diversified its programming for teachers consistent with the Bureau's emphasis on reaching younger and underserved, non-elite populations, given the influence teachers can have on these populations in classrooms in the U.S. and around the world. This Request for Grant Proposals is part of an effort to reinforce the Bureau's engagement with primary and secondary school educators and to present a range of teacher program opportunities to potential applicant organizations, which may submit proposals to administer and implement one, two, or all three clusters of the following FY 2012 Teacher Exchange Programs as outlined below (organizations must submit a separate proposal for each cluster for which they apply): Cluster A: The Fulbright Classroom Teacher Exchanges and the Distinguished Fulbright Awards in Teaching; Cluster B: Professional Development Programs for International and U.S. Teachers; and/or Cluster C: the Educational Seminars, the Intensive Summer Language Institutes, and the Teachers of Critical Languages Program. Details about these program components are provided under the Funding Opportunity Description section of this document and in the Project Objectives, Goals, and Implementation (POGI) document associated with this solicitation. Proposals should reflect a vision for the program, interpreting the goals of the Fulbright-Hays Act and the Teacher Exchange Program with creativity, as well as providing innovative ideas and recommendations. The cooperating organization(s) for each cluster will have responsibility for program administration, which includes the following broad categories: Program planning and management; participant placement; orientation and preparation of participants and host/mentor educators; enrichment activities; participant supervision and support services; fiscal management and budgeting; program reporting and evaluation (including ad hoc program and financial reports as requested by the Teacher Exchange Branch); and alumni programming and follow-on activities. Proposals should include schedules and timelines for notifying ECA, overseas partners, and participants of recruitment cycles, placements, travel arrangements and cross-cultural and program information in a timely manner. Programs must comply with J-1 visa regulations. Teacher exchange participants in the U.S. and abroad should be identified through open, merit-based competitions. Although the amount that will be available to support these programs in FY 2012 has not yet been determined, for planning purposes the total amount of funding that may be available to cover administrative and program costs of these programs will be up to $14,800,000. The amounts listed for each program are provided below to enable applicant organizations to prepare budgets for planning purposes and are subject to change. More specific information for each program is provided below and in the Project Objectives, Goals, and Implementation (POGI) document. All awards are pending availability of FY 2012 funds.

The Office of English Language Programs of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA/A/L) announces an open competition for the Access Teacher Development Online Program (ATDOP), including online distance education, a U.S. exchange component in summer 2012 and a follow-on program for exchange participants. The award level for this cooperative agreement will be up to $900,000. The purpose of this program is to increase the oral and aural proficiency of English as a foreign language teachers while developing their speaking and listening teaching methods. U.S. public and private universities with graduate TESOL or Applied Linguistics programs meeting the provisions described in Internal Revenue Code section 26 U.S.C. 501(c)(3) may submit proposals to implement the program that will include the following: 1. A teacher needs analysis survey and English language proficiency assessment plan to be administered at the beginning and end of the online program; 2. A multi-platform online distance education program developed in collaboration with selected English Access Microscholarship Program (Access) providers and designed to improve the oral/aural English Language proficiency and teaching methodologies of 250-350 Access and potential Access teachers working with 14-18 year olds; 3. A four-week, U.S. exchange program for 26 of the top performing participants from the online courses; 4. A five-week online follow-up course designed to assist the 26 teachers in developing and implementing professional development seminars for English teachers in their respective countries; 5. The creation of an on-going online community via a Ning site where Access teachers and in-country providers can continue to communicate and collaborate. Access provides a foundation of English language skills to bright, economically disadvantaged 14- to 18-year-olds through two-year programs of after-school classes and intensive summer learning activities. Access students also gain an appreciation for U.S. culture and democratic values through cultural enhancement activities. Since its inception in 2004, over 70,000 students in more than 85 countries have participated in the Access Program. More detailed information about each of the five components of this cooperative agreement are detailed below and in the Program Objectives, Goals, and Implementation (POGI). Applicant organizations should demonstrate a significant track record of conducting substantive academic programs for EFL educators with a particular emphasis on the innovative use of internet media and mobile-based technologies in the development and implementation of training programs, conducting needs assessments internationally with foreign partners, developing English language teaching curriculum for English learners with diverse levels of English language proficiency and managing the U.S. and foreign logistical and administrative aspects of similar programs. The participants in the online course will be selected by Access providers and Regional English Language Officers (RELOs) and will be approved by ECA/A/L. Participants will be: Citizens of one of 6-8 ECA selected strategic countries in which they reside; university degree holders; employed as English teachers and have been working with disadvantaged 14-18 year old students for at least two but not more than approximately seven years; have no significant previous US travel experience; employed by one of the selected Access host institutions teaching Access or other secondary school level classes; and able to have regular and easy access to a computer with reliable broadband Internet.