(Competitive category)
Registration deadline: March 3
Application deadline: April 1

Funding in this category supports partnerships that have successfully achieved the goals and objectives that were outlined in each of the five years of ESP School-wide Arts Implementation support. Funding is intended to support the continued refinement of practice in the original partnership school and the dissemination and adaptation of the program within a functional network of new partnership schools.

Grants in this category must be matched dollar for dollar with cash, and request amounts should reflect a cost-effective approach to the work, and should be commensurate with the feasibility and scale of the proposed activities and the number of schools involved in the network. Grants in this category may be awarded on a multi-year basis.

Application Instructions

The on-line application form includes the following questions, and a project budget. Complete the arts in education supplemental form as part of this request. Required and suggested support materials are listed below.

Application Narrative Questions

1. Program Description
Briefly describe each partnership and the activities that will occur.

2. School and Community Served
Briefly describe each partner school, including the community it serves and the demographics of the student population. Indicate the total number of teachers and students at each school, and the number of classes, teachers and students at each grade level that will be directly served.

3. Arts Instruction
For each school, indicate the number of certified arts teachers in each artistic discipline that are on staff, and how they serve the student population. Which of these teachers will be involved in this network and how? Describe how these partnerships will enhance or complement sequential arts instruction and other arts programs (including those provided by other arts partners) at each school.

4. Past Relationship
Describe your organization's past relationship with each school and briefly describe how this year's work will be improved as a result of last year's evaluation efforts.

5. Challenges
What school-based issues and challenges will these partnerships help to address?

6. Goals
Describe the shared goals for each partnership and the specific outcomes you expect to achieve. These goals and outcomes should directly relate to your stated challenges and the evaluation/assessment plan in Question 12.

7. Network Function
Describe how the schools will work together as a network to learn from one another and share resources and costs.

8. Steering Committee & Implementation Team
Provide the name and title of each member of the network's Steering Committees and the Implementation Teams at each school. If the schools have established arts committees, how do the memberships overlap with or complement the Steering Committees?

9. Professional Development
How will professional development be a part of this year's plan? List the question(s) you will seek to answer through professional development.

10. Work Plan/Timeline
Provide a work plan in the form of a timeline for this year. If necessary, provide information about activities that have preceded or will follow this plan in order to provide context for the proposed activities.

11. Parental and Community Involvement
Describe how you will build support for this program, and the arts in general, with parents and community members in each school. How will they be involved in the network?

12. Evaluation and Assessment
Describe the ways in which you will evaluate the effectiveness of your program and assess changes in teaching and student learning. Provide information on the overall methodology and any tools that will be utilized.

13 Finances
Describe your plans for meeting the expenses of the program. Include the sources and the dollar amount of each school's match.

14. Sustainability
Briefly describe your efforts to insure that the changes you create can be sustained. Identify the program elements you believe must be sustained, the resources these elements will require, and how you will obtain these resources.

Support Materials

Support materials must be postmarked or hand-delivered to the program by the application deadline. If you want support materials returned, provide a self-addressed stamped envelope.

1. A written letter of agreement from each school partner that demonstrates the schools' support of the project (monetarily and otherwise) and outlines roles and responsibilities for each partner involved. The superintendent(s), principals and project coordinator(s) should sign each letter, and they should appear on each school's letterhead (required)

2. A copy of relevent sections of each school's Comprehensive Educational Plan (optional)

3. Samples of lesson plans, assessment tools, and student work (required)

4. Resumés of key project personnel. (required)