AmeriCorps Grant for Improving Student Outcomes in Turnaround Schools

If your organization works in just one state, please contact your State Commission, which can be found here: http://www.americorps.gov/about/contact/statecommission.asp You will need to apply to them and not directly to CNCS unless otherwise instructed by the State Commission.

If your organization works in more than one state, you are eligible to apply for a national grant. You will apply directly to the Corporation.

If your organization is an Indian Tribe you may apply through your State Commission, or directly to CNCS.

Purpose of School Turnaround AmeriCorps Funding
This Notice invites applications for AmeriCorps grants from eligible organizations that improve academic outcomes for students in eligible schools. Section III.A. of the Notice outlines the organizations eligible to apply. For purposes of this Notice, eligible schools are defined as Tier I and Tier II schools that are receiving SIG funds to implement one of the four SIG models; Tier I and Tier II schools that, at the time of the applicant’s application submission, have been formally notified that they will receive SIG funds to implement a SIG model in the 2013-2014 school year; and priority schools that are implementing in the 2012-2013 school year or will implement in the 2013-2014 school year interventions aligned with the ESEA flexibility turnaround principles. Grants will fund projects that serve eligible schools not currently served by a national service program (e.g., AmeriCorps State and National, Volunteers in Service to America (VISTA), Foster Grandparents, etc.), or will support expansion and better coordination of existing national service activities in those schools. All projects funded under this Notice are expected to improve student academic performance, academic engagement, attendance outcomes, or some combination thereof, in eligible schools.

Grants will fund projects that address multiple student needs and are aligned with comprehensive school turnaround plans. All grants funded under this Notice must include one or more of the following:
• Providing ongoing mechanisms for family and community engagement.
• Establishing a school culture and environment that improve school safety, attendance, and discipline and address other non-academic factors that impact student achievement, such as students’ social, emotional, and health needs.
• Accelerating students’ acquisition of reading and mathematics knowledge and skills;
• Increasing graduation rates through strategies such as early warning systems, credit-recovery programs, and re-engagement strategies.
• Increasing college enrollment rates through college preparation counseling assistance to include completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and college applications, and educating students and their families on financial literacy for college; or
• Supporting school implementation of increased learning time.

These six strategies are aligned with those required of SIG schools in implementing their intervention models, as well as the requirements associated with priority schools that are implementing the turnaround principles under ESEA flexibility. In addition, these strategies are based on research on turning around the lowest-performing schools.

Leveraging community, LEA, and school-level support systems can be an important component in comprehensive turnaround efforts. As such, CNCS and ED encourage applicants to partner with multiple eligible schools within an LEA and coordinate turnaround efforts among multiple school sites. Doing so will enable applicants to take advantage of economies of scale, and aid in changing community, LEA, and school cultures.

To maximize the impact of the public investment in national service and school improvement, School Turnaround AmeriCorps grants will be awarded to eligible organizations that use data and work directly with school leaders to identify needs and develop interventions that are aligned with LEA and school turnaround efforts.

To be funded under this Notice, programs must use AmeriCorps members to improve educational outcomes for students in eligible schools through evidence-informed interventions, as defined in this Notice. An AmeriCorps member is an individual who engages in community service through an approved national service position. Members may receive a living allowance and other benefits while serving. Upon successful completion of their service, members receive a Segal AmeriCorps Education Award from the National Service Trust.
This AmeriCorps State and National (AmeriCorps) Notice of Federal Funding Opportunity Notice (Notice)