Request for Application

Part 4: Standard Application System (SAS)

We want you to be successful.
Please take one more look at your application!

Deadline	Thursday, June 17, 2010 5:00 PM CT
Submission	Complete applications must be received in TEA’s Document Control Center on or before 5:00 PM (Central Time) on the deadline date indicated in the RFA.
Application	· Each copy of application stapled in upper left corner. · No binding of application in a notebook or folder. · No cover sheet, table of contents, or divider pages. · Must address all statutory requirements. · Narrative Schedules: Must use required forms provided. No missing schedules. No font sizes smaller than 9 points, Arial or Verdana. No handwritten schedules; they must be typed. Must conform to specified format. Must not exceed specified page limitations.
Number of Copies	6 complete copies must be received in TEA by 5:00 PM (Central Time) on the deadline date.
Signature	Schedule #1—at least 3 copies of the application must have an original signature of the person authorized to bind the applicant in a contract.
Provisions & Assurances (Schedules 6A-6F)	Read these carefully and include in all pages of each copy of the application.
Contact Person	If you have any questions, please contact: Jeanne.Rankin@tea.state.tx.us

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this page have been confirmed with _____________________ by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.					TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010 - 2011			Bonham ISD____ Organization Name		074903 County District No.
								Amendment No.		_________ 9-Digit Vendor ID# 10 ESC Region _________ NOGA ID No. (Assigned by TEA)
Connections Grant
Schedule #1 – General Information
Use of the Standard Application System: This system provides a series of standard schedules to be used as formats by applicants who apply for funds administered by the Texas Education Agency. If additional clarification is needed, please call Rebecca Schroeder at 512-463-9269.
Program Authority: Public Law 107-110, No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001, Title II, Part D and Texas Education Code (TEC) §§32.151-32.157 as amended by HB 2893, 81^st Texas Legislature. Project Beginning Date: 10/01/2010 Project Ending Date: 06/30/2012
Part 1: Index to this Application: An X has been placed in the New Application column to indicate each schedule that must be submitted as a part of the application. The applicant must place an X in this column for each additional schedule submitted to complete the application. For amendments, the applicant must place an X in the Amendment Application column next to the schedule(s) being submitted as part of the amendment.
Sch No.	Schedule Name								Application
									New		Amend
1	General Information								X		X
2	Shared Services Arrangement Certification
3	Purpose of Amendment								NA		X
4	Program Summary and Application Requirements								X		NA
4A	Program Abstract: Collaborating Partners
4B	Program Description								X
4C	Performance Assessment and Evaluation								X
4D	Equitable Access and Participation								X
4E	Private Nonprofit School Participation								X
5	Program Budget Summary								X		X
5B	Payroll Costs 6100
5C	Professional and Contracted Services 6200
5D	Supplies and Materials 6300
5E	Other Operating Costs 6400
5G	Capital Outlay 6600 (Exclusive of 6619 and 6629)
6A	General Provisions and Assurances								X		NA
6B	Debarment and Suspension Certification								X		NA
6C	Lobbying Certification								X		NA
6D	Disclosure of Lobbying Activities								X		NA
6E	NCLB Act Provisions and Assurances								X		NA
6F	Program-Specific Provisions and Assurances								X		NA
Certification and Incorporation
I hereby certify that the information contained in this application is, to the best of my knowledge, correct and that the organization named above has authorized me as its representative to obligate this organization in a legally binding contractual agreement. I further certify that any ensuing program and activity will be conducted in accordance with all applicable Federal and State laws and regulations, application guidelines and instructions, the Provisions and Assurances, Debarment and Suspension, lobbying requirements, Special Provisions and Assurances, and the schedules attached as applicable. It is understood by the applicant that this application constitutes an offer and, if accepted by the Agency or renegotiated to acceptance, will form a binding agreement.
Authorized Official
Typed First Name			Initial	Last Name			Title
Sonny				Cruse			Superintendent Bonham ISD
Phone		Fax				Email	Signature/Date signed (blue ink preferred)
903 583.5526		903.583.8463				Sonny.cruse@honhamisd.org
Only the legally responsible party may sign this application.

6 complete copies of the application, at least 3 with original signature(s), must be received by 5:00 p.m., Thursday, June, 17, 2010, in the:

Texas Education Agency

William B. Travis Bldg. ___________________________

Document Control Center, Room 6-108 TEA DOCUMENT CONTROL NO.

1701 North Congress Avenue

Austin, Texas 78701-1494

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.		TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010-2011	074903                        County District No. Amendment No.
Connections Grant
Schedule #1—General Information
Part 2: List of Required Attachments
For competitive applications, the application will not be reviewed and scored if any of the required attachments do not accompany the application when it is submitted. Applicants will not be permitted to submit required attachments, or any revisions to those required attachments, after the closing date of the grant. Attach all required attachments to the back of the application as an appendix.
1	Proof of Nonprofit Status
	Required for open-enrollment charter schools sponsored by a nonprofit organization Current proof of nonprofit status (see Part 3: Schedule Instructions for acceptable proof) (if applicable)
2	Proof of Financial Stability
	Assurance that Audit Requirements for School Districts, Open-Enrollment Charter Schools, and ESCs have been met: All public school districts, open-enrollment charter schools, and education service centers (ESCs) must be in compliance with submitting the required annual audit for the immediate prior fiscal year to TEA in the time and manner requested by TEA, and the audit must be determined by the TEA Division of Financial Audits to be in compliance with the applicable audit standards. All applicants must be deemed by TEA to be financially stable at the time the application is submitted to TEA for funding to receive a grant award. The TEA Division of Financial Audits will determine financial stability for two consecutive years using the most recent current and previous year annual audit.
3	Waiver for Professional Development
	Required if requesting waiver for professional development: If requesting a waiver for the required 25% professional development, the waiver must be completed and included in the application. See Schedule #4B—Program Description: NCLB Title II, Part D, Statutory Requirements, Part 2, for the waiver form. This form is ONLY required of applicants applying for a waiver to the professional development requirement.
4	Reviewer Information Form
	All applicants are required to complete the reviewer information form and to submit it online by June 3, 2010. Please see Part 2: Program Guidelines, “Reviewer Information Form,” for instructions on how to access and submit the form.

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.

TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010-2011

074903                        County District No. Amendment No

Connections Grant
Schedule #1—General Information
Part 3: Applicant Information
Organization Information
Organization Name
Bonham ISD
Mailing Address Line – 1	Mailing Address Line – 2			City				State		Zip Code
201 East 10th Street,				Bonham				TX		75418
U.S. Congressional District Number		Primary DUNS Number			Central Contractor Registration (CCR) CAGE Code and Renewal Date
4th		013144167
Campus Name (if application is for a single campus-based project)								Campus Number
Mailing Address Line – 1	Mailing Address Line – 2			City				State		Zip Code
Applicant Contacts
Primary Contact
First Name	Initial		Last Name						Title
Joy	J		Rousseau						Project Manager
Telephone	Fax					Email
903 859-2408	903 859-1671					joy@arpisd.org
Mailing Address Line – 1	Mailing Address Line – 2			City			State			Zip Code
101 Toney Drive	PO 70			Arp			TX			75750
Secondary Contact
First Name	Initial		Last Name						Title
Bret			Simpson						BISD Project Director
Telephone	Fax					E-mail
903 640.5442	903 583-8463					Bret.simpson@bonhamisd.org
Mailing Address Line – 1	Mailing Address Line – 2			City			State			Zip Code
1005 Chestnut				Bonham			TX			75418

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.			TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010-2011		074903                       County District No. Amendment No
Connections Grant
Schedule #2—Shared Services Arrangement Certification
I, as one of the above member district authorized officials, certify that to the best of my knowledge, the information contained in this application is correct and complete, that the local education agency (LEA) that I represent has authorized me to file this application, and that such authorization action is recorded in the minutes of the agency’s board meeting. The participating or intermediate education agency named has been designated as the administrative and fiscal agent for this project and is authorized to receive and expend funds for the conduct of this project. The fiscal agent is accountable for all shared services arrangement activities and is therefore responsible for ensuring that all funds including payments to members of shared services arrangements are expended in accordance with applicable laws and regulations. All participating agencies have entered into a written shared services agreement which describes the responsibilities of the fiscal agent and SSA members, including the refund liability that may result from on-site monitoring or audits and the final disposition of equipment, facilities, and materials purchased for this project from funds specified below. It is understood that the fiscal agent is responsible for the refund for any exceptions taken as a result of on-site monitoring or audits; however, based upon the SHARED SERVICES AGREEMENT, which must be on file with the fiscal agent for review, the fiscal agent may have recourse to the member agencies where the discrepancy (ies) occurred. Any additional funds that result from an increase will not require additional signatures. Each member identified below acknowledges accountability for the requirements contained in Schedules #6A and #6F as applicable. Each member district certifies their agreement to participate in this Shared Services Arrangement, as stated throughout this grant application.
Part 1: Participant List
#	County-District #And Name	Authorized Official Name And Signature		Telephone Number And E-Mail Address		Funding Amount
Fiscal Agent
1	Bonham ISD	Sonny Cruse		903 640-5442		$570344
	074903	Signature		Sonny.cruse@bonhamisd.org
Member Districts
2	Arp ISD	Toney Lowery		903 850-8482		$259504
	212901	Signature		toney@arpisd.org
3	Forerunner Christian Academy	Andrea Williams		903-436-4166
		President, Board of Directors		andreamichelle28@hotmail.com
4						$8656
		Signature

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.			TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010-2011		074903                        County District No. Amendment No
Connections Grant
Schedule #2 - Shared Services Arrangement
Part 1: Participant List (cont.)
#	County-District # And Name	Authorized Official Name And Signature		Telephone Number And e-Mail Address		Funding Amount
Member Districts
6
		Signature
7
		Signature
8
		Signature
9
		Signature
10
		Signature
11
		Signature
12
		Signature
13
		Signature
14
		Signature
15
		Signature
16
		Signature
17
		Signature
18
		Signature
19
		Signature
20
		Signature
21
		Signature
22
		Signature
23
		Signature
24
		Signature
25
		Signature

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.

TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010-2011

074903                        County District No. Amendment No

Connections Grant
Schedule #3—Purpose of Amendment
Part 1: Schedules Amended
When submitting a revision or an amendment, please indicate what schedules were revised/amended and the justification for the revisions/amendments made to this application:
Schedules Changed (Check all schedules that are being amended.):
	Schedule #1—General Information					Schedule #4F—Private Nonprofit Schools
	Schedule #2—Certification of Shared Services Arrangement					Schedule #5—Program Budget Summary
	Schedule #3—Purpose of Amendment					Schedule #5B—Payroll Costs 6100
	Schedule #4—Prog Summ./App Reqs.					Schedule #5C—Professional and Contracted Services 6200
	Schedule #4A—Prog Abstract: Coll. Partners					Schedule #5D—Supplies and Materials 6300
	Schedule #4B—Program Description					Schedule #5E—Other Operating Costs 6400
	Schedule #4C— Performance Assessment and Evaluation					Schedule #5G—Capital Outlay 6600 (Exclusive of 6619 and 6629)
	Schedule #4D—Equitable Access and Participation					The last day to submit an amendment to TEA is 90 days prior to the ending date of the grant.
Part 2: Revised Budget
Complete this part if there are any budgetary changes.
				A	B		C	D
Line No.		Sch. No.	Class/ Object Code	Grant Project Costs Previously Approved Budget	Amount Deleted		Amount Added	New Budget
01		5B	6100	$	$		$	$
02		5C	6200
03		5D	6300
04		5E	6400
05		5F	6500
06		5G	6600
07		5H	6629
08		Total Direct Costs		$	$		$	$
09		*Indirect Cost ( %)
10		Total Costs		$	$		$	$

* Administrative costs are limited to 3%, including direct administrative and indirect costs.

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.

TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010-2011

074903                        County District No. Amendment No

Connections Grant
Schedule #3—Purpose of Amendment
Part 3: Grant Amendment Request
All Grants Regardless of Dollar Amount
Reason for Amendment Request
	1. Addition of a class/object code not previously budgeted on the Budget Summary.
	2. Increase or decrease the amount approved in any class/object code on Schedule #5—Budget Summary (i.e., 6100-6600) by more than 25% of the current amount approved in the class/object code.
	3. Addition of a new line item on any of the supporting budget schedules (i.e., Schedules #5B-5G).
	4. Increase or decrease in the number of positions budgeted on Payroll Costs (Schedule #5B).
	5. Addition of a new item of computer hardware/equipment (not capitalized) approved on Supplies and Materials (Schedule #5C).
	6. Addition of a new item or increase in quantity of capital outlay item(s) ≥ $5,000 approved on Capital Outlay (Schedule #5G) for articles costing $5,000 or more.
	7. Addition of a new item of capital outlay items approved on Capital Outlay (Schedule #5G) for articles costing less than $5,000.
	8. Reduction of funds allotted for training costs
	9. Change in construction costs
	10. Additional funds needed
	11. Change in scope of objectives, regardless of whether there is an associated budget revision requiring prior approval
	12. Request to extend the ending date of the grant	From Ending Date:	To Extended Date:
Part 4: Amendment Justification
Reminder: Regardless of the amount of grant funds expended, the grantee is required to expend at least 25% of the amount awarded for professional development.

The last day to submit an amendment to TEA is 90 days prior to the ending date of the grant.

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.

TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010-2011

074903                        County District No. Amendment No

Connections Grant

Schedule #4—Program Summary and Application Requirements

Part 1: Summary of Program

Purpose and Goals

The purpose of the Connections Grant is to establish campuses that will serve as statewide technology demonstration sites—models for the exemplary use of digital content, interactive media, and educational technology for increased student learning. There are teaching and leadership practices that use technology in educational settings to reach students more effectively, more efficiently, and in ways that are not possible without technology.  Participants in this grant will model successful technology instructional practices while leveraging the technological tools most often used by students and digital content and resources for students and educators. Selected applicants will also actively engage in outreach to promote student learning that benefits from technology.

Three primary goals of NCLB, Title II, Part D, are as follows:

1. To improve student academic achievement through the use of technology in elementary schools and secondary schools.

2. To assist every student in crossing the digital divide by ensuring that every student is technology literate by the time the student finishes the eighth grade, regardless of the student’s race, ethnicity, gender, family income, geographic location, or disability.

3. To encourage the effective integration of technology resources and systems with teacher training and curriculum development to establish research-based instructional methods that can be widely implemented as best practices by State education agencies and local education agencies.

The grant also addresses the following recommendations in the new Long-Range Plan for Technology, 2006-2020 (LRPT), which is designed to guide LEAs in the effective use of technology to prepare students to learn and work in the 21^st Century:

1. Require and support high-quality professional development to ensure the effective use of technology and full integration of technology across all subject areas and all grade levels to further the implementation of the Technology Applications TEKS and the acquisition of the SBEC Technology Applications standards by all educators.

2. To ensure ongoing integration of technology into school curricula and instructional strategies in all schools in the state so that technology will be fully integrated into the curricula and instruction of the schools.

3. Encourage and support the continued development of innovative programs and technical standard designed to increase access to online learning tools and content for all learners, including those with disabilities.

4. Promote the development and use of innovative strategies for the delivery of curricula and instruction through online, digital technology, and a variety of distance learning technologies.

5. Develop and implement a coordinated, statewide initiative, including standards, policies, and programs to support and provide equitable access to quality online content, courses, instruction, and professional development delivered via online, digital technology, and a variety of distance learning technologies.

Allowable Activities and Use of Funds

The activities/use of funds allowable under the Connections Grant may include but are not limited to the following:

< Professional development and implementation of mentorship programs for teachers and students

< Digital content and resources: the purchase of digital learning materials and resources needed to supplement existing programs and/or to support collaborative districts.

< Other software needed to support instruction

< Development of campus outreach program: staff, cost of site visits, Web site, and supporting material

< The hiring of pedagogical and technical support staff for school districts or schools participating in the project

< The purchase of electronic devices for check out so that each student in a participating classroom has an electronic device for use at school and home

< The purchase of other equipment, including computer hardware or software, including technology labs/mobile labs and computers in classrooms

< The cost of ensuring all students have anywhere, anytime access (except at students’ homes)

Note: Funds shall not be used to build a demonstration site program from the ground up but to expand or enhance current promising activities.

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.		TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010-2011	074903                        County District No. Amendment No
Connections Grant
Schedule #4—Program Summary and Application Requirements
Part 2: NCLB Title II, Part D, Statutory Requirements
#	Requirement Description			Schedule
1	Describe how you will improve the student academic achievement, including technology literacy, of all students attending schools served by the LEA and to improve the capacity of all participating teachers to integrate technology effectively into curricula and instruction.			Schedule #4B—Program Description: NCLB Title II, Part D, Requirements
2	Describe your specific goals for using advanced technology to improve student academic achievement aligned with challenging State academic content and student academic achievement standards.			Schedule #4B—Program Description: NCLB Title II, Part D, Requirements
3	Describe the steps you will take to ensure that all participating students and teachers in schools served by the LEA involved have increased access to educational technology, including how the LEA would use funds (such as combining the funds with funds from other sources) to help ensure that—(A) students in high-poverty and high-needs schools, or schools identified under Section 1116, have access to technology; and (B) teachers are prepared to integrate technology effectively into curricula and instruction.			Schedule #4B—Program Description: NCLB Title II, Part D, Requirements
4	Describe how you will—(A) identify and promote curricula and teaching strategies that integrate technology effectively into curricula and instruction, based on a review of relevant research, leading to improvements in student academic achievement, as measured by challenging State academic content and student academic achievement standards; and (B) provide ongoing, sustained professional development for applicable teachers, principals, administrators, and school library media personnel serving the local educational agency, to further the effective use of technology in the classroom or library media center, including, if applicable, a list of the entities that will be partners with the local educational agency involved in providing the ongoing, sustained professional development.			Schedule #4B—Program Description: NCLB Title II, Part D, Requirements
5	Describe the type and costs of technologies to be acquired, including services, software, and digital curricula, and including specific provisions for interoperability among components of such technologies.			Schedule #4B—Program Description: NCLB Title II, Part D, Requirements
6	Describe how you will coordinate activities carried out with grant funds with technology-related activities carried out with funds available from other federal, state, and local sources.			Schedule #4B—Program Description: NCLB Title II, Part D, Requirements
7	Describe how you will integrate technology (including software and other electronically delivered learning materials) into curricula and instruction, and a timeline for such integration.			Schedule #4B—Program Description: NCLB Title II, Part D, Requirements
8	Describe how you will encourage the development and utilization of innovative strategies for the delivery of specialized or rigorous academic courses and curricula through the use of technology, and, if applicable, distance learning technologies, particularly for those areas that would not otherwise have access to such courses and curricula due to geographical isolation or insufficient resources.			Schedule #4B—Program Description: NCLB Title II, Part D, Requirements
9	Describe how you will ensure the effective use of technology to promote parental involvement and increase communication with parents, including a description of how parents will be informed of the technology being applied in their child’s education so that the parents are able to reinforce at home the instruction their child receives at school.			Schedule #4B—Program Description: NCLB Title II, Part D, Requirements

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.		TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010-2011	074903                       County District No. Amendment No
Connections Grant
Schedule #4—Program Summary and Application Requirements
#	Part 2: NCLB Title II, Part D, Statutory Requirements (cont.)			Schedule
9	Describe how you will ensure the effective use of technology to promote parental involvement and increase communication with parents, including a description of how parents will be informed of the technology being applied in their child’s education so that the parents are able to reinforce at home the instruction their child receives at school.			Schedule #4B—Program Description: NCLB Title II, Part D, Requirements
10	Describe how programs will be developed, where applicable, in collaboration with adult literacy service providers, to maximize the use of technology.			Schedule #4B—Program Description: NCLB Title II, Part D, Requirements
11	Describe the process and accountability measures that you will use to evaluate the extent to which activities funded under the grant are effective in integrating technology into curricula and instruction, increasing the ability of teachers to teach, and enabling students to meet challenging state academic content and student academic achievement standards.			Schedule #4B—Program Description: NCLB Title II, Part D, Requirements
12	Describe the supporting resources (such as services, software, other electronically delivered learning materials, and print resources) that will be acquired to ensure successful and effective uses of technology.			Schedule #4B—Program Description: NCLB Title II, Part D, Requirements
13	Describe how you will meet the Title II, Part D, requirement to use not less than 25% of awarded grant funds to provide ongoing, sustained, and intensive, high-quality professional development. The recipient shall provide professional development in the integration of advanced technologies, including emerging technologies, into curricula and instruction and in using those technologies to create new learning environments, such as professional development in the use of technology— a. to access data and resources to develop curricula and instructional materials b. to enable teachers— i. to use the Internet and other technology to communicate with parents, other teachers, principals, and administrators; and ii. to retrieve Internet-based learning resources c. to lead to improvements in classroom instruction in the core academic subjects, that effectively prepare students to meet challenging State academic content standards, including increasing student technology literacy, and student academic achievement standards d. to teach effectively in the online environment e. to serve as an effective on-site facilitator for online courses. NOTE: Response to this requirement required only if applicant is not applying for a waiver from the professional development requirement.			Schedule #4B—Program Description: NCLB Title II, Part D, Requirements

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.		TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010-2011	074903                        County District No. Amendment No
Connections Grant
Schedule #4—Program Summary and Application Requirements
Part 3: TEC §§32.151-32.157 Statutory Requirements
#	Requirement Description			Schedule
1	Describe your plans to demonstrate to stakeholders the use of technology for improving teaching and learning.			Schedule #4B—Program Description: TEC §§32.151-32.157 Requirements
2	Describe how you will use and demonstrate the use of digital tools and resources to extend learning opportunities from school to home.			Schedule #4B—Program Description: TEC §§32.151-32.157 Requirements
3	Provide examples of transformative instructional practices and lessons that support academic learning in the classroom and at home and how that will be showcased.			Schedule #4B—Program Description: TEC §§32.151-32.157 Requirements
4	Provide a detailed description of the way you will use students’ existing home electronic devices and/or provide students with 24/7 access through electronic device checkout options to extend learning at home. Describe the electronic devices that you will make available to allow students, at school and at home, to use software, online courses, and other appropriate learning technologies that have been shown to improve academic achievement and the progress measures listed in TEC §32.155(e).			Schedule #4B—Program Description: TEC §§32.151-32.157 Requirements
5	Describe the electronic devices that you will make available to allow students, at school and at home, to use software, on-line courses, and other appropriate learning technologies that have been shown to improve academic achievement and the progress measures listed in the TEC §32.155(e).			Schedule #4B—Program Description: TEC §§32.151-32.157 Requirements
6	Describe the plan for students participating in the project to retain an electronic device provided under the project as long as the student is enrolled in a participating district.			Schedule #4B—Program Description: TEC §§32.151-32.157 Requirements
7	Describe the details of the campus improvement plan and how leadership will implement the project in the LEA. In your description, consider the educational problems in the district or school that could be mitigated through the implementation of the project; and the digital resources that are necessary to ensure the successful implementation of the project.			Schedule #4B—Program Description: TEC §§32.151-32.157 Requirements
8	Describe the technological readiness of this campus to support the project and whether or not the campus is serving grades 6 through 12.
9	Describe the community team that will assist in the development and implementation of the Connections Grant.			Schedule #4B—Program Description: TEC §§32.151-32.157 Requirements

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.		TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010-2011	074903                        County District No. Amendment No
Connections Grant
Schedule #4—Program Summary and Application Requirements
Part 4: TEA Program Requirements
#	Requirement Description			Schedule
1	Describe how the Connections Grant LEA has established sustainable models for using digital content, emphasizing flexibility in teaching and learning and anytime, anywhere access – at school, at home, and in the community.			Schedule #4B—Program Description: Connections Grant Requirements
2	Describe how students will: a. Access digital content and resources anytime, anywhere. b. Access personal technology tools and school provided multi-media tools at school, at home, and in the community. c. Engage in student-centered learning environments, creating content and using personal technology tools.			Schedule #4B—Program Description: Connections Grant Requirements
3	Describe established professional learning communities that build a knowledge base regarding teaching using digital content and leveraging technology tools most often used by students and how those professional learning communities will be used for project outreach statewide.			Schedule #4B—Program Description: Connections Grant Requirements
4	Describe best practices concerning student assessment and content data, provided through learning technologies that deliver quality feedback to achieve increased student success and to increase quality instruction.			Schedule #4B—Program Description: Connections Grant Requirements
5	Explain how teachers are using innovative teaching practices based on inquiry/action research, and anytime, anywhere discussions fostered through professional learning communities; provide examples.			Schedule #4B—Program Description: Connections Grant Requirements
6	Describe the use of a variety of media formats, by campus and district leaders, to promote shared vision and encourage innovative practices that increase student engagement and increase student achievement.			Schedule #4B—Program Description: Connections Grant Requirements
7	Describe plans to showcase, statewide, the use of digital content in lieu of textbooks and the use of students’ personal technology tools.			Schedule #4B—Program Description: Connections Grant Requirements
8	If a collaborative application, describe plans for mentoring teachers and students collaborating with the demonstration site LEA.			Schedule #4B—Program Description: Connections Grant Requirements
9	If a collaborative application, describe implementation plans for the use of digital content for teaching and learning in partnership districts or campuses.			Schedule #4B—Program Description: Connections Grant Requirements
10	If a collaborative application, describe how students in partnership districts will access personal technology tools and school provided multi-media tools at school, at home, and in the community.			Schedule #4B—Program Description: Connections Grant Requirements

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.		TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Years 2009-2010 and 2010-2011	074903                       County District No. Amendment No
Connections Grant
Schedule #4—Program Summary and Application Requirements
Part 5: Implementation Requirements
#	Requirement Description			Schedule
1	Provide a detailed analysis of strengths and weaknesses of existing infrastructure, along with a description of how weaknesses will be addressed in order to ensure that appropriate infrastructure exists to support district’s technology goals.			Schedule #4B—Program Description: Infrastructure and Implementation
2	Describe strategies for the project that accommodate flexible implementation and include time for collaboration, communication, adjustments, and feedback during the course of the program.			Schedule #4B—Program Description: Infrastructure and Implementation
3	If you are currently receiving Vision 2020, Cycle 2 Grant and/or T3 Collaborative Grant-ARRA funding, you must describe how project management will be conducted so as to keep Connections Grant funding activities separate from those of the Vision 2020, Cycle 2 Grant and/or T3 Collaborative Grant-ARRA while still implementing the program and providing services effectively.			Schedule #4B—Program Description: Infrastructure and Implementation
4	Provide evidence that the project director in each participating district has sufficient, dedicated time for program activities. Grantees receiving funding from other Title II, Part D, funding sources (such as Vision 2020, Cycle 2 Grant and/or T3 Collaborative Grant-ARRA) must describe their plans for budgeting and documenting expenses separately for each Title II, Part D, project.			Schedule #4B—Program Description: Infrastructure and Implementation
5	Describe how you will ensure that teachers involved are well informed of all aspects of program plans; that roles and responsibilities of all participants are clearly defined; and plans are in place to keep all program participants informed of project progress, problems, and changes.			Schedule #4B—Program Description: Infrastructure and Implementation
6	Describe how you will provide strategies to address changes in policy due to issues that may arise during the program.			Schedule #4B—Program Description: Infrastructure and Implementation
7	Describe the LEA’s readiness to implement and support this program beginning in October 2010.			Schedule #4B—Program Description: Infrastructure and Implementation
Yes Applicant verifies that all requirements are met in these program narrative component descriptions and activities.

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.		TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010-2011	074903                        County District No. Amendment No
Connections Grant
Schedule #4—Program Summary and Application Requirements
Part 6: Program Assurances
#	Assurance Description
1	Children’s Internet Protection Act (CIPA) Certification - The applicant must certify by entering an “X” in the appropriate box below that one of the following conditions exists. The signature of the authorized official on Schedule #1 incorporates this certification. See http://www.sl.universalservice.org/reference/CIPA.asp for CIPA statute. Every “applicable school” has complied with the CIPA requirements in Title II, Part D, Subpart 4 Not all “applicable schools” have yet complied with the requirements in Title II, Part D, Subpart 4 a. the LEA is undertaking such action, including any necessary procurement procedures to put in place an Internet safety policy for each applicable school that meets the requirements and will certify in the application for funds that it is in compliance, (a copy of the plan for coming into compliance by the beginning of the school year is attached to this schedule); or b. the LEA has received a one-year waiver from the U.S. Secretary of Education under section 2441(b)(2)(C) of the ESEA for those applicable schools not yet in compliance. A copy of the waiver is attached to this schedule The CIPA requirements in the ESEA do not apply because no funds made available under the program are being used to purchase computers to access the Internet, or to pay for direct costs associated with accessing the Internet, for elementary and secondary schools that do not receive e-rate services under the Communications Act of 1934, as amended. (An “applicable school” is an elementary or secondary school that does not receive e-rate discounts and for which Ed Tech fund are used to purchase computers, used to access the Internet, or to pay the direct costs associated with accessing the Internet.)For competitive applications, the application will not be reviewed and scored if any of the required attachments do not accompany the application when it is submitted. Applicants will not be permitted to submit required attachments, or any revisions to those required attachments, after the closing date of the grant. Attach all required attachments to the back of the application as an appendix.
2	The applicant must provide assurance that financial assistance provided under this grant will supplement, and not supplant, state and local funds.			See Schedule #6F—Program-Specific Provisions and Assurances
3	The applicant must provide assurance that it will comply with the prohibition of text messaging and emailing while driving during official federal grant business. Federal grant recipients, sub recipients and their grant personnel are prohibited from text messaging while driving a government owned vehicle, or while driving their own privately owned vehicle during official grant business, or from using government supplied electronic equipment to text message or email while driving.Recipients must comply with these conditions under Executive Order 13513, “Federal Leadership On Reducing Text Messaging While Driving,” October 1, 2009.			See Schedule #6F—Program-Specific Provisions and Assurances
4	All applicants must have on file at TEA a current ePlan (2009-2010) certification for each participating district by the time the application is submitted to TEA; the grantee must submit in the first progress report an ePlan to cover the 2010-2011 school years. Before forwarding the application for competitive review and scoring, TEA will verify whether the current ePlan (2009-2010) has been submitted and certified. If the applicant has not submitted the ePlan to TEA and had it certified by the application deadline date of June 17, 2010, the application is not eligible to be forwarded for review and scoring and will be returned to the applicant.			See Schedule #6F—Program-Specific Provisions and Assurances

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.		TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010-2011	074903                        County District No. Amendment No
Connections Grant
Schedule #4—Program Summary and Application Requirements
Part 6: Program Assurances (cont.)
#	Assurance Description
5	The applicant must provide assurance that districts will be provided with the necessary infrastructure to support 21st Century classrooms and enhance student instruction.			See Schedule #6F—Program-Specific Provisions and Assurances
6	The applicant must provide assurance that LEAs will be provided with appropriate technical and pedagogical support.			See Schedule #6F—Program-Specific Provisions and Assurances
7	The applicant must have a 2009-2010 Texas STaR chart on file with TEA demonstrating that the campus has a substantial need for assistance in acquiring and using technology. Before forwarding the application for competitive review and scoring, TEA will verify whether the current STaR Chart (2009-2010) has been submitted and approved. If the applicant has not submitted the STaR Chart to TEA and had it approved by the application deadline date of June 17, 2010, the application is not eligible to be forwarded for review and scoring and will be returned to the applicant.			See Schedule #6F—Program-Specific Provisions and Assurances
8	The applicant must provide assurance that it will contract with an external evaluator to evaluate the program, and that it will expend no more than 8% of the total grant award on evaluation services. The required evaluation is an allowable cost to be budgeted and paid from the grant. The evaluation must be conducted by an evaluator who has the capability to remain independent and objective in carrying out the evaluation. “Independent and objective” implies that there is no influence or control, real or perceived, exerted on the evaluator by any person who is involved in the provision of program services. Therefore, the only way in which a contracted evaluator can be truly independent and objective is to not be involved in any manner in the provision of program services or activities.			See Schedule #6F—Program-Specific Provisions and Assurances
9	Public Law 107-110, Section 9521 states “a local educational agency may receive funds under a covered program for any fiscal year only if the State educational agency finds that either the combined fiscal effort per student or the aggregate expenditures of such agency and the State with respect to the provision of free public education by such agency for the preceding fiscal year was not less than 90 percent of such combined fiscal effort or aggregate expenditures for the second preceding fiscal year”. Applicant must provide assurance that it will maintain effort and document maintenance of effort (MOE). TEA will verify each LEA’s MOE using information obtained from the PEIMS database. TEA staff will notify the applicant in the event fiscal effort has not been maintained. The final grant amount will be reduced in exact proportion by which the LEA fails to meet 90 percent of the combined fiscal effort per student and aggregate expenditures (using the measure more favorable to the LEA. [P. L. 107-110, Title IX, Section 9521.]			See Schedule #6F—Program-Specific Provisions and Assurances

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.		TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010-2011	074903                        County District No. Amendment No
Connections Grant
Schedule #4—Program Summary and Application Requirements
Part 6: Program Assurances (cont.)
#	Assurance Description
10	The applicant must provide assurance that it will meet the Title II, Part D, requirement, or submit a waiver, that a grantee shall use not less than 25% of awarded grant funds to provide ongoing, sustained, and intensive, high-quality professional development. The recipient shall provide professional development in the integration of advanced technologies, including emerging technologies, into curricula and instruction and in using those technologies to create new learning environments, such as professional development in the use of technology.			See Schedule #6F—Program-Specific Provisions and Assurances
11	The applicant assures that it will maintain control over all equipment, including electronic devices for use at home, and implement a check-out system for such devices.			See Schedule #6F—Program-Specific Provisions and Assurances
Yes	The applicant must certify adherence to the above Program Assurances by entering an “X” in the box to the left noting agreement with a “Yes”. The signature of the authorized official on Schedule #1 incorporates this agreement.

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this page have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.		TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010-2011	074903  County District No. Amendment No.
Connections Grant
Schedule #4A—Program Abstract: Collaborating Partners
This schedule only required if applying as a collaborative Required of all collaborative partners that include entities other than LEAs and ESCs (i.e., nonprofit and for-profit organizations, libraries, IHEs): Duplicating as necessary, complete a copy of this page for each member of the collaborative that is not an LEA or ESC (i.e., libraries, nonprofits, for-profits, and IHEs).
N/A	Applicant verifies that the collaborative for this grant application includes only LEA(s) and ESC(s). If checking this box, applicant should leave the remainder of this schedule blank and continue to Schedule #4B—Program Description: Needs Assessment and Sustainability.
Name of Partnering Organization:
Describe the main roles and responsibilities of partnering organization. Responses are limited to the space provided, front side only, with a font size no smaller than 9 point (Arial or Verdana).
Describe the underlying rationale/research for including the partner in the project. Responses are limited to the space provided, front side only, with a font size no smaller than 9 point (Arial or Verdana).

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.	TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010-2011	074903                        County District No. Amendment No
Connections Grant
Schedule #4B—Program Description: NCLB Title II, Part D, Statutory Requirements Responses are limited to the space provided, front side only, with a font size no smaller than 9 point (Arial or Verdana).
Part 1: Statutory Requirements
Requirement 1: Describe how participating will improve the student academic achievement, including technology literacy, of all students attending schools served by the LEA and to improve the capacity of all teachers to integrate technology effectively into curricula and instruction.
Student achievement will be the focus of the All STARS (All Stakeholders through Technology Achieve Real-World Skills) Project. 981 participants will be given wireless laptops with a full array of productivity software, personal network space, email, blog and Podcasting space (password protected) and access to district funded online content materials- for all 4 core areas, United Streaming, EyeQ, Online content w/ teacher Blogs & videos, and online courseware (Moodle and media), online services and tutorials (ex. Google Apps, GPS and mapping software, Atomic Learning, Learn2type.com, Gizmos), research libraries including EBSCSO, online assessments (ex. AR/STAR, TSMDS, Study Island). A Grant Website is available for all stakeholders w/ online resources available 24/7. QuickStarts, videos, and blogs are available to supply scaffolding for users on laptop software and tools. All students will take academic and Tech Apps pre-assessment at the beginning of the year. Mentorships will be established with students and teachers using face-to-face and distance learning sessions. All STARS Teachers will learn to share digital content online and will partner to create Blogs for collaborating with counterparts in other districts. Each district will utilize online benchmarks for monitoring and adjusting instruction. Teachers will learn how to monitor, manage, and mentor students in hybrid project-based instruction (using rubrics) including online reading/writing procedures, science and math in-the-field technology kits, and social studies mapping and GPS software. Student and teacher products will be submitted to blogs and efolios for formative and summative evaluations by the administrative team. Flexibility is built into this plan as formative evaluations will determine training selections for personal Professional Development Calendars. Needs assessments for both students and teachers will determine which learning experiences are required. Teachers will monitor and adjust instruction using current data analysis techniques from LoTi and ESC10 training sessions. Recent success of students using instructional blogs & Study Island includes a Arp JRH student in JJAEP passing a TAKS test for the very first time and he passed all 4..
Requirement 2: Describe your specific goals for using advanced technology to improve student academic achievement aligned with challenging State academic content and student academic achievement standards.
Goal 1: To provide an enriched, collaborative, relevant, research-based, and rigorous learning environment for all stakeholders through a shared vision and use of advanced technology tools for all learners to meet or excel in state standards. Student learning through social interaction and reflection is maximized using problem-based and project-based learning. Our goal is to give all stakeholders’ research, communication, and global collaboration skills paramount for life-long investigation, decision-making, and deeply integrated and connected learning. Goal 2: To build capacity for flexibility and facilitation into the learning environment by gearing teaching and learning to provide technology infused differentiated instruction. This goal will produce stakeholders’ ownership of the learning process, use all types of technology tools 24/7, fit all stakeholders’ lifestyles, scaffold for all types of learners (including students who are addressed under IDEA, ESL, 504, and gifted and talented), provide coaching to all stakeholders, build a sense of community, caring, and sharing that benefit from distributed partnerships, the break down barriers of access, connectivity, and distances, while building capacity for evolving practices. This goal will provide scaffolding for nontraditional and at-risk students to increase graduation rates and reduce dropout rates. Goal 3: To meet the challenges of the new millennium with heightened leadership, improved instructional models, exemplary teacher competencies & collaborative skills by affording all stakeholders the critical components of a professional learning community. This goal will culminate in highly qualified and highly skilled educators who are able to conduct technology-assisted research, planning, implementation, analysis, reporting, and instructional adjustments for the benefit of all learners. Goal 4: To build a continuous improvement cycle into a drug free and safe educational environment by providing character education with high-skill, career, and post-secondary education opportunities for all students through project-based learning.

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.	TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010-2011	074903                        County District No. Amendment No
Connections Grant
Schedule #4B—Program Description: NCLB Title II, Part D, Statutory Requirements (cont.) Responses are limited to the space provided, front side only, with a font size no smaller than 9 point (Arial or Verdana).
Requirement 3: Describe the steps you will take to ensure that all participating students and teachers in schools served by the LEA involved have increased access to educational technology, including how the LEA would use funds (such as combining the funds with funds from other sources) to help ensure that—(A) students in high-poverty and high-needs schools, or schools identified under Section 1116, have access to technology; and (B) teachers are prepared to integrate technology effectively into curricula and instruction.
(A) All students in high-poverty and high-need participating schools will have access to technology tools 24/7. The All STARS students will be given wireless laptops with Podcasting capabilities and productivity software. Districts will offer online instruction (vendor-based and teacher/student-built), assessments, district teacher/student Blogs, Podcasts, streaming video, vlogs, and collaboration opportunities. For home use, each student will be offered discounted broadband access through local ISP. Each student will have a school-based email account accessible through the Web from anywhere 24/7 and access to online network storage; district secured Web 2.0 tools, and self-paced virtual instruction, portfolios, and assessments. These capabilities are already in place and being effectively utilized at the mentoring district, Arp ISD. (B)Teachers will be prepared to integrate technology effectively through extensive face-to-face coaching and cohort sessions, in-classroom modeling, mentoring and virtual professional development sessions. A cohort of teachers (Dream Team) from each district including mentor teachers (TForce) from Arp ISD will focus on project-based real-world learning. Facilitation will be through SUPERNet trainers, ESC10 with data-driven decision making training, science & math probes, R&M, Apple, and 2 online providers. Prescriptive lessons, tiered NETS certifications, TAMU provided TXVSN certification, Levels of Technology Integration and on-demand videos for integration techniques will be available. Teachers, with principal, will build a personalized professional development calendar (PDC) using selections from these offerings. The PDC will be completed by principal and teacher each semester based upon the teacher’s needs. The cohort will experience face-to-face break-out content session to explore, plan, and share ideas on project-based differentiated instruction supported by All STARS Website and Blog.
Requirement 4: Describe how you will—(A) identify and promote curricula and teaching strategies that integrate technology effectively into curricula and instruction, based on a review of relevant research, leading to improvements in student academic achievement, as measured by challenging State academic content and student academic achievement standards; and (B) provide ongoing, sustained professional development for applicable teachers, principals, administrators, and school library media personnel serving the local educational agency, to further the effective use of technology in the classroom or library media center, including, if applicable, a list of the entities that will be partners with the local educational agency involved in providing the ongoing, sustained professional development.
The All STARS districts will integrate technology extensively into curricula and instruction by:(1) Trainer-of-trainers sessions: best practices integrating online tools into the classroom (using interactive tools, screen capture, audio lessons, Podcasting, video streaming, simulations, text, blogs, and online services (2) Mentoring sessions: combining project-base units with Podcasting/Blogs and Moodle courseware (3) Current research sessions: combining online research with book studies, Texas Computer Education Association Conference, and subscriptions to TCEA & ISTE online magazines (4) ESC7 & ESC10 Training: Engaging learners with interactive technology tools (5) Atomic Learning: on-demand skills development in software and technology tools (6) Face-to-face cohort meetings: integration of technology into the core subject areas using project-based learning conducted by SUPERNet trainers, Donna Bogue and Dr Joy Rousseau (7) Classroom modeling: TForce (mentors) teachers, student mentors- SWAT Team (Students Working to Assist Technology), peers, and Certified Professional Education Provider #500218, Dr Rousseau. (8) ESC 12 InfoSource online provider: prescriptive learning and tiered certification in SBEC competencies including teacher efolios (9) SUPERNet Training: Scientific probes, GPS, and Moodle provided by Donna Bogue. (10) Pasco training: scientific probes for Math and Science core teams. (11) Apple training: Podcast, Blog, and Wiki services to technology support teams. (12) SofTouch training: technology support teams on virtual servers for courseware services (13) Research, communication, and collaboration skills workshops conducted by Dr Rousseau using hybrid media (face-to-face, ITV, audio lessons, video podcasts, Quick Starts, and Blog. (14) All educators training: identifying and supporting levels of technology integration (LoTi) and implementation of the LoTi template for walkthroughs and PDAS. (15) SUPERNet Administrator training: on heightening leadership skills in the 21^st Century (16) Librarians’ professional development: 21^st Century literacy and research skills using Web 2.0 tools to build capacity to support the 1 to 1 initiative 24/7 (17) Parent workshops, flyers, and DVDs on Internet Safety -Smith Co Sheriff’s Department & respective school administrators. (18) UT Tyler – Hybrid Research & Reading for the 21^st Century – Dr Gerla of UT Tyler and Dr Rousseau

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.	TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010-2011	074903                        County District No. Amendment No
Connections Grant
Schedule #4B—Program Description: NCLB Title II, Part D, Statutory Requirements (cont.) Responses are limited to the space provided, front side only, with a font size no smaller than 9 point (Arial or Verdana).
Requirement 5: Describe the type and costs of technologies to be acquired, including services, software, and digital curricula, and including specific provisions for interoperability among components of such technologies.
Technology tools include: 981 laptops (883 students + 98 teachers + administrators; 600 students from Bonham 9-12^th, 13 from Forerunner 6^th-12^th , and 270 from Arp 6-12th) – with minimum specs of 160 GB hard drive and 2 GB of Memory loaded with XP Pro OS with extended warranty. It is a fully loaded PC w/ Intel processor and a maximum price of $450 each. Each unit will have VGA output to additional monitor/projector, 98% to 100% full size Qwerty Keyboard, touchpad, Webcam & microphone for video conferencing, SLD slot, integrated Wi-Fi, tungsten chasse, all-aluminum rugged case is approx. book size. Some laptops will have an additional extended- life battery ($90) to ensure operability up to 8 full hours of normal use and surge protection. Laptops will be fully loaded with Office Suite and open-source software: Audacity/Lame (audio editing), iSpring (creates flash from slides), MovieMaker (video editor), Gimp (photo editor), Atomic Storyboard (mind-mapping), Skype (video conferencing), and more. Science, Social Studies, Math teachers requested interactive PC-based probes and GPS with software, 1 kit for each science classroom @ $3400 each + training ($3000). eBooks will be purchased as requested by ELA teachers @ $2000 per district. Online core area TAKS and TEKS-based assessments (PASeries, Study Island) will be purchased by the districts @ $12,375.00. EyeQ online training for students with dyslexia and reading difficulties will be purchased for $30 per student. Bonham ISD will receive an Apple Podcast/Blog, and Wiki server ($5000) with training ($6500), training for creating virtual servers for Moodle (open-source) courseware by SofTouch over two years ($5,000), & Easiteach interactive software ($7840 + training $2749) to create engaging interactive core content lessons. All districts have projectors and interactive boards in classrooms. Atomic & Infosource prescriptive online learning @ $22000 for both district. ESC10 Training ($5600), TxVSN ($1000) per teacher for those learning to build complete courses online, 24 CPE Credit Hour Workshops on project-based and differentiated instruction @ no cost (Dr Rousseau) Sheriff’s Department Parent Workshops on Internet Safety –no cost. LoTi training for all educators & administrators ($10,000). Pasco science probe training ($3000). All Teacher Coaches - taken to TCEA Conference each year of grant. Coaching stipends will also be given.
Requirement 6: Describe how you will coordinate activities carried out with grant funds with technology-related activities carried out with funds available from other federal, state, and local sources.
Forerunner Christian Academy has 13 students 6^th-12^th grade and 6 teachers. They will be sharing a campus building + internet connectivity in 2010-11 with Bonham ISD and will be referred to in terms of Bonham ISD in this grant as they will share servers, ISP, and many digital resources. Both Arp and Bonham districts will demonstrate buy-in by using blended funding for: (1) Licenses for virus protection – technology allotment (2) MS Office Suite where needed – district funds (3) Pre-grant travel costs for teacher/student teams to visit existing immersion project districts – local funds (4) Travel costs for professional development workshops off-site (ESC10, ESC7, SUPERNet, and Tyler Junior College)– local funds (5) SUPERNet Virtual High School Courses for distance learning courses – high school allotment and local technology funds (6) OdysseyWare online courses for acceleration, credit recovery, adult education, and GED – high school allotment and state compensatory funds (7) Partial travel expenses for coaches to attend TCEA Conference in Austin (~60 teachers) – partial Title II Part D and partial grant funds (8) Stipends for teachers who complete their Professional Development Plan and efolio work – local funds (9) Extended Laptop Insurance for accidental damage, screen breakages, liquid damage and power surges – Parents will be offered 4-year laptop protection (10) AISD has already purchased the Apple Podcast, Blog, & Wiki server, already has in place the Moodle, virtual servers and has piloted all the open-source software recommended for this grant. AISD also already has in place distance learning equipment (ITV) for interactive video. AISD will share their tech team to work with All STARS districts to implement each new service spending 3-5 days a semester (depending on need) to assist with server implementation, technology tools, software rollout, online assessments, and integration techniques at no cost. (11) Each district has already mounted projectors in all classrooms and implemented their own wireless solution from local funds. (12) Each district already has their wireless infrastructure in place and has already begun to implement interactive tools in most classrooms. Arp will purchase the remaining classrooms’ interactive tools through their district technology funds. (13) All districts will use local funds for AR/STAR, Eduphoria with LoTi template, C-SCOPE, online Grade books with parent access, student & faculty email and online storage. AISD is 80% ERATE funded. Bonham ISD - 78% ERATE funded.

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.	TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010-2011	074903                        County District No. Amendment No
Connections Grant
Schedule #4B—Program Description: NCLB Title II, Part D, Statutory Requirements (cont.) Responses are limited to the space provided, front side only, with a font size no smaller than 9 point (Arial or Verdana).
Requirement 7: Describe how you will integrate technology (including software and other electronically delivered learning materials) into curricula and instruction, and a timeline for such integration.
Grant announcement- newsletters go out to all stakeholders and administrators will launch parent emails and newspaper items to publish goals, implementation calendar, and the Connections Website. Teacher, Administrator, Parent, and Students surveys were distributed and collected in May, 2010. Teachers from both districts have already volunteered to begin their cohort planning sessions in the summer of 2010. In August, teams will visit experienced immersion districts to gain understanding about the transitioning process. Mid August, each district has scheduled 3 days of intensive hands-on differentiated instruction with project-base learning labs for faculty and administrators (including LoTi Framework professional development). 1st wk in Oct, tech dept will order teacher laptops & hardware. 2^nd wk Oct – cohort of teachers begin Dream Team training & collection of student data from online TEKS-based assessments (4 core subjects & technology) and teams meet to build student acceleration plans. Teachers take pre-assessment with InfoSource, 3^rd-4^th wk Oct -Teacher & SWAT Team Laptop Rollout & cohort meetings using QuickStarts & videos, productivity tools, analysis of prescriptive teacher proficiency assessment will assist teachers in mapping out their Teacher Professional Development Calendars (PDC) for first semester, ISTE book studies and educator Blogs initiated. Administrators participate in online training Modules on Prescriptive Assessments & Campus Planning. Tech team gains Apple training on Podcast/Blog, and Wiki server. 4th wk October, cohort meeting with laptops at Tyler Junior College to work with SWAT teams & Dream Team. Teachers Blog 201 training and implementation at this meeting. End of October-December Tech teams roll out remaining software packages, online products, & services. Dr Rousseau works individually with coaches in classrooms and in small groups on integration techniques. Teachers gain local stipend for completing semester PDC. Formulation of 2^nd semester PDC with principal or. Formative evaluations will drive needs assessments for additional mentor meetings.
Requirement 8: Describe how you will encourage the development and utilization of innovative strategies for the delivery of specialized or rigorous academic courses and curricula through the use of technology, and, if applicable, distance learning technologies, particularly for those areas that would not otherwise have access to such courses and curricula due to geographical isolation or insufficient resources.
Innovative strategies for technology enhanced and rigorous academic courses and curricula will be supported through content area cohorts each assigned a successful mentor and campus administrator. The Arp TForce mentors have experience in building online curricula for more than 3 years using online courseware and more recently Web 2.0 tools. All teachers will be afforded: just-in-time online professional development through Atomic Learning, prescriptive courseware for technology proficiencies through InfoSource Learning, LoTi online professional development, face-to-face, and teacher collaboration blogs, and virtual experiences with SUPERNet trainers. Arp schools moved from an unacceptable campus to a recognized campus within two years using the 4 strategies documented by Dr Marzano (interactive tools, Internet, online assessments, and teacher collaborative feedback). Dr Rousseau mentored teachers in online assessments, analysis, and identification of areas of needs, and in building an improvement plan for technology integration. Arp teachers have successfully created online curriculum with Blogs, Vlogs, and Podcasts which are challenging and engaging for all students. An example of filling the gap can be seen on the 8^th grade Math teacher’s Blog: http://podcast.arpisd.org/users/amandas/. She covered all course material while she was out on maternity leave because the district could not find a suitable replacement. Her audio podcasts and videos used a variety of interactive tools and she successfully blogged with her students on a daily basis. Delivering a baby 2 days before the Math TAKS test, she uploaded a video Podcast to her students the day before TAKS from her hospital room. Donna Bogue and Dr Rousseau, both certified TxVSN online instructors, will mentor teachers in best practices of online instruction availing students engaging 24/7 instruction. Dr Gerula, UT Tyler, will address 21^st Century research skills, offer college credit courses in reading instruction for core teachers and will act as a mentor by visiting their classrooms and helping them hone instructional skills. The Science and Math teachers will gain skills through PASCO training & SUPERNet hands-on Nature Center field labs using probes, laptops, GPS, and software. ESC10 and ESC7 will offer both on-site and off-site training using tiered workshops on interactive tools, Moodle, best practices, and administrator’s hands-on experience for disaggregating current student and teacher data for accountability. Dr Rousseau will introduce Arp faculty members to free Internet services such as Archive eBook Library, Etherpad, Polleverywhere, Diigo, using cell phones and personal electronic devices. Her Blog, “Once a Week with a Geek” features QuickStarts & videos on how to productively utilize these devices with higher-order thinking skills.

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.	TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010-2011	074903                        County District No. Amendment No
Connections Grant
Schedule #4B—Program Description: NCLB Title II, Part D, Statutory Requirements (cont.) Responses are limited to the space provided, front side only, with a font size no smaller than 9 point (Arial or Verdana).
Requirement 9: Describe how you will ensure the effective use of technology to promote parental involvement and increase communication with parents, including a description of how parents will be informed of the technology being applied in their child’s education so that the parents are able to reinforce at home the instruction their child receives at school.
The bi-district grant committee has already sent out a brief grant description with a parent survey to project parents. The survey requested parent input to form this grant. Being small towns, Bonham and Arp were well represented by the survey returns. The survey ask parents to express their interests in attending different kinds of workshops (laptop rollout, presentation on grant goals, Internet Safety, explaining the parent’s role, best practices and accountability issues, and technology skills development). Those responses will drive presentations to parents. Dr Rousseau has created a Website for the Vision 2020 – Connections Grant resources for parents, students, teachers, community members, and for the introduction to technology tools + project timeline. Each campus will send home pamphlets & newsletters created by the parent liaisons (counselor’s teams) that discuss grant goals, objectives, Website information and the calendar of events. Arp HS Video Technology Applications students have already begun DVDs for parents demonstrating the importance of connectivity in the home. Each community’s ISP providers will offer discounted rates to high need families and this offer will be sent out to each home. The Smith County Sheriff’s Department has partnered with The All STARS Project to provide Computer Cop software for home monitoring and Internet filtering. We have already provided that software for check out to our parents at campus libraries. The Tech Teams will load all laptops with this software and have demonstrations on how to use Computer Cop at the student laptop rollout extravaganza. QuickStarts & videos will be sent home and available online for stakeholders to learn how to use the productivity software on each laptop. Principals will send newspaper articles to each local paper to inform community of all events. The Connections Website will have interactive online monthly events for parents to take part in (parent blogs) and parent liaisons will issues a point system for taking part in these events. Plaques and iPods will be given at the end of each year to parents with the most participation points. Password protected Parent Blog participation will be part of the documenting segments for evaluation of the grant. Levels of technology integration (LoTi) will be explained as part of the project’s goals and parents will be surveyed on their perception of LoTi on the campus.
Requirement 10: Describe how programs will be developed, where applicable, in collaboration with adult literacy service providers, to maximize the use of technology.
Collaboration with adult literacy providers will take place through community organizations. Each campus will allow adults to access the district computer labs during extended hours. Adults may take ITV and video courses using grant-funded distance learning equipment to access NETNet (North East Texas Network of higher education providers) which includes all higher-education providers in Texas. Adults are also encouraged to access courses through Tyler Junior College, the adult learning center and the East Texas Literacy Council using each district’s extended computer lab hours. Both districts offer GED and continuing High School credit through OdysseyWare and online high school credit through the SUPERNet Virtual High School. (see adult partnership Website at: http://www.arpisd.org/curric/Adult_Learning.htm ). Parent liaisons will discuss and handout pamphlets explaining adult resources during The All STARS parent workshops (Laptop Rollout, Internet Safety, Grant Goals, and Best Practices) conducted in each district by The district grant committee. This grant will allow Bonham ISD to offer distance learning to any higher education facilities through ESC10 with the ITV equipment purchased through the Connections Grant. Parents and community members will be offered use of this equipment when available during the day and with extended lab hours. Arp ISD has successfully provided opportunities for instructional paraprofessionals to become members of the district’s SWAT Team. One such paraprofessional has moved from SWAT Team member to Technology Assistant and then on to become the Technology Application and BCIS I teacher on the junior high campus. All districts will expand the professional learning opportunities to advance all levels of stakeholders associated with the grant.

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.	TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010-2011	074903                        County District No. Amendment No
Connections Grant
Schedule #4B—Program Description: NCLB Title II, Part D, Statutory Requirements (cont.) Responses are limited to the space provided, front side only, with a font size no smaller than 9 point (Arial or Verdana).
Requirement 11: Describe the process and accountability measures that you will use to evaluate the extent to which activities funded under the grant are effective in integrating technology into curricula and instruction, increasing the ability of teachers to teach, and enabling students to meet challenging state academic content and student academic achievement standards.
The cycle of Evaluation/Analysis/Needs Assessment/Action Plan/Implementation will be a continuous process throughout the grant. Accountability process begins with a pre-assessment for all stakeholders. STUDENTS: Teachers will gather baseline data from each student using online TEKS-based assessments in Math, Social Studies, Science, ELA and technology applications. Students will take the online 8^th grade TA assessment. Quantitative data will be supplied by online TEKS-based benchmark assessments availing educators immediate feedback. Baseline data will consist of benchmarks, surveys, LoTi evaluations, STaR chart, and TAKS scores. Formative data will include online reports from PD providers, TAMU TxVSN certification, & number of active blogs collaborations. Teachers will be instructed on how to adjust instruction based on an array of assessments. Student and teacher products will be submitted to blogs and efolios for formative and summative evaluations by the administrative team. Teachers will gain professional development on how to disaggregate data. Current data will help guide, adjust, and modify instructional strategies. TEACHERS: Teacher self-reporting surveys will provide level of technology expertise. InfoSource will determine all educators’ level of competency in technology applications (SBEC/NETs). Feedback by principals and teachers will support the teachers’ personalized professional development calendar to track the teachers’ completion of prescribed training. Online logs from Atomic Learning & Info Source, will be examined to determine if and when the resources are used. Administrative LoTi walkthrough instrument will assess by direct observation the technology integration strategies utilized in the classroom. ALL STAKEHOLDERS: TCET’s external evaluator will provide surveys to be distributed for baseline qualitative data to all stakeholders. This data will comprise the baseline from which all proceeding assessments will be measured. Principals and campus-based teams will build password protected content area blogs to distribute, analyze, and make data-driven instructional decisions using current data from each grading cycle.
Requirement 12: Describe the supporting resources (such as services, software, other electronically delivered learning materials, and print resources) that will be acquired to ensure successful and effective uses of technology.
Successful use of technology will take place through face-to-face Dream Team (participating teachers & mentors) meetings, one-to-one coaching opportunities, and online discussions through virtual collaborative Web 2.0 tools and personalized learning opportunities. These opportunities will: (1) Be flexible according to each stakeholder’s level of expertise by offering an array of prescriptive learning experiences (i.e. TAMU TXVSN, ESC workshops, R&M, Atomic Learning & Info Source). Support will begin with pre-assessments from InfoSource (SBEC competencies) and LoTi to determine each teacher’s personal technology profile. (2) Build a 21^st Century professional learning community (PLC) & vision using the research-based (http://www.21stcenturyskills.org/index.php,) Framework for 21st Century Learning among the Dream Team with Dr Rousseau facilitating. Included in these sessions will be an emphasis on authentic project-based and differentiated instructional techniques. (3) Support open-sources software affording all stakeholders access to virtual and hands-on teaching and learning (T&L) tools- SUPERNet trainers will mentor in Moodle courseware (4) Enhance online discussions using a collection of 21^st Century Thinking-Out-Loud (YouTube) videos to spark PLC Blog discussions (5) Integrate learning experiences with mentor-guided practice to infuse technology across the curriculum for deep learning experiences with interactive tools, productivity software, courseware, and Web 2.0 tools. (6) Incorporate book studies each semester (Ex: ISTE’s Technology Facilitation and Leadership Standards and 1 to 1 Learning Laptop Programs that Work). Participants will ejournal and interact using the Apple Blog portal. Principals will be able to use these resources (books and Blogs) during faculty meetings and campus improvement discussions. (7) Give access to online magazines, Tech & Learning and Edutopia for each educator. (8) Provide QuickStarts and “Once a Week with a Geek”, Dr Rousseau’s Podcasts w/ short technology news items and tech tool tips sessions based on new tools & specific requests from teachers. (9) Teachers will be able to digitally record instruction from any of the interactive tools and upload lessons to their Blogs & Wikis enabling students to review, accelerate, and/or gain enrichment 24/7. Math and Science teachers trained on GPS, probes, and hands-on field lab software.10) Provide the Dream Team with a beginner’s rubric to structure online instruction to address multiple learning styles. As teachers grow in expertise they will collaborate to build a more explicit rubric for online instruction. (11) Assist teachers in building a personalized Professional Development Calendar (PDC) to differentiate instruction for all levels of expertise.

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.	TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010-2011	074903                        County District No. Amendment No
Connections Grant
Schedule #4B—Program Description: NCLB, Title II, Part D Statutory Requirements (cont.) Responses are limited to the space provided, front side only, with a font size no smaller than 9 point (Arial or Verdana).
Requirement 13: Response to this requirement is only required if an applicant is not applying for a waiver from this requirement. To be eligible for review and scoring, the applicant must EITHER complete Part 1 of this schedule and Schedule #4B—Professional Development OR complete the waiver on the next page. Describe how you will meet the Title II, Part D, requirement to use not less than 25% of awarded grant funds to provide ongoing, sustained, and intensive, high-quality professional development. The recipient shall provide professional development in the integration of advanced technologies, including emerging technologies, into curricula and instruction and in using those technologies to create new learning environments, such as professional development in the use of technology— a. to access data and resources to develop curricula and instructional materials b. to enable teachers— i. to use the Internet and other technology to communicate with parents, other teachers, principals, and administrators; and ii. to retrieve Internet-based learning resources c. to lead to improvements in classroom instruction in the core academic subjects, that effectively prepare students to meet challenging State academic content standards, including increasing student technology literacy, and student academic achievement standards d. to teach effectively in the online environment e. to serve as an effective on-site facilitator for online courses. Note: Regardless of the amount of grant funds expended, the grantee is required to expend at least 25% of the amount awarded for professional development.
Title II Part D funds will be used to offer an array of multi-faceted professional development (PD) opportunities that support online curriculum development and stakeholder communication. PD will be offered that addresses: (1) “Just-in-time” PD through Atomic Learning, Info Source, QuickStarts, Moodle, Grant-based Podcasts, & mentors (2) “Content Appropriate” PD using Dream Team (teachers and mentors) department meetings to share integration techniques specific to address knowledge and skills, accepted standards, problem-solving & real-world project-based curriculum. East core subject area will be given additional online tools, software and services to enhance their particular area of content. Curriculum strands such as communication, online & field-based research techniques, collaboration, and technology integration will be woven through each core area. Special content specific tools will be demonstrated and mentors will be provided. (i.e. ELA teachers – Diigo, Etherpad; Science teachers – GPS & probe software, TI Navigator; SS – GPS & mapping software, Math – TI Navigator, Gizmos, online simulations; all teachers: TCEA,Polleverywhere, EBSCO, Podcasting techniques, Vlog casting, using Audacity, Movie editor, Moodle, and Free Studio, UT Tyler Hybrid course on research methods, ESC disaggregation workshops) (3) “Process Appropriate” PD utilizing multi-modal, interactive, and engaging activities. These opportunities encompass flexible groups (departments, teachers & students, administrators & staff), collaboration (study groups, team planning, independent study, group investigations, quests, journaling, tiered lessons, TXVSN certifications, and PLC networks) Teachers will experience PD that reflects best practices in classroom and online strategies. (4) “Context Appropriate” PD will allow stakeholders to create the linkage between old & new knowledge which will enhance student achievement. They will learn how to integrate technology ubiquitously using interactive tools available online and in their classrooms. (5) “Learner-Centered” PD addresses “buy in” of each participant. Teachers will formulate their own Professional Learning Calendar (with principal) to maximize effective use of their time and energy. They will be able to establish flexible extended learning opportunities in a variety of settings and with a variety of partners and processes. Teachers will experience constructivist learning opportunities which they will be able to reproduce in their teaching practices. (6) “Self-Evaluated, Self-Managed” PD will allow the stakeholder to assess their own personal growth and benefit from the training. They will be able to set their own personal agenda and goals. They will be able to determine if the training is authentic, satisfactory, and whether it meets their personal standards using their Professional Learning Calendar as rubric to measure personal growth. The Administrative Team (principals and administrators) will be able to use stakeholder self-reporting surveys to adjust grant activities during formative evaluations over the course of the grant.

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.	TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010-2011	074903                        County District No. Amendment No
Connections Grant
Schedule #4B—Program Description: NCLB, Title II, Part D Statutory Requirements (cont.) Responses are limited to the space provided, front side only, with a font size no smaller than 9 point (Arial or Verdana).
Part 2: Professional Development Waiver
Complete this part of this schedule, including checkboxes at end, ONLY if you are applying for a waiver from the requirement that the grantee shall use not less than 25% of awarded grant funds to provide ongoing, sustained and intensive high-quality professional development. To be eligible for review and scoring, applicants must EITHER complete the waiver on this page OR complete Requirement 13 on the previous page and Schedule #4B—Program Description: Professional Development. Responses are limited to the space provided, front side only, with a font size no smaller than 9 point (Arial or Verdana).
Describe how professional development in technology is ongoing and sustained (not stand-alone sessions).
N/A
Describe how professional development in technology is intensive and of high quality.

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.	TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010-2011	074903                        County District No. Amendment No
Connections Grant
Schedule #4B—Program Description: NCLB, Title II, Part D Statutory Requirements (cont.) Responses are limited to the space provided, front side only, with a font size no smaller than 9 point (Arial or Verdana).
Part 2: Professional Development Waiver (cont.)
Describe how professional development in technology is provided to all teachers on the participating campuses in core academic subjects.
N/A
Describe how professional development in technology is focused on the integration of advanced technologies, including emerging technologies, into curricula and instruction.
Yes Applicant verifies that all educators on the participating campuses currently meet the SBEC standards for beginning teachers that include the technology application standards I-V as noted in the Campus STaR Chart Summaries attached. Yes Applicant verifies that their professional development meets the definition of professional development in SAS #6E, Provisions and Assurances for No Child Left Behind.
The waiver is subject to review and approval by TEA. In the event the waiver is not approved, and the grantee is selected for funding, the grantee will be required to revise the application to incorporate 25% of the funds to be used for professional development.

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.	TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010-2011	074903                        County District No. Amendment No
Connections Grant
Schedule #4B—Program Description: TEC §§32.151-32.157 Statutory Requirements Responses are limited to the space provided, front side only, with a font size no smaller than 9 point (Arial or Verdana).
Requirement 1: Describe your plans to demonstrate to stakeholders the use of technology for improving teaching and learning.
All parents, community, administrators, teachers, and student will have: ¨ Opportunities to join local face-to-face training sessions on Internet Safety, Computer Cop, Grant Goals, and Best Practices in Integration Techniques. ¨ Invitation to the laptop rollout and DVD distribution of laptop demonstration of proper use and application software ¨ Website announcements will direct parents to Teacher blogs and password-protected student blogs where project-based products, content, instruction, podcasts, and student-created materials will be available. ¨ Newsletters and flyers on grant goals and objectives and parent events ¨ Opportunities for establishing a Web presence for collaboration, teaching, and learning ¨ Blog Parties with refreshments, prizes, and time to share best practices of online teaching and learning All students will have: Their own password-protected Blog space to upload assignments, projects, products, and creative expression Opportunities to create Podcasts, videos, animation & graphics, writing samples, and collaboration strands Technical training on laptop productivity tools (audio/video, graphics) and Blog enhancement techniques (video, graphics, and animation) All educators will have: A Web presence for teaching and learning to demonstrate multi-media digital content and collaboration Access to LoTi best practices in the classroom and TXVSN training for online instruction. Accountability standards and research-based best practices for online and classroom instruction will follow iNACOL standards
Requirement 2: Describe how you will use and demonstrate the use of digital tools and resources to extend learning opportunities from school to home.
All project teachers and students will have access to digital tools and resources 24/7 through online services, applications, courseware, and collaboration opportunities. All instructional recordings, interactive tools(Promethean, MIMIO, wireless tablets, doc cams) recordings, Netcam recordings, and online services (United Streaming, Diigo, Etherpad, Study Island, Polleverywhere, Gizmos, Atomic Learning, Simulations, YouTube videos, Moodle, Google Docs and more) have the capability of being blended into the online teaching and learning environment via the Apple portal - Podcast, Wiki, and Blog server and a Moodle server at each district. Core subject area technology tools training, InfoSource NETS and Atomic learning online instruction will be blended with Web 2.0 tools and the following: · Hands-on learning face-to-face instruction over each of the various digital tools throughout the grant period (probes, TI, TCEA conference, interactive tools, and doc cameras). These sessions will be Web enhanced http://www.arpisd.org/vision2020.htm#Teachers and tiered by level of expertise. o Blog 101 will cover opening and maintaining a blog and how to use it to promote higher-order thinking skills and planning on online digital content. o Blog 201 will cover enhancing Blogs with graphics and animation to engage students in content for increased retention o Blog 301 will cover recording digital content from laptops, doc cams, interactive tools, and how to upload videos and Flash using Free Studio to the Blog. o Free Online Tools 101 will introduce Teachers to free Web 2.0 tools, virtual field trips, and new tech tools, blogger’s tool kit and project-based instruction and introduction to Moodle. Many of the online services utilize any type of cell phone or user-owned digital hand-held technology. o Online Tools 201 will introduce teachers to differentiated instructional models using online resources for special needs learners, whole-part-whole instruction, and levels-of-thinking strategies w/ More Moodle · be mentored by students (SWAT TEAMs – Students Working to Assist Technology) and coached by peers (TForce) who have demonstrated SBEC competencies, to use the new tools and to support teachers in problem-solving throughout the grant period. TForce & SWAT Teams will be trained in multi-district face-to-face groups and will share experiences and tips through a collaborative Blog site for mentors. They will participate in the creation of QuickStarts and short screen-shot videos to support the skills they introduce to their mentee. They have access to a Mentor Website for the All STARS Project: http://www.arpisd.org/vision2020.htm#Tools

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.	TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010-2011	074903                        County District No. Amendment No
Connections Grant
Schedule #4B—Program Description: TEC §§32.151-32.157 Statutory Requirements (cont.) Responses are limited to the space provided, front side only, with a font size no smaller than 9 point (Arial or Verdana).
Requirement 3: Provide examples of transformative instructional practices and lessons that support academic learning in the classroom and at home and how that will be showcased.
Using the Framework for 21st Century Learning http://www.p21.org/index.php as a model for transformative instructional practices and George Siemens Connectivism Learning Theory for the 21st Century, the online collaboration and teaching and learning environment created by Arp ISD teachers exhibits transformative instructional practices. Two examples include an 8th grade math teacher who knew she would be delivering a baby within days of the 8th gr Math TAKS test. She created a full semester blog of all teaching videos, assignments, instructions, and guided-practice on her blog: http://podcast.arpisd.org/users/amandas/ The day before the TAKS test she blogged from her hospital room to show her baby to her students and to encourage them on the TAKS test to be taken the next day. (http://podcast.arpisd.org/users/amandas/weblog/f2b77/April_16_2009_Day_3_of_the_budget_project.html ). That campus went from unacceptable to recognized as a result of extended online learning and successful collaboration. Parents testified that they would watch the guided practice videos from home and then were able to help their child complete the math homework assignments. In this experience, very few parents were able to help their child after about 4th grade math without this type of assistance. Uploading videos which walk students through the learning process has proven to be very valuable in changing instructional practices. Another example of extending the learning to the home included a Spanish teacher whose child became hospitalized. This teacher uploaded all her video lessons remotely to her blog http://podcast.arpisd.org/users/ashliec/ so that students did not miss any instruction while she was away. The substitute teachers in these cases utilized the blogs for instruction. By reviewing other teacher’s blogs to see what they are teaching, thematic units are created between content areas. Arp ISD teachers have learned that digitizing lessons affords students who need to accelerate the opportunity to forge ahead, students who need repetition to review as often as they need, and students who want to work from home, to have extended and supportive multimedia instruction. Teachers post assignments & students use the comment sections responses or for students to supply their own blog addresses where they have posted their own products. (http://podcast.arpisd.org/users/jarvie/weblog/e521a/4th_Period_Projects.html)
Requirement 4: Provide a detailed description of the way you will use students’ existing home electronic devices and/or provide 24/7 access through electronic device checkout options to extend learning at home.
The advantage of posting digital content online whether through a Blog or through Courseware (Moodle) is that it becomes accessable from anywhere in the world at anytime. Any electronic device with access to the Internet is able to utilize the digital materials. Arp ISD has created an iPhone Access Web Page which allows users to access digital resources easily via any hand-held device. http://www.arpisd.org/iphone.htm Polleverywhere.com has opened new uses for cell phones in classrooms using higher-order thinking skills. (http://podcast.arpisd.org/users/joy/weblog/76a37/FUN_with_Cell_Phones.html) Field research in science can be assisted by cell phones and user-owned devices. These are used to collect video, photos, and descriptions of flora & fauna in the field. They are also used to upload questions or comments interactively to a teacher generated poll via the Internet. (http://podcast.arpisd.org/users/joy/weblog/737c3/MORE_FUN_with_Cell_Phones.html) The mentor district (Arp ISD) has piloted many open-source and free software packages to provide platforms for digital learning. Among these are Audacity/Lame, Free Studio, Windows Movie Maker, Garageband, iSpring, (a list is provided at: http://www.arpisd.org/inserv/Online_Learning.htm ) Because any user is able to download the programs and use them at home, we feel we have successfully crossed an access barrier. QuickStarts are provided for these products on Arp’s Website: http://www.arpisd.org/database/Tech_Center.htm or on the “Once a Week with a Geek” Blog. The Connections grant will afford approximately 883 students, 98 teachers and administrators from 4 campuses in 2 districts wireless laptops for school and home use. These laptops will be loaded with Office Suite and all the free productivity tools needed to complete the grant objectives. DVDs will be distributed along with online QuickStart videos for instructions on how to use the productivity tools helping to support not only student and teacher learning, but parent and guardian skill development. Each student will be afforded a password-protected blog to upload products and assignments from home 24/7. They will also be able to access their blogs from any Internet connected device. Students will be able to interact with teachers and peers through online services such as Google Docs (Google Apps) and Etherpad. All STARS students & teachers will have access to Atomic Learning and all virtual learning resources from anywhere 24/7. The All STARS project will give students the skills to utilize personal electronic devices beyond the bounds of consumerism. They will learn how to be ethical, creative, productive, and empowered using these devices.

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.	TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010-2011	116909                        County District No. Amendment No
Connections Grant
Schedule #4B—Program Description: TEC §§32.151-32.157 Statutory Requirements (cont.) Responses are limited to the space provided, front side only, with a font size no smaller than 9 point (Arial or Verdana).
Requirement 5: Describe the electronic devices that you will make available to allow students, at school and at home, to use software, online courses, and other appropriate learning technologies that have been shown to improve academic achievement and the progress measures listed in TEC §32.155(e).
Arp ISD is a member of SUPERNet which has had a Virtual High School for almost 8 years. We have given student laptops and provided extended lab time so they could complete their online course work. We are very familiar with how important an onsite facilitator is to help solve problems and answer questions for students who use online courses. As a small district online courses afford our district with classes not normally available to small rural school districts. The districts involved in this grant are rural and fairly remote. Using online courses will lower drop-out rates, increase early graduation rate, and provided students with competitive skills for their next adventure in education. The All STARS Project will provide Bonham & Arp HS campuses with wireless laptops. It will also provide laptops for 8th graders at Arp Jr H. Arp will purchase additional laptops for the remaining 6-7^th grade students. Forerunner Christian Academy 6^th-12th students will also receive laptops. Project students and teachers will be able to access online services, curriculum and instruction, digital resources 24/7 from anywhere. Arp & Bonham have completed their wireless access infrastructure but will need to add additional access points to to manage the number of users deployed by the Connections grant. Arp has partnered with the local ISP to gain discounts for Internet access to the homes. Students will be able to maintain their online connectivity at home because of this discount. Bonham ISD has begun working towards this same partnership. Parent surveys were distributed in both Bonham and Arp ISD. These surveys gathered information concerning parents’ needs to support a 1-to-1 initiative between home and school. These surveys helped formulate initiatives for the All STARS Project. Parents will be invited to several events during the course of the grant including the Laptop Rollout event. Information pamphlets, posters, newspaper articles, & DVDs will be distributed explaining all the types of resources available to students and parents including online content (instructional blogs) and instructional courseware (Moodle). All districts have the ability to share grades and parent notifications online so that parents are kept in the loop for student progress. All districts utilize CSCOPE with lesson plans available to parents. Online benchmarks will drive instruction and be shared with parents at each grading interval.
Requirement 6: Describe the plan for students participating in the project to retain an electronic device provided under the project as long as the student is enrolled in a participating district.
Each All STARS campus has technology staff onsite. Both districts have in-house repair capabilities. The mentoring district, Arp ISD, has had a laptop checked-out prgram to students & teachers for more than 8 years. We have in place check-out policies and contracts for teachers, administrators, students, and parents to sign, laptop care and maintenance instructions, HelpDesk, and posting policies for student online communication. These will be shared with Bonham ISD. The wireless networks are able to track and maintain a balanced load for current use. Arp ISD has not lost a laptop to this day and has had minimal breakage. Arp ISD has piloted Netbooks for 2 years and has found them to be extremely resilliant. We have seen one fall from a desk, bounce on its side and be caught by the student with out injury to the laptop. However, both districts are offering parents the opportunity to purchase a very reasonable insurance policy for their child’s laptop if they wish. SWAT Teams (Students Working to Assist Technology) will be trained to trouble shoot and solve simple networking issues. AISD has a HS A+ certification program through which students are used as SWAT mentors. All laptops will be checked out to students with a parental or guardian signature on the contract. All laptops will be imaged with all the tools needed to execute the grant objectives. Laptops will be turned in once a year for reimaging and inspection. The schools will maintain extra laptops for an immediate swap with a problem laptop. All laptops will be provided with surge protection, laptop bags, mice, and district-funded malware/spyware, & virus protection software. All laptop users will be given instructions on how to keep the laptop running effectively and best practices in care and use. Extra batteries and battery chargers will be available on each campus to provide a hotswappable battery whenever needed. Students will be required to have their laptops available each day at school. Each district will be utilizing ebooks and online texts so that students will need to access online materials even from the beginning of the grant. All laptops will be inventoried and registered to only one user. Tracing a laptop through the district will be the responsibility of the tech team for that campus. This is easily done through tracking software.

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.	TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010-2011	074903                      County District No. Amendment No
Connections Grant
Schedule #4B—Program Description: TEC §§32.151-32.157 Statutory Requirements (cont.) Responses are limited to the space provided, front side only, with a font size no smaller than 9 point (Arial or Verdana).
Requirement 7: Describe the details of the campus improvement plan and how leadership will implement the project in the LEA. In your description, consider the educational problems in the district or school that could be mitigated through the implementation of the project; and the digital resources that are necessary to ensure the successful implementation of the project.
Bonham HS and Arp Jr H & HS have identified in their campus improvement plans a need to increase the Math and Science scores of their economically disadvantaged and Hispanic sub-populations.These sub-pops most often need enrichment in science, math, & technology specific terminology, concepts, and communication skills in these subjects. The All STARS Project will afford these students myriads of A/V-enhanced online resources and installed programs to assist in extended learning opportunities, acceleration, and review. According to Dorothy Strickland, Rutgers University Research Fellow (2000) econdomically disadvantaged and ESL students learn best by experiencing “whole-part-whole” instruction: (1) whole: a wide variety of media and a broad base of reading experiences; (2) part: rules, formulas, maxims; (3) whole:student expression, learner-centered, products of interest using verbiage and terminology to demonstrating understanding from the two previous strategies. Technology tools allow students to gain all three parts of this learning theory- (1) Media, simulations, and e-books will enrich vocabulary & concepts especially for science, math & technology; (2) drills, step-by-step guided practice, assessments, online dictionaries & thesaurus, and prescriptive instruction; (3) a platform for creating, demonstrating, and communicating how learned concepts are utilized in the real-world. The collaboration, communication, research, and technology strands that run through all curriculum content areas will build a broad base of cross-curricular skills aiding in retention and deeper learning. A second learning theory of interest includes experiential learning through large muscle involvement. According to this theory, the learner retains information longer and deeper if the large muscles are involved. Getting students up out of their seats and involved in real-world activities builds deeper learning. Science/Math remote research kits with probes, GPS, MACsoftware will be purchased for 3 campuses. Hands-on learning in math and science will also be augmented by TI Navigator classroom sets. These tech tools allow remote use, experiential learning, and real-world problem solving
Requirement 8: Describe the technological readiness of this campus to support the project and whether or not the campus is serving grades 6 through 12.
Both districts have one or more technology integration specialist who will assist in the Trainer-of-trainers model of professional development. Arp ISD (6^th-12^th) has technology mentors (both student and teachers) who have been instrumental in coaching teachers over the years in not only Arp ISD but other SUPERNet districts as well. These mentors have been trained in Intel ©Teach to the Future, TARGET, TIE, and TIF grants. Several have taught online for many years. Dr Rousseau has completed the TXVSN online training while teaching online for more than 8 years. (Vita: http://www.arpisd.org/download/vita.htm. Arp ISD was selected by TEA to be highlighted in their AMS Pictures video for best practices in technology integration. As mentors to Bonham ISD, both districts will be able to share and expand their exploration of best practices in emerging technologies. All administrators and board members are supportive of the 1-to-1 initiative. Their buy-in has been seen through support of the each district’s current district technology plan. Both plans have emphasized the importance of moving towards this goal. Each district has been supported by their respective boards and administration in securing funding for the wireless infrastructure to support the All STARS Project. Both districts have piloted the technology and the policies to promote the 1-to-1 implementation. Arp ISD trained student mentors this past year and gave all mentors netbooks to use 24/7 with all the software necessary to support teachers on all three campuses. They interacted with teachers all year and support our Blog 101, 201, 301, Freeware 101, and 201 training sessions. Teachers were also given the opportunity to become mentors and coaches through our Blog Parties. These were an unprecedented success and will be continued throughout this grant. Arp mentors will meet with counterparts in Bonham ISD and coach them through training as they become SWAT and TForce Team members. Both districts have the infrastructure in place to support the extended use of the network. Training will be supplied to the tech teams on each campus to optimize their network by Apple Support and Softouch Inc. All stakeholders will be given the opportunity to grow as the All STARS Project unfolds. Parents, students, teachers, administrators, support staff and technology teams will all gain professional development in supporting the project from their perspective.

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.	TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010-2011	074903                        County District No. Amendment No
Connections Grant
Schedule #4B—Program Description: TEC §§32.151-32.157 Statutory Requirements (cont.) Responses are limited to the space provided, front side only, with a font size no smaller than 9 point (Arial or Verdana).
Requirement 9: Describe the community team that will assist in the development and implementation of the Connections Grant.
The Connections Grant Team is made up of the following: --Bi-district Grant Team consisting of the Project Manager (Joy Rousseau), district project coordinator (Bret Simpson), administrators, directors,partners, students, community members, parents, teachers and TCET evaluator. This team will meet at least once a year to reevaluate progress of the grant, to share ideas, and to re-align activities for continuing progress of grant goals. --District Administrative Team: principals, curriculum directors, instructional technologists, and counselors. This team will identify teachers with SBEC competencies to qualify as coaches for less skilled teachers. The districts have already surveyed teachers using a self-reporting competency skills checklist from the TCEA website to use for needs assessment and expertise identification. The Administrative Team will also work with teachers to build their personal Professional Development Calendars (PDC) based on the self-reporting checklist and grant PD opportunities. They will also meet to discuss formative assessment data and needed grant adjustments at the benchmark grading cycle. They will also meet with the Project Evaluator to discuss formative and yearly assessments. They will be responsible for making sure that all data are collected for the Project Evaluator. --The Parent Liaison Teams are directed by campus counselors. They will communicate with parents, create All STARS Project pamphlets, flyers, & posters to relate grant goals to community and parents and monitor grant implementation as seen by parents and community members. Parents have been surveyed to make recommendations for workshops they would like to attend. The surveys revealed that parents were interested in attending Internet Safety, Grant Goals, Best Practices in Technology Integration, and Laptop Rollout. These workshops will be conducted by campus Instructional Technologists using materials created by the Bi-district teams. Counselors will contact parents for Parent Workshops and create surveys for parents to express needs and satisfaction with workshops and grant initiatives. --The TForce Team is made up of mentor teachers from Arp ISD who will work one-on-one with coaches at Bonham ISD in the face-to-face Trainer-of-trainer workshops. The TForce Team will communicate with coaches via a dedicated Coaching Blog, email, chat, and ITV equipment. They will share curriculum integration ideas and online instructional techniques with the Bonham ISD Coaches. --The Dream Team represents all teachers who are involved in the grant: all Bonham High School teachers and all Arp High School and Junior High School teachers. The Dream Team will receive extensive and long-term professional development through face-to-face sessions, coaching sessions, mentoring sessions, content-specific sessions, just-in-time opportunities, collaborative research & book studies, online tiered PD for SBEC competencies, and via a distributed professional learning community enhanced by blogging. --The SWAT (Students Working to Advance Technology) Team will include students from both districts who are trained to assist in trouble shooting and nurturing both students and teachers in the use of the software and hardware needed to advance the grant goals. The students will be selected by the administrative team and will gain training through 2 face-to-face sessions, Connections Grant Website support, QuickStarts and step-by-step videos, a SWAT Blog, and ITV sessions. Students will sign a mentor contract and be guided in professional conduct and mentoring procedures by Dr. Rousseau. --Technology Team are made up of the bi-district Technology Directors, technology assistants, Helpdesk assistants, and instructional technology specialists. This team will be responsible to mentoring and monitoring the SWAT teams and for assisting the rollout and implementation of the hardware, software, and acceptable use policies and procedures. They will also help to create Quickstarts and videos for proper use of all software and hardware. They will monitor and track network statistics and keep the infrastructure monitored for maximum efficiency. They will meet at least once a semester via ITV to discuss any issues or concerns that may need attention or modification.

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.	TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010-2011	074903                       County District No. Amendment No
Connections Grant
Schedule #4B—Program Description: TEA Program Requirements
Requirement 1: Describe how the Connections Grant LEA will establish sustainable models for using digital content, emphasizing flexibility in teaching and learning and anytime, anywhere access – at school, at home, and in the community. Responses are limited to the space provided, front side only, with a font size no smaller than 9 point (Arial or Verdana).
The All STARS Project (Connections Grant) will model its digital content after TAMU’s TXVSN Web Instructor certification. Both Dr Rousseau and Donna Bogue, trainers for this grant, are Web Instructor certified through TAMU’s TXVSN program and experienced online instructors. The Dream Team, as well as students, will learn how to generate online content using an array of formats, media, and techniques (audio, text, video, simulation, online services, animation, higher-order collaboration, and Web 2.0 tools). The professional learning community (PLC), including TForce (mentors), SWAT (student mentors), Dream Team, administrators, and staff will share and develop online Web instruction skills throughout the course of the grant. This PLC will enable all educators to prepare engaging materials by sharing, uploading, recording, and/or simulating instructional content for the benefit of all types of learning styles. Participating in peer reviews of online content will assist each educator in gaining an external “eye” or view of materials. Students and teachers will help to create content using a Dream Team-generated beginner’s rubric. They will learn how to: address the needs of special learners through replication of all content materials via audio, A/V, textual, graphics, simulation/interactive, and animation. utilize digital courseware, multiple digital formats, ejournals, online services and assessments while abiding by copyright laws model online teaching techniques using 8 levels of interactivity monitor, manage, nurture, and engage successful online learners with different learning styles field test and authenticate their content and assessments create highly interactive content and know the difference between static and dynamic online content motivate reluctant online students with a variety of strategies be flexible to unexpected roadblocks and circumstances and to make multiple levels of scaffolding materials (course outlines, syllabi, assignment calendars, parent newsletters, blog postings) for all types of circumstances, learners, and situations use multiple avenues of digital interactive discussion forums, and various modes of digital communication and collect a variety of response types from students who are participating in online learning and to anticipate an array of interactions among all levels of participants (including parents and administrators) develop an “e-style” that is inviting, engaging, supportive, and responsive develop multi-model delivery for each concept continuously research best practices and new methods of online instruction and share research with the PLC Content will be managed through teacher blogs during the first year of the grant. The learning curve to produce content on a blog requires the teacher be proficient in applications such as word processing, PowerPoint, audacity and a movie editor. As a natural progression, in the second year of the grant, teachers will be trained on Moodle courseware and how to present organized “modules” of content for online teaching and learning. They will also be offered TAMU TXVSN training and certification opportunities to build full courses online.

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.	TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010-2011	074903                        County District No. Amendment No
Connections Grant
Schedule #4B—Program Description: TEA Program Requirements
Requirement 2: Describe how students will: a. Access digital content and resources anytime, anywhere. b. Access personal technology tools and school provided multi-media tools at school, at home, and in the community. c. Engage in student-centered learning environments, creating content and using personal technology tools. Responses are limited to the space provided, front side only, with a font size no smaller than 9 point (Arial or Verdana).
(a) The All STARS Project has provisions to hold all teachers accountable during the first year of the grant. They will produce online content via an instructional blog. This blog will be openly accessible to all learners, parents, community members, and other members of the Dream Team. Students will be allowed to access the blog without a password anytime, anywhere. Responses (comments) to the instructional blog will be password protected so that only grant-related users may respond to a teacher’s blog. This keeps anonymous comments off the site. Students will also have password protected blog space where they can upload their own projects, products, and responses to instructional discussions. Only district users will be able to view these blogs to adhere to CIPA and COPPA laws. Students will be able to manage their blogs within the confines of the Posting Policies of each district, while having creative license in design and use of their blog. Products uploaded to a student’s blog will allow teachers in multiple content areas to assess and give credit as appropriate. Parent blogs and collaboration blogs will be established for all types of groups to interact and respond to during the course of the grant. These user blogs will have password protection so that only special groups can access and contribute these. All blogs will be accessible from anywhere and at anytime. Math and Science teachers will be involved in the remote research laps which will be able to capture data in the field via GPS, software, probes, and a wireless card with Mac book. Students will use their cell phones in the field to document flora and fauna via the Polleverywhere free online service. Teacher will be able to incorporate their TI Navigator & calculators in field research as well. These tools will help students understand the difference between being producers for the global database of knowledge versus being merely consumers of online resources. (b) The All STARS Project will give all educators the opportunity to learn how to utilize personal technology tools in the classroom and in field research. Arp ISD has piloted Polleverywhere.com, Google maps and apps with cell phones, iPads, iTouch, Etherpad & Diigo engaging students with multiple user-owned digital devices. QuickStarts and suggested classroom management while using these devices are available on Dr Rousseau’s Blog. http://podcast.arpisd.org/users/joy/ The online services utilized with cell phones and Etherpad are free and provide open-ended possibilities for using personal technology tools in the classroom and in the field. The Dream Team PLC will learn how to adapt these services and devices to meet their content-area need. Each district will supply multi-media tools via the laptop to the All STARS students and teachers. Except for the Office Suite, all the multi-media tools used are open-source or freeware which allows students, parents, and community members to download these on personal computers. Instructions, QuickStarts, DVDs, and online videos will be available to everyone via the Connections Website and through parent workshops, Dream Team and SWAT team training. (c) Teachers will gain professional development in constructivism and how to develop a student-centered learning environment. The Dream Team professional development model will also reflect the constructivist view of learning. Teachers will be trained in exactly the same way they will be expected to teach so that there are no discrepancies. Respecting each student’s interests, learning styles, and creativity will be enhanced by providing them with multiple formats of the same materials. Teachers & SWAT Team members will be shown how to convert (using Free Studio) their media so that all types of personal technology tools will be able to access the content. Training on Free Studio will take place in Blog 301. Arp ISD has used SWAT mentors to train lead teachers in how to capture and convert their media. These lead teachers trained other teachers on how to create, upload, and annotate their media from document camera lessons, interactive tools, and audio recordings. Lead teachers have turned over production of these types of media to students who are now uploading student-produced media (audio, video, and animations) to their blogs. Students have gained refined skills and in turn share those skills with other mentors and coaches. The Arp ISD experience has shown how quickly this cycle takes hold, from trainer to teacher to student to trainer. When students are helping all levels of learners gain new skills, they gain validation, purpose, experience, and professional skills that will benefit them throughout their lifetimes.

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.	TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Years 2009-2010 and 2010-2011	074903                        County District No. Amendment No
Connections Grant
Schedule #4B—Program Description: TEA Program Requirements (cont.)
Requirement 3: Describe how the professional learning communities to be established will build a knowledge base regarding teaching using digital content and leveraging technological tools most often used by students and how those professional learning communities will be used for project outreach statewide. Responses are limited to the space provided, front side only, with a font size no smaller than 9 point (Arial or Verdana).
The All STARS (All Stakeholders through Technology Achieve Real-world Skills) Project is focused on the concept of building a distributed professional learning community. Often rural schools are isolated by distance and lack of proximity to the expertise needed to advance their faculty’s skills. Best practices for collaborations over distances have been shown to begin with face-to-face interactions and then move towards technology enhanced interactions- ITV and/or online collaboration. The grant teams (administrative, Dream Team, Swat Team, Parent Liaison Team, Bi-district Team) will be able gain basic concepts related to online teaching at the first face-to-face session and then move into focus group break-out sessions facilitated by TForce (Arp mentors) members. These share sessions will allow grant participants to become familiar with each other and to begin partnerships for content development and grant initiatives. Re-inventing the wheel is not the purpose of the All STARS Project. Sharing and collaborating are dynamic and exciting facets of this grant. All educators will be trained using the Level of Technology Integration (LoTi) model and SBEC competencies. These standards will established the Needs Assessment upon which the professional development will be built. Individual goals as well as focus group goals will be set at the beginning of each semester. Coaching, mentoring, modeling, and small group collaboration will allow teachers to become confident in a learner-centered environment. Just-in-time learning will expand skills so that an “each-one-teach-one” model is established between teachers in proximity or online. Each grant teams will participate in a focus group collaboration blog where information, questions, and online training information will be posted by the bi-district project coordinators. Each team will also participate in ITV sessions at least once a semester to go over formative assessments and grant adjustments. These ITV sessions will be chaired by the project manager, Joy Rousseau. The district project coordinators will collaborate to formulate postings for agendas and minutes of each meeting for distribution to appropriate parties. Parents, Board Members, and community members will be invited to participate in PLC through face-to-face workshops, parent blogs, supportive Websites, newsletters, ITV sessions and extended lab hours. Principals will support the PLC through use of faculty discussion groups using research articles and book studies over the course of the grant. They will be influential in keeping teachers up-to-date in best practices and current use of technology tools. George Siemens’s Connectivism Learning Theory will help to drive the distributed professional learning community model. Siemens’s theory espouses that learning takes place in the 21^st Century over great distances between users who need information and those who can supply the information. He believes the “tipping point” for preferred learning has already left the classroom and now resides on the World Wide Web. Survival of the fittest in the 21^st Century will depend on those nodes, online information resources, that can reproduce themselves through collaboration and shared learning experiences. Teachers in the 21^st Century will need to create dynamic content to stay viable and relevant to 21^st Century Learners. The All STARS Project does not expect to limit the PLC membership or resources to those created by All STARS educators. The project will utilize all types of information resources and will post to all types of user-groups, including Project Share, Twitter, YouTube, Teacher Tube, iTunes U, and others. Growing the global database of knowledge will be a primary goal of the PLC. Sharing new services as they become available and encouraging life-long learning will the result. Arp ISD teachers have experienced the excitement of each school day as they allow students and other teachers to show them new and exciting ways to manipulate the learning environment. Recent interviews conducted by the AMS Pictures video team for TEA’s Best Practices in Technology Integration in Arp ISD revealed the joy of learning and excitement for implementing more effective ways of teaching & learning through technology tools. These teachers are the TForce mentors that will be guiding the remaining Dream Team as they learn how to create 21^st Century classrooms and engaging online environments.

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.	TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Years 2009-2010 and 2010-2011	074903                        County District No. Amendment No
Connections Grant
Schedule #4B—Program Description: TEA Program Requirements (cont.)
Requirement 4: Describe best practices concerning student assessment and content data, provided through learning technologies that deliver quality feedback to achieve increased student success and to increase quality instruction. Responses are limited to the space provided, front side only, with a font size no smaller than 9 point (Arial or Verdana).
Best practices, according to The Journal of Information Technology Education (2006), in student e-assessment includes the continuous improvement cycle based on measuring and analyzing data and artifacts gathered about a learning objective. Assessment encompasses a range of activities including testing, performance, project ratings, and observations (Orlick, Harder, Callahan & Gibson, 2004). The All STARS Project will align curriculum to reflect the desired progression and development of learners using C-CSOPE, SBEC competencies, LoTi walkthrough evaluations, TEKS-based online assessments, self-reporting surveys, journaling, project-base rubrics, collaboration and instructional blogs, surveys of all stakeholders, learner-centered outcomes (Professional Development Calendars) and TCET evaluator survey forms. This collection of multi-faceted data will demonstrate the satisfaction of learning objectives and the use of assessment information will drive the decision-making process for all instructional settings. The effective and efficient use of e-assessments along with traditional, authentic, and alternative protocols allows all stakeholders to gain rich sources of data and helps to expand the ways educators understand teaching effectiveness and mastery of concepts. These assessments allow pre and post testing, diagnostic analysis, student tracking, and rubric use which supports authentic assessment of project-based learning and products (Buzzetto-More & Alade, 2006). Formative assessments will drive the curriculum and grant adjustments and keep the project flexible and responsive. Additionally, research has shown that students and teachers take more pride and care in global publications over that of paper and pencil products. The ease of drafting, editing, and final publication of products is greatly enhanced using online services, assessments, and collaboration tools. Quality feedback can be designed into the implementation of any project using e-assessments and peer-editing tools such as Diigo and EtherPad. Sharing of data among appropriate stakeholders can be almost instantaneous assisting in immediate re-teach opportunities. These methods are especially valuable with ESL students where eFolios allow teachers to see progression of skills over time. These can be utilized to help students create personal growth plans for mastery of appropriate skills. Both districts have access to online data disaggregation services for both formative core subject benchmark assessments and year-end assessments (EOC & TAKS). Technology allows educators to collect current evidence of student progress and eliminates the reliance on once-a-year data from state tests. Glaser (2001) suggests that formative assessments focus less on student single responses and more on student performance. Technology tools used during this grant will allow students and teachers to demonstrate through products and interactive discussions their understanding and ability to apply knowledge and skills in real-world situations. Transformative assessments allow teachers to organize their curriculum and instructional activities to reflect desired student outcomes based on the most current data. The successful assessment loop is an on-going cycle that involves identification of student outcomes, gathering current data, analyzing it among appropriate stakeholders (student, teacher, campus, administrators, parents, higher-ed providers), and adjusting instruction to reflect current data and goals. e-Assessments assist districts and campuses in tracking progress for NCLB, graduation, and TAKS predictions. These assessments help teachers adjust the learning speed, depth, breadth, while exhibiting any weaknesses or strengths. The plethora of assessments planned for this project will avail all levels of participants with the ability to analyze formative and summative data and in determining the progress of the goals for this grant. The Dream Team will learn in the second year of the grant how to plan, implement, and field test course-embedded assessments using the Moodle courseware. They will also gain experience and expertise in building and implementing rubrics to better communicate expectations, to identify performance levels, measure student progress over time, and to lay the foundation for long-term learning that combines projects and portfolios while enhancing character traits such as self-management, ethical conduct, and global-thinking skills. Arp ISD is one of the founding members the SUPERNet Consortium which has supported a Virtual High School for 8 years. It has been our practice to support online teacher hybrid courses and assessments because of the value-added data which improves teaching and learning. As mentors to Bonham ISD, these skills will be expressly shared and demonstrated.

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.	TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010-2011	074903                        County District No. Amendment No
Connections Grant
Schedule #4B—Program Description: TEA Program Requirements (cont.)
Requirement 5: Explain how teachers are using innovative teaching practices based on inquiry/action research, and anytime, anywhere discussions fostered through professional learning communities; provide examples. Responses are limited to the space provided, front side only, with a font size no smaller than 9 point (Arial or Verdana).
Teachers in Arp ISD are currently using innovative teaching practices based on several types of inquiry and action research. Departments analyze data pertaining to their core subject area and establish a needs assessment for their subject area. They look through grade-level and multi-campuses data to find trends: both strengths and weaknesses. Their determined Needs Assessment leads them to action research on best practices for their content area and specific needs. An implementation plan is created to express goals and objectives along with a timeline for formative and summative evaluations. An example of how well this works can be seen with Arp Jr High. They have been using this improvement process for more than 2 years during a DATE grant initiative. For two years this campus was unacceptable and asked Dr Rousseau to sit as their internal SIP. With the help of the continuous improvement model, engaging technology tools, and a collaborative DATE grant blog where teachers share ideas for improvement, the campus was turned around in two years to become a recognized campus by TEA. In their research they discovered the importance of technology integration, online hybrid coursework, and in-the-field research which engages large muscle movement and speaks to experiential learning through project-based curriculum. Arp Elementary teachers used action research to improve their math and science scores which had lagged behind all other TAKS scores for years. They determined that experiential and project-based curriculum utilizing technology tools could assist them in field research and authentic problem solving. Arp Elementary School has attained an exemplary rating by using real-world projects and in-the-field research through the Parks and Wildlife Associations grant with SUPERNet. This grant affords students real-world research opportunities at the Nature Center using probes, GPS and laptop software. The students are taken through multiple activities by an on-site biologist who incorporates thematic units for all 4 core subject areas. As a result of utilizing real hands-on research and thematic cross-curricular activities, the 5^th grade TAKS scores for both math and science this year were at 100%. Similar research projects have been conducted for students exhibiting dyslexia to determine the best software and technology tools to assist their learning needs. Netbooks, DANAs, EyeQ software, and teacher-recorded books onto iPods have assisted the students exhibiting dyslexia with 100% passage of the TAKS reading test. Dr Rousseau has thrown Blog Parties after school hours, offering refreshments and some type of technology tool for attendance. Teachers come to the Blog Parties with their current data and inquiries about how to improve instructional strategies. These teachers spend time discussing and then selecting the type of skills or tools they believe will generate solutions for their particular needs assessment. Because the skills they learn at the Blog Parties solve problems and make life more enjoyable, the Blog Parties have become a great form of camaraderie and excitement. These Blog Parties will be cloned on the grant campuses as a way to update coaching & teaching skills throughout the grant with new technologies, online services, and best practices. The project managers, Joy Rousseau and BISD project coordinator, Bret Simpson, will offer Technology Skills updates via their Wikis. Dr Rousseau has established a wiki called “Once a Week with a Geek” where she shares updated information on new and/or free online services that can be used by teachers with just simple QuickStarts or videos. The purpose of this Wiki is to share information about new technologies as they become available. Dr Rousseau addresses classroom management and possible integration techniques as she presents FAQs and the new technology (cell phones and Polleverywhere, Etherpad, Diigo, audio lectures and Audacity/iPods). This is one more way to keep teachers aware of new and innovative integration practices. All grant teachers will have access to ISTE and TCEA magazines and book studies. These will be used by the administrative teams to generate blog discussions about innovative practices. They will also be used to demonstrate life-long learning techniques and how to stay current with new technologies.

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.	TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010-2011	074903                        County District No. Amendment No
Connections Grant
Schedule #4B—Program Description: TEA Program Requirements (cont.)
Requirement 6: Describe the use of a variety of media formats, by campus and district leaders, to promote shared vision and encourage innovative practices that increase student engagement and increase student achievement. Responses are limited to the space provided, front side only, with a font size no smaller than 9 point (Arial or Verdana).
A variety of media formats will be used by all educators (teachers, campus leaders and administrators) to promote a shared vision and to model innovative practices. Each administrator, campus leader, and teacher will have a Blog to use as a Web Presence for announcing activities, encouraging stakeholders, and informing about relevant events. Example of administrative blogs: http://podcast.arpisd.org/users/kimw/ and http://podcast.arpisd.org/users/amanda/ Arp ISD uses a streaming video for student news broadcasts, TigerVision, each week. The procedures for creating these broadcasts require only a netbook, Free Studio, and simple video editing software (Movie Maker or Macs iMovie). Each grant campus will be able to produce these types of broadcasts and present them via the Apple porthole. Students and Educators will learn how to create content using the following media formats: Learn how to create text documents using Google Docs and EtherPad. These documents can be used in collaborations, peer editing, and coaching. Learn how to record audio lessons using Audacity/Lame to upload to their instructional blogs. Learn how to add audio to PowerPoint and then turn PowerPoint into Flash movies for upload to the Web using iSpring. Learn how to create instructional videos from their interactive devices (document cameras, interactive boards, tablets, and laptops). Learn how to convert multiple video/audio formats (mp3, wav, mp4, flv) using Free Studio for all types of settings, digital devices, and online instructional settings. Learn how to create animated text and simulations using free online services Each participating administrator will have a Web presences or Blog to share current information with all stakeholders. District Newsletters will be generated by the Parent Liaison teams to mail out to all stakeholders. Newspaper articles will be generated by the administrative team to keep community members informed of all project events. Posters in all the major businesses will direct community members to events and online resources.

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.	TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010-2011	074903                        County District No. Amendment No
Connections Grant
Schedule #4B—Program Description: TEA Program Requirements (cont.)
Requirement 7: Describe plans to showcase, statewide, the use of digital content in lieu of textbooks and the use of students’ person technological tools. Responses are limited to the space provided, front side only, with a font size no smaller than 9 point (Arial or Verdana).
Digital content and innovative use of personal technology tools will be showcased statewide through conferences (TCEA, Mid-Winter, and ISTE), Grant Websites, DVDs, and streaming videos (District Websites and YouTube). Video Technology students will document the grant’s progress by video taping major milestones of the grant and interjecting all types of stakeholder’s points-of-view. They will highlight grant activities on TigerVision and for each mid-year DVD. Parents and teachers will be able to see exactly what has taken place and what new events are being initiated. A historical record of progress will be captured via video footage and converted to a variety of formats for presentation on a variety of personal devices. Coaches will attend the TCEA conference during the two years of the grant. The bi-district committee will encourage coaches to make presentations of their experiences and successes at the conference. Newspaper articles and community newsletters will be generated at the grant announcement and during the major events including parent workshops and laptop rollout. An All STARS pamphlet will give detailed and pertinent information about the grant goals, successes, and unique characteristics. The All STARS Teachers will also be able to inspire other teachers through Project Share.

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.	TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010-2011	074903                        County District No. Amendment No
Connections Grant
Schedule #4B—Program Description: TEA Program Requirements (cont.)
Requirement 8: If a collaborative application, describe plans for mentoring teachers and students collaborating with the demonstration site LEA. If this is not a collaborative application, check the box below. Responses are limited to the space provided, front side only, with a font size no smaller than 9 point (Arial or Verdana).
This is not a collaborative application.
The collaboration between districts will take place through a variety of different avenues. Initial meetings with SWAT Team (student mentors), Dream Team (all grant teachers), and TForce Team (Arp mentor teachers) will take place in October at TAMU-Commerce, about half way between the districts. The teams will meet and be updated on their roles and responsibilities. Break-out sessions facilitated by TForce Teachers will introduce the bi-district counterparts and establishing contact information. These sessions will begin with an overview and then delve into the specifics skills each group will need for the next few weeks. This session will end with TForce teachers sharing their existing online teacher-created resources so that others will have concrete examples of what is possible. SWAT Teams will be taken through procedures and guidelines for mentoring and specific hardware and software skills. Additional face-to-face collaboration meetings will take place over the course of the grant and digital discussion groups will be established via group-specific blogs. ITV sessions will be generated as training sessions are needed and for Bi-district team meetings. The Connections Grant Website at http://www.arpisd.org/vision2020.htm will provide all the scaffolding materials needed for the grant. These include mentor resources and contracts, teacher resources and QuickStarts, student and parent resources and announcements…and a place for anyone at anytime to give suggestions for improvement of procedures or grant activities. The TForce Team will provide face-to-face mentoring during the early timeframe of the grant. This mentoring will eventually move to online mentoring and coaching as well as hosting one of the special focus-group blogs. Additional face-to-face meetings will be scheduled as needed throughout the grant. Bi-district Blog Parties will be scheduled to celebrate teacher accomplishments and to share highlights. Campus Blog Parties will be held each grading period to allow teachers to gain face-to-face instruction, answer questions, and to share best practices of online instruction. The Instructional Technologists will host these parties. The administrative team will select teachers who exhibit the highest level of SBEC competencies to be on-site coaches. Coaches will receive a contract and a stipend for helping other teachers gain grant-specific skills. These coaching sessions will be documented by the campus principal. Evaluation data will include the mentee’s online blog content, and InfoSource assessments. Coaches will have a time sheet to turn in and multiple signatures to gain credit for up to 9 sessions per semester (@ $50 each) of extended coaching hours & activities. Teachers will have an opportunity to evaluate their coaches at the end of each semester for constructive feedback. Teachers who receive coaching will be more likely to complete their Professional Development Calendar each semester. Each teacher who attains the recommended skills, will receive a stipend from their district. Principals will be in charge of documentation for the Professional Development Calendar. SWAT teams will be trained using face-to-face meetings, district tech team workshops, ITV, and supported by online SWAT Website. SWAT team members will be certified to assist teachers in grant-related software, hardware, and online tools. They will be available to campus faculty via a posted schedule. The instructional technologist for each campus will help to monitor SWAT team activities. All participants will have access to online training and coaching through the project manager’s blogs & wikis. Atomic Learning will be available 24/7. InfoSource will be available to educators 24/7.

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.	TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010-2011	074903                        County District No. Amendment No
Connections Grant
Schedule #4B—Program Description: TEA Program Requirements (cont.)
Requirement 9: If a collaborative application, describe implementation plans for the use of digital content for teaching and learning in partnership districts or campuses. If this is not a collaborative application, check the box below. Responses are limited to the space provided, front side only, with a font size no smaller than 9 point (Arial or Verdana).
This is not a collaborative application.
Although the All STARS Project involves multiple districts, each district will provide its own server for digital content. In other words, Bonham ISD (9^th-12^th) with Forerunner Christian Academy (6^th-12^th) will house their own blogs & Moodle servers and Arp ISD (6^th-12^th) will house its own blogs & Moodle servers. There will be shared blog space on each server to accommodate different Teams and content groups who need to share content among group members. Having redundant servers accomplishes many major issues: (1) Teachers for each district will be able to assess and choose content relevant to their own students and their own teaching needs. (2) Each teacher retains intellectual rights to their content (3) Both districts will be able back-up content and log files for better user management techniques. (4) Redundancy always allows for contingency plans in case of an unexpected disaster or failure. (5) Content sharing will be possible through all teachers’ blogs across all districts as they are visible to all Internet users. Teachers from other districts may use hyperlinks or embedded code to share content between the districts. The districts will also share instructional strategies and technology tool implementation ideas. Ideas for using technology integration will be shared via focus-group & blogs. These will be managed by TForce mentors assigned to each focus-group. Sharing sessions will also take place during face-to-face training sessions, via ITV, and using listservs and the Connection Grant Website where projects will be posted for all stakeholders to peruse. Small rural districts often have only one or at most a few content area teachers who teach the same subject. Partnering with multiple districts allows teachers to share across distances ideas for enhancing and enriching their classroom and online instruction with a variety of teachers. Collaboration among a variety of teachers will help to support a learning environment that gives all students access to technology tools and challenging technology-infused curriculum to advance core content skills as measured on formative (benchmarks) and summative (TAKS test) assessments using a plethora of differentiated instructional strategies for the benefit of all learners. Collaboration helps to take the burden of planning and implementing differentitated instructional strategies off the shoulders of a single content area teacher. Digital content which is created in one district can easily be referenced or utilized by another district. Sharing resources helps to develop learning environments that allow students to succeed in building 21^st Century skills more efficiently. Creating a distributed professional learning community helps to further the infusion of technology into teaching and learning because teachers are experiencing learning in the same environment as their students. A distributed collaboration helps to build experts which in turn teach others. Peer mentors, who have already gained adequate skills, assist other faculty members in successfully utilizing interactive and engaging learning environments through project-based curriculum design for the acquisition of needed skills in technology applications, academic content areas, higher-order thinking, and career and post-secondary education readiness. Having a group leader to answer questions, or to cheer you on, can make a big difference in how long the learner stuggles in a learning curve. The All STARS project has deviced multiple formats and avenues through which collaboration will take place. These will support all types of learning styles and all levels of expertise.

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.	TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010-2011	074903                        County District No. Amendment No
Connections Grant
Schedule #4B—Program Description: TEA Program Requirements (cont.)
Requirement 10: If a collaborative application, describe how students in partnership districts will access personal technology tools and school provided multi-media tools at school, at home, and in the community. Responses are limited to the space provided, front side only, with a font size no smaller than 9 point (Arial or Verdana).
This is not a collaborative application.
All digital content, blog space, network storage, online services and tools will be accessible 24/7 anywhere and anytime, via any digital device with Internet access. All students will have access to fully-loaded laptops with multi-media tools for use anywhere, anytime 24/7. Each district will purchase from district funds online resources for all 4 content areas. These include: Gizmos (Science & Math), Study Island (4 core & ESL), Rosetta Stone (ESL), TechKnowledge (Technology Apps), OdysseyWare (all subject areas & GED), AR/STAR (reading & math). These resources will be available to students in all districts through extended lab hours and through home access. The All STARS Project will provide the ability of all students to utilize multi-media tools anywhere, 24/7. These include: Audacity/Lame, Video editors, Skype for online conferencing, Google Apps/Google Docs, Diigo, EtherPad, Graphics and animation online services. A content filter will be applied to all laptops to maintain CIPA certification. The collaborative application will allow all students from participating districts to have access to digital online content via personal technology tools. Content is already available through Arp ISD blogs. Within a few months of the grants initiation, teachers will begin to upload multi-media content to their instructional blogs. Within in several semesters, the Dream Team will be creating modules of online content through Moodle courseware. Currently, entire courses of Algebra I and Spanish I are available online and more will be uploaded in the near future. Within two years large numbers of teachers will complete the TXVSN training and create TEA approved online courses.

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.	TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Yeard 2010-2011	074903                        County District No. Amendment No
Connections Grant
Schedule #4B—Program Description: Implementation Requirements
Requirement 1: Provide a detailed analysis of strengths and weaknesses of existing infrastructure, along with a description of how weaknesses will be addressed in order to ensure that appropriate infrastructure exists to support district’s technology goals. Responses are limited to the space provided, front side only, with a font size no smaller than 9 point (Arial or Verdana).
All three campuses are equipped with · Fully switched 100/1000 networks · fiber backbone at 1 GB · full array of wireless access points. Using a ratio of 24 wireless devices to 1 access point, both districts will need to increase 5 access points to carry the recommended traffic load. These are requested in this grant. · Arp campuses have productivity servers for Moodle, Podcast, & Blogs. Arp ISD has already piloted these servers for 2 years, has all teachers, students, and collaboration blogs up and running, and has QuickStarts and step-by-step videos on how to utilize audio, video, and collaboration capabilities on these servers. · Arp ISD has 100 MB bandwidth to ISP with options for increasing bandwidth on-the-fly · Arp ISD has ITV distance learning capabilities through NETNet to all ESCs and districts in Texas · Bonham ISD is requesting ITV distance learning equipment in this grant. · Bonham ISD has productivity servers for Moodle and is requesting an Apple XServer for Podcasts and Blogs · Both districts have URL filters, antispyware/adware and virus protection · Both districts have tech teams that are capable of doing in-house repairs and imaging on all laptops · Both districts have update servers for keep laptops up-to-date with OS security downloads · Both districts have experience in offering online courses for improving graduation rates and decreasing drop out rates · Arp ISD has piloted all the open-source software being used in this grant to further the goals of the All STARS Project. The software and online services have been proven to be compatible and easily accessible to the laptops · Both districts already offer C-SCOPE, online grade books to parents, student & faculty email, online storage, courseware, and benchmark assessments · Each district already has digital projectors and interactive technologies in the classroom. Arp ISD has Document Cameras in all classrooms that allow recording of instruction. Bonham ISD is requesting recordable document cameras in this grant. · Each district already has productivity software and is requesting EasiTeach Interactive software with training to create an engaging environment for the classroom and recordable lessons for the Web. · Each district has capabilities of shaping wireless traffic for best through-put and has monitoring, logging, and remote administrative software to solve problems as they arise. · Each district has an active Helpdesk in place to field access issues when needed. Each district has worked diligently to aggressively plan for the 1-to-1 initiative as part of the district’s Technology Plan. Infrastructure, hardware, policies and procedures are in place to successfully implement this project.

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.	TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010-2011	074903                        County District No. Amendment No
Connections Grant
Schedule #4B—Program Description: Implementation Requirements (cont.)
Requirement 2: Describe strategies for the project that accommodate flexible implementation and include time for collaboration, communication, adjustments, and feedback during the course of the program. Responses are limited to the space provided, front side only, with a font size no smaller than 9 point (Arial or Verdana).
Strategy 1: Flexible implementation is demonstrated by the following: --Allowing teachers to adjust to the technology tools, training sessions, and software up to a full semester before student laptop rollout takes place. Student laptop rollout date is flexible and teachers with administrators will have input into the exact student rollout date. --Allowing each teacher with principal to build their own Professional Development Calendar (PDC) based upon a pre-assessment of skills. This allows teachers to incorporate skills acquisition into the calendar as they have need, --Allowing any district parent to purchase a laptop via a vendor-sponsored district Web page. This gives parents the opportunity to take advantage of the school’s discounted price for any additional laptop and for any non-grant student in the district. Laptops purchased by parents that are configured for both home and school use will fall under the same group policy guidelines and Acceptable Use Policies as school computers. --Affording teachers a variety of training styles (online, face-to-face, Blogs, Websites, courseware, ITV, video, coaches, mentor, QuickStarts, Podcasts) allows teachers to pick and choose many of the elements of professional development that fit their personal learning styles and their individual needs. Strategy 2: Flexibility is possible because student achievement will drive this project. The administrative team will be able to evaluate and share student achievement data to all stakeholders as appropriate. This data will drive instruction, whether digital or face-to-face. Students will have the ability to demonstrate achievement using online assessments, by products uploaded to blogs, as well as reflect on their learning and achievement via their Blogs. The Dream Team will be able to manage differentiated instructional choices based on current data from each student. Flexibility will be on-going in the Teaching & Learning (T&L) process. Strategy 3: Time will be allotted to teachers through district professional development calendar days, through summer workshops, substitutes, and by giving each the opportunity to communicate via email, Blog, ITV, TAMU, UT Tyler, chat, and vlogs. A website for Connects Grant has been created with a feedback form which can be submitted anonymously at any time. Additionally, stakeholders will be surveyed each semester for input into the grant processes and procedures and analyzed by the Administrative Team. Cohort Meetings will also allow the grant committees to collect data for monitoring and adjusting. All stakeholders will be able to give input through face-to-face meetings, parent workshops, and dedicated Blogs. The grant committee will also adjust based on summaries provided by the principals’ using LoTi PDAS data, online certifications, and PDCs. Strategy 4: Flexibility is possible because the lines of communication will be open to all stakeholders throughout the length of All STARS Project. Newsletters, surveys, committee meetings, parent workshops, Blogs, and face-to-face brain-storming sessions will support a fluid and responsive implementation of goals.

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.		TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010-2011	074903                        County District No. Amendment No
Connections Grant
Schedule #4B—Program Description: Implementation Requirements (cont.)
Requirement 3: If you are currently receiving Vision 2020, Cycle 2 Grant and/or T3 Collaborative Grant-ARRA funding, you must describe how project management will be conducted so as to keep Connections Grant funding activities separate from those of the Vision 2020, Cycle 2 Grant and/or T3 Collaborative Grant-ARRA while still implementing the program and providing services effectively.
N/A	Applicant is not currently receiving Vision 2020, Cycle 2 Grant and/or T3 Collaborative Grant-ARRA funding. If checking this box, applicant should leave this page blank and continue to Requirement 4.
Bonham ISD is currently involved in a T3 Collaborative Grant for their elementary campus only. This grant is being completed and this campus is not involved in the current Connections Grant application. Funding for the T3 grant is coded using the elementary campus organizational code. No cross-over funding is available or applicable.

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.	TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010-2011	074903                        County District No. Amendment No
Connections Grant
Schedule #4B—Program Description: Implementation Requirements (cont.)
Requirement 4: Provide evidence that the project director in each participating district has sufficient, dedicated time for program activities. Grantees receiving funding from other Title II, Part D, funding sources (such as Vision 2020, Cycle 2 Grant and/or T3 Collaborative Grant-ARRA funding) must describe their plans for budgeting and documenting expenses separately for each Title II, Part D, and project. Responses are limited to the space provided, front side only, with a font size no smaller than 9 point (Arial or Verdana).
The distrtict project directors in each district (Arp ISD: Dr Rousseau, Bonham ISD: Bret Simpson) have had multiple experiences of managing large grants through TIF, TARGET, TIE, T3, and TEA. Project Manager, Dr Joy Rousseau, is a successful grant writer and certified continuing professional education provider for the state of Texas, #500218. She is on the advisory board to TxVSN and a certified online instructor. She has managed grants for Arp ISD as well as assisted with SUPERNet Consortium TIE and TARGET grants and grant project training. She has conducted technology integration workshops across Texas for higher-education conferences and for superintendents, principals, instructional technologists, and teachers. She has been a proponent of project-based learning for more than ten years. She has also conducted workshops in Russia at the University of St Petersburg for Masters level teachers in team-building and collaboration. Dr Rousseau’s vita is available at: http://www.arpisd.org/download/vita.htm

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For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.	TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010-2011	074903                        County District No. Amendment No
Connections Grant
Schedule #4B—Program Description: Implementation Requirements (cont.)
Requirement 5: Describe how you will ensure that teachers involved are well informed of all aspects of program plans; that roles and responsibilities of all participants are clearly defined; and plans are in place to keep all program participants informed of project progress, problems, and changes. Responses are limited to the space provided, front side only, with a font size no smaller than 9 point (Arial or Verdana).
Grant participants were surveyed for their input on grant processes, procedures, expenditures, professional development, accountability, and timeline. These surveys were helpful in building stakeholder buy-in. The project chair, Dr Rousseau, has met with administrators, teachers, and has surveyed parents and students. The grant committee has met on each campus to discuss possibilities and to answer questions. 100% of the surveys returned by parents were excited and positive about the technology. There were some concerns about Internet Safety which will be addressed in face-to-face workshops, pamphlets, videos, DVDs, and Computer Cop software rollout even before the student laptop rollout. A Web-based Event Calendar will be added to the Web: Example: http://joomla.arpisd.org/webcal/webcal.html for both districts. The Connections Website and teacher Websites and Parent Blogs will help keep all stakeholders up to speed with current news and projects. Mentors and the Dream Team (administrators, participating faculty and staff) along with campus coaches will work together to create course syllabi for virtual content using Moodle, Apple Podcasts and Blogs. Communication between all groups will be facilitated via face-to-face sessions, Blogs, ListServe, ITV sessions, online event calendars, and principal meetings. Principals, administrators (assistant principals, curriculum directors, technology directors, superintendents, librarians), and other staff (counselors, technology assistants, and library aides) will be kept up to speed with newsletters posted on the Connections Grant site with links to it emailed through a ListServe to all stakeholders. Parent Liaisons (counselors) will produce once a semester a hardcopy newsletter to be sent home to parents and distributed in the community. Example: http://www.arpisd.org/admin/news/2008_09/newsletter11_10.doc Newspaper articles will be submitted to local news agencies to communicate appropriate events such as grant acquisition, parent workshops, and laptop rollouts. Administrative committees will meet every 6 weeks to review formative online assessment data and summary reports for students and teacher from various vendor applications (Atomic Learning, InfoSource, DMAC, Study Island, PASeries, TSMDS, TRACKS, and Eduphoria PDAS/LoTi) Bi-district grant meetings will take place at least once a year to review grant progress. For each committee (SWAT, TForce, Dream Team, Administrative, Parent Liaison, Coaches, and Parents) there will be a password-protected collaboration Blog setup to generate discussions, to distribute information, and to collect comments. Arp ISD has used these procedures for the past 2 years on a DATE grant to establish collaboration between all staff members. It has proven to be an effective way for all stakeholders to gain access to information, to be able to express opinions, and submit ideas. The Connections Grant will utilize this model. Arp ISD broadcasts TigerVision News once a week over the Internet. It is a student produced video that captures new and events for Arp stakeholders. The Connections Grant will be able to utilize this medium as an outreach to the community. Bonham ISD will also be able to begin a similar broadcast.

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For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.	TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010-2011	074903                        County District No. Amendment No
Connections Grant
Schedule #4B—Program Description: Implementation Requirements (cont.)
Requirement 6: Describe strategies to address changes in policy due to issues that may arise during the program. Responses are limited to the space provided, front side only, with a font size no smaller than 9 point (Arial or Verdana).
Both districts will consult with their TASB representatives to update their Staff Development Policy, Acceptable Use Policies, Posting Policies, Laptop Checkout Policies, Online Virtual Course Credit Policy, and Electronic Information, Electronic Device, and Digital Storage Policies. Needed policies were updated at the April board meeting, 2009 with update 85. Each superintendent has advised their board of trustees that policy changes are inevitable during the grant period. Visits to 1-to-1 initiative schools and extensive online research have helped the grant committee to be aware of many policy issues. Each district grant committees will report, as needed, to their superintendent and board of trustees on grant progress and any perceived need for policy changes.
Requirement 7: Describe the LEA’s readiness to implement and support this program beginning in October 2010. Responses are limited to the space provided, front side only, with a font size no smaller than 9 point (Arial or Verdana).
Each campus represented in the grant has technology staff onsite. Forerunner Christian Academy is a single facility K-12 housed in a building rented from BISD. BISD has 600 students in the high school. AISD has 480 students 6^th-12^th. AISD has reduced the need for additional staff by implementing virtual servers, imaging capabilities, thin client technology, remote/virtual service calls, an automated HelpDesk, and an online computer maintenance request form. Each of these services utilizes free or nearly-free solutions and allows technical support without requiring physical hands on technology. AISD is an in-house repair shop. If needed, the AISD tech team will assist the BISD tech team in implementing these procedures at their site. The vendor supplied laptops will be imaged with all software for this grant and a retained copy at the vendor’s site will reproduce laptops with image before shipping, saving hours of installation time. AISD has already established laptop contracts, checkout policies, and laptop care and maintenance procedures and guidelines. These procedures are being shared with BISD. Each laptop will be protected with a carrying case, surge protection, an extended warranty from the vendor and a full replacement policy from an insurance company. Each laptop will be loaded with anti-virus protection (district-funded), spyware, adware protection (license free), and an automated update server for pushing out updates as laptops are connected to the school network. Trainer of Trainers: Both districts will utilize the Trainer-of-Trainers Model for technology maintenance and expertise. Both students and teachers will be offered hands-on and online instruction along with district certificates for resolving end-user problems with technology tools, computers, and networking issues. The SWAT (Students Working to Assist Technology) Teams are trained through their TA courses beginning with the junior high school technology application courses. AISD has this program in place using hands-on labs and courseware instruction. High School students work toward their A+ certifications using the SWAT course materials. This course material will be shared and implemented in BISD. All staff will be given the opportunity to join the SWAT (Stakeholders Working to Assist Technology) Teams. The ability to provide effective service as seen on our STAR Charts rests in each district’s management techniques.

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.			TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010-2011	074903                        County District No. Amendment No
Connections Grant
Schedule #4B—Program Description: Professional Development
The applicant is required to complete this schedule if it responded to NCLB Requirement #13 (p. 25). If the applicant completed the form for a waiver for professional development (p. 26), this schedule is not required. If the waiver form was completed, check the box in the following section and continue to Schedule #4B—Program Description: Project Management.
The applicant completed and is submitting the waiver form for professional development to TEA with the application.
Part 1: Component Description
Professional Development Approach
#	Session Type	Focus or Topic			Frequency and Duration
1	Hands-on Labs, field labs	Framework for 21^st Century Learning, Web 2.0 & tech tools			10 days over 2 yrs
2	Face-to-face	Trainer of Trainers, coaches, mentors best practices training			Twice each semester
3	Blogs/Podcasts	Techniques with interactive tools through on-demand videos			Once a week
4	Online learning	Tiered Technology integration & software skills			On demand
5	ITV, Chat, Skype	Technology tools updates, cohort discussion groups			On demand
6	Coaching	One-to-one coaching for technology skills development			As requested
7	Mentoring onsite & Blogs	Content area specific mentoring for online instruction			Scheduled & on demand
8	Blogs/Podcasts	Professional Learning Communities reflect and share			On going, continuous
9	Book studies / Blogs	Integration of Technology into core subject areas			Each 6 months
10	In-classroom mentoring	Monitoring and Adjusting instruction for benefit of all learners			4X a semester
Underlying Rationale/Research (Response limited to the space provided, font size no smaller than 9 pt, Arial or Verdana)
The All STARS Project will provide professional development using constructivist methods: just-in-time delivery: mentors, coaches, facilitators, and “each-one-teach-one”, Web-based flexible modules and 6-phase lessons (entry, adoption, adaptation, appropriation, and invention levels), professional portfolios, tiered certification opportunities, an array of media and content offerings with differentiated instruction. The training will be content appropriate related to TEKS and SBEC Standards. It will be learner-centered, problem-based, and allow for immediate implementation into the classroom. It will be process and context appropriate using flexible groups and collaboration. There will be clear expectations through the professional learning calendars. There will be self-evaluation as well as evaluation of the delivery and content of the professional development as recommended by ISTE and CEO Forums. Teacher preparation will focus on two models for learning which are easily enhanced by technology integration. The ISTE NETS for Teachers/Students will be the performance indicators. The two models are: (1) Project-based learning and (2) Problem-based learning. (1) 21st-century skills need a curriculum that includes both opportunities to master content and the chance to apply and demonstrate knowledge. Rigorous academic content with an applied-learning model known as project learning serves to motivate students and increase academic achievement according to Nancy Kraft (2005). Learning to collaborate in teams, especially virtual teams reinforces knowledge and life-enriching skills such as negotiation, deliberation, communication, research, writing, reading, presentation, and defending an exegesis. Project learning integrates knowledge across the curriculum while enhancing students’ skills in technology literacy, exploration, and research. Retention of knowledge is longer and deeper because researched-based project learning incorporates experiential learning and authentic problem-solving. Students are able to realize concepts and their connections over a variety of domains. Project-based learning can support a variety of learning styles and modes of communication. Cognitive and social collaborations afford students a more acute global awareness as they are able to reflect, express themselves, pursue their own interests, contribute, create, publish, and re-invent learning in the connected age.

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.	TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010-2011	074903                        County District No. Amendment No
Connections Grant
Schedule #4B—Program Description: Professional Development
Part 1: Component Description (cont.)
Underlying Rationale/Research (Response limited to the space provided, font size no smaller than 9 pt, Arial or Verdana)
Siemens (2004) believed that learning through remote associations and distributed tasks across distances had become the new and preferred learning style. The teacher’s role changes to fill that of coach, co-explorer, and facilitator. Criteria or quality standards become the nomenclature of the classroom. Timelines for learning and assessments also change. Teaching and learning demandes more flexibility. Assessments become authentic and are performance and process oriented. (2)Problem-based learning is an instructional method that challenges the students to learn how to learn, to think critically, analytically, and to explore appropriate learning resources (Duch, 2008). Each stakeholder is able to examine what they know, discover what they need to know, develop skills in teams, improve communication, and state and defend their positions with evidence and reason. Problem-based learning (PBL) helps to making meaning from real-world situations versus just collecting a set of facts. Learning is relegated to teams for extrapolating multiple plausible synarios for analysis, thus developing life and career-enhancing skills (Gallow, 2009). Teachers will gain PD using the same strategies that will be expected to be exhibited by the teacher in the classroom. They will learn how to learn, research, explore, and take control of their own professional development activities. In this way, the grant will build teachers who have not only experienced constructivism, but feel comfortable in providing the same type of learning environment for their students both online and face-to-face. They will gain PD via a blended or hybrid learning environment (both online and face-to-face) and will learn to build a blended learning environment for their students. A new meta-study (July, 2009) by the U.S. Department of Education (ED) reports that one of the most successful methods of improving student achievement is to provide them with a blended learning environment. The report asserts that hybrid courses help to boost student achievement above other types of environments. Arp ISD has experienced a leap in student success due to offering hybrid courses. This sucdess has been dramatic especially with special needs students (JJAEP, ESL, 504, ECD, and certain ethnic groups). The All STARS project will give all stakeholders the opportunity to gain pertinant skills using a blended (hybrid) learning environment. As teachers advance, they will be offered TAMU TXVSN online certification to become online instructors.

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.		TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010-2011		074903                        County District No. Amendment No
Connections Grant
Schedule #4B—Program Description: Professional Development
Part 2: Activity Timeline
#	Major Professional Development Activities		Proposed Begin Date		Proposed End Date
1	Framework for 21^st Century Learning labs for (4 days) Hands-on labs for research and lesson planning with Dream Team (Blogs & Podcasting Modules)		Late August, 2010		Late August, 2011
2	LoTi Framework Training for all educators (2 days). Teachers also introduced to Infosource, Atomic Learning, and online assessment resources. Create accounts and take pre-assessment.		Early October, 2010		Early August 2011
3	Training for Tech Teams on server implementation with Apple and Softouch (5 days)		Mid October 2010		Mid October 2010
4	Dr Rousseau meeting with mentors and coaches for best practices in coaching and mentoring – including how to use online assessments effectively (5 days through the year, including TCEA Conference)		Early October 2010		Early Sept 2011
5	Data disaggregation. Principals consult with teachers to build Professional Learning Calendars using PDC template based on current data.		Late October, 2010		Early September 2011
6	Laptop Rollout for Teachers (2 days) with hands-on lab, QuickStarts, and video lessons on productivity software		Late October, 2010		Early Nov 2010
7	TxVSN training (TAMU) begins with teachers who are ready to begin online instruction		Early Jan 2011		Early Jan 2012
8	Blogging with Podcasting assisted by coaches - uploading audacity MP3 audio with accompanying text and/or recorded instruction from interactive tools using Video instruction, Quickstarts, and hands-on labs – 1 face-to-face and on-demand virtual and ITV		Nov 2010		October 2011
9	Podcasting labs with coaches - uploading PowerPoint and audio narration using iSpring software. (Video Instructions, QuickStarts & hands-on labs) Content for Blogs can now be implemented with multimedia files for all types of learners. (on demand)		Nov 2010		October 2011
10	Tiered online training through InfoSource, LoTi, and Atomic Learning – on demand		Nov 2010		May 2012
11	Jr High mentors training for monitoring and sharing resources among classroom laptops (including Moodle)		Early Sept 2010		Early Sept 2011
12	Texas Computer Education Association Conference – Coaches visit TCEA Conference for workshops to share with cohort teams. (3-days of workshops and debriefing sessions with all coaches)		Feb 2011		Feb 2012
13	SWAT Team training begins with hands-on lab and then virtual lessons (1 day hands-on lab and 24 CPE hours)		Mid Oct 2010		Mid Oct 2011
GRANT FUNDS WILL BE USED TO PAY ONLY FOR ACTIVITIES OCCURRING BETWEEN THE BEGINNING AND ENDING DATES OF THE GRANT AS SPECIFIED ON THE NOTICE OF GRANT AWARD.

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.	TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010-2011	074903                        County District No. Amendment No
Connections Grant
Schedule #4B—Program Description: Project Management
Part 1: Component Description Responses are limited to the space provided, front side only, with a font size no smaller than 9 point (Arial or Verdana).
Supplement-Not-Supplant
The All STARS Project will supplement technologies tools and training already funded by the districts. The districts’ technology plans provide budgets for expenditures beyond the scope of this grant. Each district already provides broadband access through ISP, fiber backbones, switched networks, and dedicated teacher/administrator computers, multiple computers in each classroom, computer labs, productivity software, Study Island, Gizmos, interactive tools, CIPA filters, firewall, email, and network storage for each individual in the district. Districts will also extend their budgets to include stipends for teachers who accomplish their Professional Development Calendars. The activities in The All STARS Projects mesh harmoniously with each districts’ technology plan and campus improvement plans by affording all educators the tools, training, and coaching to reach SBEC Standards and grant expectations.
Partnership/Involvement of Others
The All STARS Project has established partnerships with: -- the Smith Co Sheriff’s Office for providing Internet safety with Computer Cop Workshop. --SUPERNET and the Parks and Wildlife Nature Center for hands-on training Math & Science teachers with probes, GPS, and software. Donna Bogue, SUPERNet Executive Secretary, for Moodle training. -- UT Tyler and Dr Gerla for hybrid reading and research courses and in-class observations. --ISP provider for reduced Internet Access
Management of Grant Activities
The project manager, Dr Joy Rousseau will coordinate acquisitions and the activities of each team. The Dream Team consists of All STARS faculty and staff, coaches, and Arp mentors. The Tech Teams (SWAT Teams) consists of tech assistants, students, and faculty who are grant certified to assist with technical issues. The Parent Liaisons are the bi-district counselors who will assist with parent workshops and parent communication. The Bi-district grant committee consists of superintendents, principals, directors, mentors, and coaches. The district grant committees (Managers) consist of superintendent, campus principals, lead teachers, parent representatives, and two student representatives. Principals will lead the campus coaches and campus cohorts (department teams), and will identify individual teachers who are growing in best practices and those who have specific needs. Bi-district department cohorts consists of all teachers on all 4 campuses in core subject areas who will collaborate interdepartmentally to create project-based curriculum and online course materials through Podcasts/Blogs, Moodle, & Websites. A mentor and an administrator will be assigned to lead each bi-district department cohort. Online event calendars, posted agendas, and minutes will be available via ListServe, parent newsletters, and Website.
Internal Communications, Coordination, and Reporting
Internal communications will be flexible and fluid as all participants will be members of the Gant ListServe. Posting Policies will be revised by collaborative stakeholders and distributed among all members. Each group, Bi-district, district, Dream Team, Coaches and Campus Cohorts will have their own Blogs and News Service Websites to post information, questions, and ideas. Blogs and News Services will be monitored by Managers (principals) and the project directors. A calendar of events, agendas, minutes, and discussion points for each group will be posted via the ListServe and on the Connections Grant Website. Reporting will be generated from each of the identified groups. The project manager will collect summary reports & appropriate surveys given by TCET from campus groups (managers, coaches, department cohorts) each six weeks. District committees will report at least once a semester. The bi-district grant committee will generate an annual report to the project manager and boards of trustees. Face-to-face and ITV meetings will be conducted during the grant period as needed.

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.	TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010-2011	074903                        County District No. Amendment No
Connections Grant
Schedule #4B—Program Description: Project Management
Part 1: Component Description (cont.) Responses are limited to the space provided, front side only, with a font size no smaller than 9 point (Arial or Verdana).
Grant Project Manager Qualifications
Project Manager, Dr Joy Rousseau, is a successful TEA grant writer and certified continuing professional education provider for the state of Texas, #500218. She is on the advisory board to TxVSN and a certified online instructor. She has managed grants for Arp ISD as well as assisted with SUPERNet Consortium TIE and TARGET grants and grant project training. She has conducted technology integration workshops across Texas for higher-education conferences and for superintendents, principals, instructional technologists, and teachers. She has been a proponent of project-based learning for more than ten years. She has also conducted workshops in Russia at the University of St Petersburg for Masters level teachers in team-building and collaboration. Dr Rousseau’s vita is available at: http://www.arpisd.org/download/vita.htm
Grant Personnel Qualifications
(1) Donna Bogue is SUPERNet Consortium’s Coordinator. She is a certified online instructor through TxVSN. She will be mentoring teachers in Moodle Courseware. She has successfully acquired a RUS grant to provide SUPERNet schools with mobile science field kits (laptops, probes, GPS, mapping software). She will train core teachers on how to use equipment in project-based thematic units. (3) Dr Jackie Gerla, professor at UT Tyler, will design hybrid courses using 21^st Century tools to enhance teaching and learning for both districts. She will also conduct on-site facilitations for core content teachers. (4) Apple will provide training on Podcast server implementation and provide support over the grant period. (5) ESC Region XVII will provide the technology proficiency skills through InfoSource’s tiered certification self-paced courseware for all educators and students on each of the participating campuses. (6) Arp Junior High mentors have successfully produced online course materials, Podcasts, and Blogs, using engaging, & interactive tools.
Resource Management
Res. Manag. will be handled by the business office of the fiscal agent, BISD. The purchases and inventory processes will take place at BISD and be documented in the project manager’s office for purposes of the grant. Items will be distributed to each campus. Each district will take ownership of the items upon receipt. An itemized digital inventory spreadsheet for each district will be supplied by the project manager’s secretary and duplicate copies will be kept at each district’s business manager’s office and technology department. Each district will purchase their own replacement insurance and be responsible for contacting the insurance company with the proper documentation. Contracts for laptop checkout will be maintained by each district’s technology department. These contracts will include serial numbers, model numbers, and any other pertinent information. A police report will accompany any insurance report for a stolen item.
Leadership, Administration, and Instructional Support
All administrators, directors, counselors, coaches, mentors, instructional technologists, teachers, and students will be utilized in this project. Each role is delineated in the grant and each is a member of a cohort or team responsible for some aspect of the grant. The grant coordinator at BISD will work closely with the Project Manager to coordinate and monitor the activities of the grant teams.

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.		TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010-2011		074903                        County District No. Amendment No
Connections Grant
Schedule #4B—Program Description: Project Management
Part 2: Activity Timeline
#	Major Project Management Activities		Proposed Begin Date		Proposed End Date
1	Bi-district committee celebrates with newspapers and Website announcements and formulates grant procedures and event calendar after Leadership Conference		At grant announcement
2	Parent Liaisons Publish grant announcement & event calendar in multimedia formats with updates as needed		At grant announcement
3	Principals meet with faculty to discuss grant goals, PDCs, coaching schedules, and current data analysis		Immediately after grant announcement
4	Order book study : Prentice Hall Integrating Educational Technology into Teaching begin Educator’s Blog. Principals use facilitator’s guide & Website with faculty		October 1, 2010		Throughout grant
5	District Project Directors coordinates purchases of teacher/admin/staff laptops with face-to-face and online training, interactive tools, and servers		Early October		By Early Nov
6	Project Manager notifies all grant partners and initiates workshops cohort and mentor activities as planned in the grant		Early October		By Mid Oct
7	Pre-assessment through InfoSource taken by all campus faculty and staff for baseline data		Mid October		By End of Oct
8	InfoSource & Study Island Pre-assessments- students in grant for TA and content area baseline data. Benchmarks are then taken each 6 wks.		Mid-Late October		Each grading cycle
9	District Project Directors coordinates check-out procedures, teacher laptop rollout, contracts, inventory and accounting procedures		Late October		By Early Nov
10	Principals meet with campus teachers and formulate 1^st semester PDC based upon self reporting LoTi instrument and online pre-assessment		Late October		By Mid Nov
11	Principals identify and assign coaches based upon current InfoSource & LoTi data as needed throughout the 2 years		Late October Early Nov		By Mid Nov
12	District Grant Committees meet each semester to analyze grant progress and to discuss needed adjustments. Project Manager supplies Interim Progress Report to TEA.		Late December		Throughout grant
13	Student laptop rollout and parent workshops		Late Dec to Early Jan		Early Jan
14	Bi-district committee formalizes 2nd-year grant procedures based on current reports submitted to TEA, creates new event calendar for 2^nd year.		March – June		continuous
GRANT FUNDS WILL BE USED TO PAY ONLY FOR ACTIVITIES OCCURRING BETWEEN THE BEGINNING AND ENDING DATES OF THE GRANT AS SPECIFIED ON THE NOTICE OF GRANT AWARD.

.

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.	TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010-2011	074903                        County District No. Amendment No
Connections Grant
Schedule #4C—Performance Assessment and Evaluation
Part 1: Component Description. By submitting this application, the applicant agrees to comply with any reporting and evaluation requirements that TEA may establish and to submit the reports in the format and manner TEA requests (Responses limited to the space provided, font size no smaller than 9 pt, Arial or Verdana)
Ongoing Monitoring/Continuous Improvement
The evaluator and project staff will conduct ongoing monitoring and engage in continuous improvement to determine whether the goals, objectives, and performance measures established in this proposal are being met in a timely fashion. Data collection, formative and summative evaluations will be coordinated through University of North Texas’s Texas Center for Educational Technology (TCET) using the TEA STAR Evaluation toolkit and assessment tools specific to this project. A variety of tools will be used to: (1) manage and monitor development and implementation activities, (2) track and evaluate resource use, (3) document program progress, and (4) provide timely feedback loops for program managers to help them plan for and implement mid-course adjustments, as needed. The success of the project will be guided by the following questions: · To what extent were the activities implemented as planned? · How effective were the activities in achieving the projects goals and objectives? · To what extent were the performance targets met? · What was the impact of the project activities on the participants?
Qualitative and Quantitative Data Collection Methods
Researchers and program evaluators will use a blend of quantitative and qualitative data collection methods to provide a more complete picture of the project planning and implementation process, impact on the target audiences, and effectiveness of the program itself. These methods include: · The TEA STAR Evaluation Toolkit – includes survey instruments and other tools to gather data at the beginning, midpoint, and end of the grant period. · STaR Chart – Track teacher/campus self-assessment on efforts to effectively integrate technology across the curriculum. · DETAILS for the 21st Century Questionnaire (LoTi survey) – Assess use of technology and current instructional Practices (CIP) · Number of participants receiving instruction to become TxVSN online instructors · Classroom Walkthrough data – Observation of teaching by administrators, including Levels of Technology · TAKS results – Student Achievement results · Review of teacher and student products, such as lesson plans, blogs, etc. - Reviewed for levels of integration and instructional practice
Formative Evaluation
Formative evaluation techniques will be used to assure timely and useful feedback regarding progress being made toward project objectives. This methodology will ascertain the successes of the project based on quantifiable evidence. The purpose of the formative evaluation plan will be to monitor the effectiveness of the project through careful review of the planning, design and implementation processes. The plan will address context, process, and product dimensions of the project as specified in the performance measures. The project staff and evaluator will discuss progress toward meeting the project goals and adherence to proposed timelines every nine weeks. At this time the evaluator will share data and information that have been collected during the monitoring process. Monitoring of grant activities will include surveys, assessment results from the professional development activities, and collection and review of lesson plans. Additionally, implementation of professional development and purchase and distribution of materials will be closely monitored in regards to quality, type and level. Benchmarks and schedules will be designed based on goals, objectives and activities to assist in the monitoring of the project. Formative feedback will be presented to project staff by both formal and informal methods to foster continuous improvement of the project and to ensure that project goals are achieved.

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.		TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010-2011			074903                        County District No. Amendment No
Connections Grant
Schedule # 4C—Performance Assessment and Evaluation
Part 2: Performance Targets
#	Performance Measure		Assessment Instrument/ Tool	Current/Most Recent Year (2009-2010) Performance Actual % or #		Next Grant Year (2010-2011) Target/Goal % or #
1	Percentage increase in courses and/or classrooms using digital content in lieu of textbooks		LoTi, and Blog logs	25%		50%
2	Percentage of students with improved performance as measured by grade-appropriate assessment (e.g., TAKS, end-of-course exams, etc.)		TAKS, EOC, Benchmarks	95%		100%
3	Percentage of students who have mastered grade-appropriate technical applications TEKS (STaR Chart TL5)		Simple Online Assessment	100%		100%
4	Percentage improvement In student dropout and attendance rates		PEIMS	94%		100%
5	Percentage increase in electronic communications between parents and teachers and parents and administrators as evidenced by email and website traffic		Network Logs	50%		100%
6	Percentage increase in community involvement and support for the district or school as evidence by email, website traffic, and physical site visits		Network Logs, Sign-in sheets	35%		100%
7	Percentage of students whose technology access in the classroom was increased as a result of grant funds		Inventory	50%		100%
8	Number of campuses that improved their STaR Chart levels as a result of grant funding		STaR Charts	50%		100%
9
10
11
12

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.		TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010-2011	074903                        County District No. Amendment No
Connections Grant
Schedule # 4D—Equitable Access and Participation: Barriers and Strategies
No Barriers
#	No Barriers			Students	Teachers	Others
000	The applicant assures that no barriers exist to equitable access and participation for any groups.
Barrier: Gender-Specific Bias
#	Strategies for Gender-specific Bias			Students	Teachers	Others
A01	Expand opportunities for historically underrepresented groups to fully participate
A02	Provide staff development on eliminating gender bias
A03	Ensure strategies and materials used with students do not promote gender bias
A04	Develop and implement a plan to eliminate existing discrimination and the effects of past discrimination on the basis of gender
A05	Ensure compliance with the requirements in Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of gender
A06	Ensure students and parents are fully informed of their rights and responsibilities with regard to participation in the program
A99	Other (Specify)
Barrier: Cultural, Linguistic, or Economic Diversity
#	Strategies for Cultural, Linguistic, or Economic Diversity			Students	Teachers	Others
B01	Provide program information/materials in home language
B02	Provide interpreter/translator at program activities
B03	Increase awareness and appreciation of cultural and linguistic diversity through a variety of activities, publications, etc.
B04	Communicate to students, teachers, and other program beneficiaries an appreciation of students’ and families’ linguistic and cultural backgrounds
B05	Develop/maintain community involvement/participation in program activities
B06	Provide staff development on effective teaching strategies for diverse populations
B07	Ensure staff development is sensitive to cultural and linguistic differences and communicates an appreciation for diversity
B08	Seek technical assistance from Education Service Center, Technical Assistance Center, Title I, Part A School Support Team, or other provider
B09	Provide parenting training
B10	Provide a parent/family center
B11	Involve parents from a variety of backgrounds in decision making
B12	Offer “flexible” opportunities for parent involvement including home learning activities and other activities that don’t require parents to come to the school
B13	Provide child care for parents participating in school activities
B14	Acknowledge and include family members’ diverse skills, talents, and knowledge in school activities
B15	Provide adult education, including GED and/or ESL classes, or family literacy program
B16	Offer computer literacy courses for parents and other program beneficiaries

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.		TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010-2011	074903 County District No. Amendment No
Connections Grant
Schedule # 4D—Equitable Access and Participation: Barriers and Strategies
Barrier: Cultural, Linguistic, or Economic Diversity (cont.)
#	Strategies for Cultural, Linguistic, or Economic Diversity			Students	Teachers	Others
B17	Conduct an outreach program for traditionally “hard to reach” parents
B18	Coordinate with community centers/programs
B19	Seek collaboration/assistance from business, industry, or institution of higher education
B20	Develop and implement a plan to eliminate existing discrimination and the effects of past discrimination on the basis of race, national origin, and color
B21	Ensure compliance with the requirements in Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, national origin, and color
B22	Ensure students, teachers, and other program beneficiaries are informed of their rights and responsibilities with regard to participation in the program
B23	Provide mediation training on a regular basis to assist in resolving disputes and complaints
B99	Other (Specify)
Barrier: Gang-Related Activities
#	Strategies for Gang-related Activities			Students	Teachers	Others
C01	Provide early intervention.
C02	Provide Counseling.
C03	Conduct home visits by staff.
C04	Provide flexibility in scheduling activities.
C05	Recruit volunteers to assist in promoting gang-free communities.
C06	Provide mentor program.
C07	Provide before/after school recreational, instructional, cultural, or artistic programs/activities.
C08	Provide community service programs/activities.
C09	Conduct parent/teacher conferences.
C10	Strengthen school/parent compacts.
C11	Establish partnerships with law enforcement agencies.
C12	Provide conflict resolution/peer mediation strategies/programs.
C13	Seek collaboration/assistance from business, industry, or institution of higher education.
C14	Provide training/information to teachers, school staff, & parents to deal with gang-related issues.
C99	Other (Specify)
Barrier: Drug-Related Activities
#	Strategies for Drug-related Activities			Students	Teachers	Others
D01	Provide early identification/intervention.
D02	Provide Counseling.
D03	Conduct home visits by staff.
D04	Recruit volunteers to assist in promoting drug-free schools and communities.
D05	Provide mentor program.

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.		TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010-2011	074903                        County District No. Amendment No
Connections Grant
Schedule # 4D—Equitable Access and Participation: Barriers and Strategies
Barrier: Drug-Related Activities (cont.)
D06	Provide before/after school recreational, instructional, cultural, or artistic programs/activities
D07	Provide community service programs/activities
D08	Provide comprehensive health education programs.
D09	Conduct parent/teacher conferences.
D10	Establish school/parent compacts.
D11	Develop/maintain community partnerships.
D12	Provide conflict resolution/peer mediation strategies/programs.
D13	Seek collaboration/assistance from business, industry, or institution of higher education.
D14	Provide training/information to teachers, school staff, & parents to deal with drug-related issues.
D15	Seek Collaboration/assistance from business, industry, or institution of higher education.
D99	Other (Specify)
Barrier: Visual Impairments
#	Strategies for Visual Impairments			Students	Teachers	Others
E01	Provide early identification and intervention.
E02	Provide Program materials/information in Braille.
E03	Provide program materials/information in large type.
E04	Provide program materials/information on tape.
E99	Other (Specify)
Barrier: Hearing Impairments
#	Strategies for Hearing Impairments			Students	Teachers	Others
F01	Provide early identification and intervention.
F02	Provide interpreters at program activities.
F99	Other (Specify)
Barrier: Learning Disabilities
#	Strategies for Learning Disabilities			Students	Teachers	Others
G01	Provide early identification and intervention.
G02	Expand tutorial/mentor programs.
G03	Provide staff development in identification practices and effective teaching strategies.
G04	Provide training for parents in early identification and intervention.
G99	Other (Specify)
Barrier: Other Physical Disabilities or Constraints
#	Strategies for Other Physical Disabilities or Constraints			Students	Teachers	Others
H01	Develop and implement a plan to achieve full participation by students with other physical disabilities/constraints.
H99	Other (Specify)

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.		TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010-2011	074903                        County District No. Amendment No
Connections Grant
Schedule # 4D—Equitable Access and Participation: Barriers and Strategies
Barrier: Absenteeism/Truancy
#	Strategies for Absenteeism/Truancy			Students	Teachers	Others
K01	Provide early identification/intervention.
K02	Develop and implement a truancy intervention plan.
K03	Conduct home visits by staff.
K04	Recruit volunteers to assist in promoting school attendance.
K05	Provide mentor program.
K06	Provide before/after school recreational or educational activities.
K07	Conduct parent/teacher conferences.
K08	Strengthen school/parent compacts.
K09	Develop/maintain community partnerships.
K10	Coordinate with health and social services agencies.
K11	Coordinate with the juvenile justice system.
K12	Seek collaboration/assistance from business, industry, or institution of higher education.
K99	Other (Specify)
Barrier: High Mobility Rates
#	Strategies for High Mobility Rates			Students	Teachers	Others
L01	Coordinate with social services agencies
L02	Establish partnerships with parents of highly mobile families.
L03	Establish/maintain timely record transferal system.
L99	Other (Specify)
Barrier: Lack of Support from Parents
#	Strategies for Lack of Support from Parents			Students	Teachers	Others
M01	Develop and implement a plan to increase support from parents.
M02	Conduct home visits by staff.
M03	Recruit volunteers to actively participate in school activities.
M04	Conduct parent/teacher conferences.
M05	Establish school/parent compacts.
M06	Provide parenting training.
M07	Provide a parent/family center.
M08	Provide program materials/information in home language.
M09	Involve parents from a variety of backgrounds in school decision making.
M10	Offer “flexible” opportunities for involvement, including home learning activities and other activities that don’t require coming to school.
M11	Provide child care for parents participating in school activities.
M12	Acknowledge and include family members’ diverse skills, talents, acknowledge in school activities.
M13	Provide adult education, including GED and/or ESL classes, or family literacy program.
M14	Conduct an outreach program for traditionally “hard to reach” parents.
M99	Other (Specify)

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.		TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010-2011	074903                        County District No. Amendment No
Connections Grant
Schedule # 4D—Equitable Access and Participation: Barriers and Strategies
Barrier: Shortage of Qualified Personnel
#	Strategies for Shortage of qualified Personnel			Students	Teachers	Others
N01	Develop and implement a plan to recruit and retain qualified personnel.
N02	Recruit and retain teachers from a variety of racial, ethnic, and language minority groups.
N03	Provide mentor program for new teachers.
N04	Provide intern program for new teachers.
N05	Provide professional development in a variety of formats for personnel.
N06	Collaborate with colleges/universities with teacher preparation programs.
N99	Other (Specify)
Barrier: Lack of Knowledge Regarding Program Benefits
#	Strategies for Lack of Knowledge regarding Program Benefits			Students	Teachers	Others
P01	Develop and implement a plan to inform program beneficiaries of program activities & benefits.
P02	Publish newsletter/brochures to inform program beneficiaries of activities and benefits.
P03	Provide announcements to local radio stations & newspapers about program activities/benefits.
P99	Other (Specify)
Barrier: Lack of Transportation to Program Activities
#	Strategies for Lack of Transportation to Program Activities			Students	Teachers	Others
Q01	Provide transportation for parents and other program beneficiaries to activities.
Q02	Offer “flexible” opportunities for involvement, including home learning activities and other activities that don’t require coming to school.
Q03	Conduct program activities in community centers and other neighborhood locations.
Q04	Other (Specify)
Barrier: Other Barrier
#	Strategies for Other Barrier			Students	Teachers	Others
Z99	Other Barrier:
	Other Strategy:

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.

TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010-2011

074903                        County District No. Amendment No

Connections Grant

Schedule # 4E—Private Nonprofit School Participation

This form is not required for open-enrollment charter schools.

Part 1: Private Nonprofit School Contacts

Initial Contact (Part 1 is required whether or not any private nonprofit schools are participating)

Total Schools within Boundary (Please enter “0” if there are none within the boundary)

1

Total Eligible Students (Please enter “0” if there are none within the boundary)

Data Not Available

Data Not Available

Initial Phase Contact Methods (this section required if any private nonprofit schools within boundaries)

Certified Letters

Documented Phone Calls

Meetings

Fax Documents

e-Mail Communications

Other Method:

Total Participants

Total Schools:

1

Total Students:

13

Total Teachers:

6

No Schools Participating

No Students Participating

No Teachers Participating

Part 2: Consultation and Services (Part 2 is only required if private nonprofit schools are participating)

Participant Consultation

Development and Design Phase Consultation Methods

Certified Letters

Documented Phone Calls

Meetings

Fax Documents

e-Mail Communications

Other Method:

Requirements Considered (P.L. 107-110, Section 9501 (c))

How children’s needs will be identified

What services will be offered

How, where, and by whom the services will be provided

How the services will be academically assessed, and how the results of that assessment will be used to improve those services

The size and scope of the equitable services to be provided to the eligible private nonprofit school children, and the proportion of funds that is allocated under subsection (a)(4) for such services

The method or sources of data that are used under subsection (c) and section 1113(c)(1) to determine the number of children from low-income families and participating school attendance areas who attend private nonprofit schools

How and when the organization will make decisions about the delivery of services to such children, including a thorough consideration & analysis of the views of the private nonprofit school officials on the provision of services through a contract with potential third-party providers

How, if the organization disagrees with the views of the private nonprofit school officials on the provision of services through a contract, the organization will provide in writing to such officials an analysis of the reasons why the organization has chosen not to use a contractor

Other:

Services and Benefits Delivery

Designated Places/Sites

Public School

Private Nonprofit School

Neutral Site

Other Place:

Designated Times

Regular School Day

Before School Day

After School Day

Summer Vacation

Other Time:

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.

TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010-2011

074903                        County District No. Amendment No

Connections Grant

Schedule # 4E—Private Nonprofit School Participation

Part 3: Selection Criteria/Activity Timeline (Part 3 is only required if private nonprofit schools are participating)

#

Private Nonprofit School Name # Students and Teachers

Selection Criteria

Major Activities

Begin Date End Date

1

Forerunner Christian Academy

6^th-12^th grades

Laptop rollout & all training

October 2010

Students:13

Teachers:6

May 2012

2

Students:

Teachers:

3

Students:

Teachers:

4

Students:

Teachers:

5

Students:

Teachers:

6

Students:

Teachers:

7

Students:

Teachers:

8

Students:

Teachers:

9

Students:

Teachers:

10

Students:

Teachers:

11

Students:

Teachers:

12

Students:

Teachers:

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.			TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010-2011			074903                        County District No. Amendment No
Connections Grant
Schedule # 4E—Private Nonprofit School Participation
Part 3: Selection Criteria/Activity Timeline (Part 3 is only required if private nonprofit schools are participating)
#	Private Nonprofit School Name # Students and Teachers			Selection Criteria	Major Activities		Begin Date End Date
13
	Students:	Teachers:
14
	Students:	Teachers:
15
	Students:	Teachers:
16
	Students:	Teachers:
17
	Students:	Teachers:
18
	Students:	Teachers:
19
	Students:	Teachers:
20
	Students:	Teachers:
21
	Students:	Teachers:
22
	Students:	Teachers:
23
	Students:	Teachers:
24
	Students:	Teachers:

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.				TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010-2011					074903                        County District No. Amendment No
Connections Grant
Schedule #5—Program Budget Summary
Program Authority: Public Law 107-110, NCLB, Title II, Part D, and TEC §§32.151-32.157										Fund Code/Shared Services Arrangement Code
										262/349
Project Period: October 1, 2010, through June 30, 2012
Class/Object Code and Description							Program Cost	Admin Cost			Professional Development	Total Budget
Payroll Costs			5B		6100		$ 0	$ 16770			$ 63000	$ 79770
Professional and Contracted Services			5C		6200		30000				136500	158500
Supplies and Materials			5D		6300		575908				0	575908
Other Operating Costs			5E		6400						18126	18126
Capital Outlay (Exclusive of 6619 and 6629) (15XX for charter schools only)			5G		6600/15XX		6200					6200
		Total Direct Costs					612108	16770			209626	838504
		% Indirect Costs						2%
Grand Total
Total Budgeted Costs:						$ 612108		$ 16770			$ 209626		$ 838504
Shared Services Arrangement
6493	Payments to Member Districts of Shared Services Arrangements					$ 197410		$ 8000			$ 62750		268160
Administrative Cost Calculation
Enter total amount from Schedule #5 Budget Summary, Last Column, Total Budgeted Costs												838504
Multiply by .03 (3% limit)												X .03
Enter Maximum Allowable for Administration, including Direct and Indirect Costs												$ 25155.12

(15XX is for use by open enrollment charter schools only)

Regardless of the amount of grant funds expended, the grantee is required to expend a minimum of 25% of awarded grant funds for professional development.

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.					TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010-2011			074903                        County District No. Amendment No
Connections Grant
Schedule #5B—Payroll Costs (6100)
Budgeted Costs
Employee Position Titles						Justification	#Full-Time Effort		#Part-Time Effort	Amount Budgeted	Match
Academic
1	Teacher									$	$
2	Educational Aide
3	Tutor								0
Program Management and Administration
4	Project Director (Manager)					Monitoring & Managing			1	8000
5	Project Coordinator					BISD Project Director			1	3500
6	Teacher Facilitator					Instru Tech			1	2270
7	Teacher Supervisor
8	Secretary/Administrative Assistant
9	Data Entry Clerk
10	Grant Accountant/Bookkeeper					Pos & Inventory			1	3000
11	Evaluator/Evaluation Specialist
Auxiliary
12	Counselor
13	Social Worker
14	Child Care Provider
15	Community Liaison/Parent Coordinator
16	Bus Driver
17	Cafeteria Staff
18	Librarian
19	School Nurse
Other Employee Positions
20	Title:		Teacher/Coaches stipends						25	55000
21	Title:		Substitute Pay
22	Title:
23	Title:
24	Subtotal Employee Costs									$ 71770	$
Substitute, Extra-Duty, Benefits
25		6112		Substitute Pay						$ 4000	$
26		6119		Professional Staff Extra-Duty Pay						4000
27		6121		Support Staff Extra-Duty Pay
28		6140		Employee Benefits
29		Subtotal Substitute, Extra-Duty, Benefits Costs								$ 8000	$
30		Grand Total Payroll Budget (line 24 + line 29)								$ 79770	$

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this page have been confirmed with				TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010-2011					074903
								County-District No.
by telephone/e-mail/FAX on
by ____________________of TEA.								Amendment No.
Connections Grant
Schedule #5C- Itemized 6200 Professional and Contracted Services Costs Requiring Specific Approval
Expense Item Description										Grant Amount Budgeted	Match
6212	Audit Costs (other than audits required under OMB Circular A-133)									$	$
	Specify purpose
6269	Rental or Lease of Buildings, Space in Buildings, or Land									0
	Specify purpose and provide calculation:
6299	Contracted Publication and Printing Costs (specific approval required only for nonprofits)									0
	Specify purpose:
6299	Scholarships and Fellowships (not allowed for nonprofit organizations)									0
	Specify purpose:
Subtotal
6200 – Professional and Contracted Services Cost Requiring Specific Approval										0
Professional and Consulting Services (6219/6239) or Subgrants (6290) Less than $10,000
#	Topic/Purpose/Service					Subgrant	Total Contracted Amount			Grant Amount Budgeted	Match
1.	Science/Math Probe training/Ti Nav Training						6200			6200	$
2.	Softouch training for tech team						2500			2500
3.	R&M EasiTeach Interactive Software						4000			4000
4.	Infor Source Training						4900			4900
5.	Apple Server Training						6500			6500
6.	LoTi Training						9000			9000
7.	Atomic Learning Online						9400			9400
8.	Science/Math Probe training/Ti Nav Training						6200			6200
9.
10.
Subtotal
Professional and Consulting Services or Subgrants Less than $10,000										$ 42500	$
Professional and Consulting Services (6219) or Subgrants (6290) Greater than or Equal to $10,000
1. Description of Professional or Consulting Service (Topic/Purpose/Service): Subgrant online NETS/SBEC competency training for all teachers in grants for 2 years
Contractor’s Cost Breakdown of Service to be Provided					# Positions		Total Contracted Amount			Grant Amount Budgeted	Match
		Contractor’s Payroll Costs			98		$ 18000			$ 18000	$
		Title:	UT Tyler Trainers & TAMU Trainers
		Subgrants, Subcontracts, Subcontracted Services
		Supplies and Materials
		Other Operating Costs
		Capital Outlay (Subgrants Only)
		Indirect Cost ( %)
Total Payment:							$			$ 18000	$

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this page have been confirmed with				TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010-2011				074903
							County-District No.
by telephone/e-mail/FAX on
by			of TEA.				Amendment No.
Connections Grant
Schedule #5C- Itemized 6200 Professional and Contracted Services Costs Requiring Specific Approval (cont.)
Professional and Consulting Services (6219) or Subgrants (6290) Greater than or Equal to $10,000 (cont.)
2. Description of Professional or Consulting Service (Topic/Purpose/Service): Subgrant TCET evaluator for Grant
Contractor’s Cost Breakdown of Service to be Provided					# Positions	Total Contracted Amount			Grant Amount Budgeted	Match
	Contractor’s Payroll Costs				1	$ 30000			$ 30000	$
	Title:	TCET Evaluator
	Subgrants, Subcontracts, Subcontracted Services
	Supplies and Materials
	Other Operating Costs
	Capital Outlay (Subgrants Only)
	Indirect Cost (3.5%)
Total Payment:						$			$ 30000	$
3. Description of Professional or Consulting Service (Topic/Purpose/Service): Subgrant Hybrid course for reading / research to give all teachers experience of taking a hybid course and to promote life-long learning thru research. Trainer-of-trainers will be offered this course @ $1000 per. UT Tyler professors will visit and do walk-throughs of classrooms
Contractor’s Cost Breakdown of Service to be Provided					# Positions	Total Contracted Amount			Grant Amount Budgeted	Match
	Contractor’s Payroll Costs				1	$ 44000			44000	$
	Title:	InfoSource trainers
	Subgrants, Subcontracts, Subcontracted Services 2 UT instructors who will do classroom walkthroughs and Coaching
	Supplies and Materials
	Other Operating Costs
	Capital Outlay (Subgrants Only)
	Indirect Cost ( %)
Total Payment:						$ 44000			44000	$
4. Description of Professional or Consulting Service (Topic/Purpose/Service): Subgrant Advanced teachers will be offered TxVSN Web Instructor certifications courses through TAMU
Contractor’s Cost Breakdown of Service to be Provided					# Positions	Total Contracted Amount			Grant Amount Budgeted	Match
	Contractor’s Payroll Costs				3	$ 24000			$ 24000	$
	Title:	TCEA trainers
	Subgrants, Subcontracts, Subcontracted Services
	Supplies and Materials
	Other Operating Costs
	Capital Outlay (Subgrants Only)
	Indirect Cost ( %)
Total Payment:						$ 24000			$ 24000	$
Subtotal: Professional and Consulting Services Greater Than or Equal to $10,000:						$ 116000			$ 116000	$
Subtotal of Professional and Contracted Services Costs Requiring Specific Approval:
Subtotal of Professional and Consulting Services or Subgrants Less than $10,000:						42500			42500
Subtotal of Professional and Consulting Services Greater than or Equal to $10,000:						116000			116000
Remaining 6200- Professional and Contracted Services that do not require specific approval:
Grand Total:						158500			158500

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.				TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010-2011	074903 County District No. Amendment No
Connections Grant
Schedule #5D - Itemized 6300 Supplies and Materials Costs Requiring Specific Approval
Expense Item Description							Amount Budgeted	Match
6399	Technology Hardware- Not Capitalized						$ 532130	$
	#	Type	Purpose			Quantity
	1	Netbooks, bags, accessories	Students & teachers			980
	2	Science/Math Probes	Hands-on Science and Math research			6
	3	Doc Cameras	For recording lessons for Blog			35
	4	Access Points & chargers	For Adequate Infrastructure			12
	5	Servers	Blog Server & ITV server			2
6399	Technology Software- Not Capitalized						43778
6399	Supplies and Materials Associated with Advisory Council or Committee
Total Supplies and Materials Requiring Specific Approval:
Remaining 6300- Supplies and Materials that do not require specific approval:
Grand Total							$ 575908	$

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.			TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010-2011	074903 County District No. Amendment No
Connections Grant
Schedule #5E - Itemized 6400 Other Operating Costs Requiring Specific Approval
Expense Item Description					Amount Budgeted	Match
6410	In State Travel for Employees (specific approval required only for nonprofit organizations)
	Specify purpose:	TCEA conference & workshops
6411	Out of State Travel for Employees (includes registration fees)				$	$
	Specify purpose:
6412	Travel for Students (includes registration fees; does not include field trips) (specific approval required only for nonprofit organizations)
	Specify purpose:
6413	Stipends for Non-Employees (specific approval required only for nonprofit organizations)
	Specify purpose:
6419	Travel for Non-Employees (includes registration fees; does not include field trips) (specific approval required only for nonprofit organizations)
	Specify purpose:
6411/6419	Travel Costs for Executive Director (6411), Superintendents (6411), or Board Members (6419) (includes registration fees)
	Specify purpose:
6429	Actual losses which could have been covered by permissible insurance
6490	Indemnification Compensation for Loss or Damage
6490	Advisory Council/Committee Travel or Other Expenses (explain purpose of Committee on Schedule #4B-Program Description: Project Management)
6499	Membership Dues in Civic or Community Organizations (Not allowable for University applicants)
	Specify name and purpose of organization:
	Publication and Printing Costs- if reimbursed (specific approval required only for nonprofits organizations)
	Specify purpose:
Total 64XX- Operating Costs Requiring specific approval:
Remaining 6400 – Other Operating Costs that do not require specific approval:					18126
Grand Total					$ 18126	$

For TEA Use Only Adjustments and/or annotations made on this have been confirmed with by telephone/FAX on by of TEA.		TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010-2011		074903 County District No. Amendment No
Connections Grant
Schedule #5G - Itemized 6600/15XX Capital Outlay- Capitalized Assets Regardless of Unit Cost (15XX is for use by Charter Schools sponsored by a nonprofit organization)
	Description/Purpose		Unit Cost		Quantity	Amount Budgeted	Match
6699/15XX- Library Books and Media (capitalized and controlled by library)
1
66XX/15XX- Technology Hardware - Capitalized
2	Apple Server
3	Distance Learning Equipment (ITV)
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
66XX/15XX- Technology Software- Capitalized
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
66XX/15XX- Equipment, Furniture, or Vehicles
19	Distance Learning Equipment		6200		1	6200
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
Capital expenditures for improvements to land, buildings, or equipment which materially increase their value or useful life.
29
Grand Total
Total 6600/15XX- Capital Outlay Costs:						6200

	TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System School Year 2010-2011
SCHEDULE #6A – cont. GENERAL PROVISIONS & ASSURANCES			074903
		County-District No.
Connections Grant

Statement of provisions and assurances for the program(s) in this application:

A. Terms defined: As used in these Provisions and Assurances,

§ Contract means the entire document, and all of TEA’s attachments, appendices, schedules (including but not limited to the General Provisions and the Special Provisions), amendments and extensions of or to the Standard Contract;

§ Agency or TEA means the Texas Education Agency;

§ Contractor means the party or parties to this contract other than Agency; including its or their officers, directors, employees, agents, representatives, consultants and subcontractors, and subcontractors’ officers, directors, employees, agents, representatives and consultants;

§ Project Administrator means the person representing Agency or Contractor, as indicated by the contract, for the purposes of administering the contract project;

§ Contract Project means the purpose intended to be achieved through the contract of which these Provisions and Assurances are a part;

§ Applicant means the same as Contractor;

§ SAS means the Standard Application System of which the application document is a part;

§ "Application" means the entire package submitted by the Applicant including the schedules contained in the application and so indicated on the General Information page of the application package;

§ Amendment means an application that is revised in budget categories and/or in program activities. It includes both the original application and any subsequent amendments; or extensions thereto;

§ Works means all tangible or intangible material, products, ideas, documents or works of authorship prepared or created by Contractor for or on behalf of TEA at any time after the beginning date of the Contract (Works includes but is not limited to computer software, data, information, images, illustrations, designs, graphics, drawings, educational materials, assessment forms, testing materials, logos, trademarks, patentable materials, etc.); and,

§ Intellectual Property Rights means the worldwide intangible legal rights or interests evidenced by or embodied in: (a) any idea, design, concept, method, process, technique, apparatus, invention, discovery, or improvement, including any patents, trade secrets, and know-how; (b) any work of authorship, including any copyrights, moral rights or neighboring rights; (c) any trademark, service mark, trade dress, trade name, or other indicia of source or origin; (d) domain name registrations; and (e) any other similar rights. The Intellectual Property Rights of a party include all worldwide intangible legal rights or interests that the party may have acquired by assignment or license with the right to grant sublicenses.

§ Grant means the same as Contract;

§ Grantee means the same as Contractor;

§ Grantor means the same as Agency; and

§ DCC means the Document Control Center of Agency.

B. Contingency: This contract is executed by Agency subject to the availability of funds appropriated by legislative act for the purposes stated. All amendments and/or extensions or subsequent contracts entered into for the same or continued purposes are executed contingent upon the availability of appropriated funds. Notwithstanding any other provision in this contract or any other document, this contract is void upon appropriated funds becoming unavailable. In addition, this contract may be terminated by Agency at any time for any reason upon notice to Contractor. Expenditures and/or activities for which Contractor may claim reimbursement shall not be accrued or claimed subsequent to receipt of such notice from Agency. This contract may be extended or otherwise amended only by formal written amendment properly executed by both Agency and Contractor. No other agreement, written or oral, purporting to alter or amend this contract shall be valid.

C. Contractor's Application: Furnished to Agency in response to a request for application, is incorporated in this contract by reference for all necessary purposes. It is specifically provided, however, that the provisions of this contract shall prevail in all cases of conflict arising from the terms of Contractor's application whether such application is a written part of this contract or is attached as a separate document.

D. Requirements, Terms, Conditions, and Assurances: Which are stated in the Request for Application, in response to which Applicant is submitting this application, are incorporated herein by reference for all purposes although the current General Provisions shall prevail in the event of conflict. The instructions to the Standard Application System, as well as the General and Fiscal Guidelines and Program Guidelines, are incorporated herein by reference.

	TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System School Year 2010-2011
SCHEDULE #6A – cont. GENERAL PROVISIONS & ASSURANCES			074903
		County-District No.
Connections Grant
E. Signature Authority; Final Expression; Superseding Document: Applicant certifies that the person signing this application has been properly delegated this authority. The Contract represents the final and complete expression of the terms of agreement between the parties. The Contract supersedes any previous understandings or negotiations between the parties. Any representations, oral statements, promises or warranties that differ from the Contract shall have no force or effect. The Contract may be modified, amended or extended only by formal written amendment properly executed by both TEA and Contractor. F. State of Texas Laws: In the conduct of the contract project, Contractor shall be subject to Texas State Board of Education and Commissioner rules pertaining to this contract and the contract project and to the laws of the State of Texas governing this contract and the contract project. This contract constitutes the entire agreement between Agency and Contractor for the accomplishment of the contract project. This contract shall be interpreted according to the laws of the State of Texas except as may be otherwise provided for in this contract. G. Monitoring: Desk reviews or on-site monitoring reviews may be conducted by Agency to determine compliance with the approved application and the applicable statute(s), law(s), regulations, and guidelines. H. Sanctions for Failure to Perform or for Noncompliance: If Contractor, in Agency's sole determination, fails or refuses for any reason to comply with or perform any of its obligations under this contract, Agency may impose such sanctions as it may deem appropriate. This includes but is not limited to the withholding of payments to Contractor until Contractor complies; the cancellation, termination, or suspension of this contract in whole or in part; and the seeking of other remedies as may be provided by this contract or by law. Any cancellation, termination, or suspension of this contract, if imposed, shall become effective at the close of business on the day of Contractor's receipt of written notice thereof from Agency. I. Contract Cancellation, etc.: If this contract is canceled, terminated, or suspended by Agency prior to its expiration date, the reasonable monetary value of services properly performed by Contractor pursuant to this contract prior to such cancellation, termination or suspension shall be determined by Agency and paid to Contractor as soon as reasonably possible. J. Indemnification: For local educational agencies (LEAs), regional education service centers (ESCs), and institutions of higher education (IHEs) and state agencies: Contractor, to the extent permitted by law, shall hold Agency harmless from and shall indemnify Agency against any and all claims, demands, and causes of action of whatever kind or nature asserted by any third party and occurring or in any way incident to, arising from, or in connection with, any acts of Contractor, its agents, employees, and subcontractors, done in the conduct of the contract project. For all other grantees, subgrantees, contractors, and subcontractors, including nonprofit organizations and for-profit businesses: Contractor shall hold Agency harmless from and shall indemnify Agency against any and all claims, demands, and causes of action of whatever kind or nature asserted by any third party and occurring or in any way incident to, arising from, or in connection with, any acts of Contractor, its agents, employees, and subcontractors, done in the conduct of the contract project. K. Encumbrances/Obligations: All encumbrances/obligations shall occur on or between the beginning and ending dates of the contract. All goods must be received and all services rendered and subsequently liquidated (recorded as an expenditure or accounts payable) within the contract dates. In no manner shall encumbrances be considered or reflected as accounts payable or as expenditures, and an encumbrance cannot be considered an expenditure or accounts payable until the goods have been received and the services have been rendered. Obligations that are liquidated and recognized as expenditures must meet the allowable cost principles in OMB Circular A-87, A-21, or A-122 (as applicable) and program rules, regulations, and guidelines contained elsewhere. This applies to all grant programs, including state and federal, discretionary and formula.

	TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System School Year 2010-2011
SCHEDULE #6A – cont. GENERAL PROVISIONS & ASSURANCES			074903
		County-District No.
Connections Grant
L. Financial Management and Accounting: Grantee assures it will maintain a financial management system that complies with federal standards established in 34 CFR 80.20 and 74.21 and that provides for accurate, current, and complete disclosure of the financial results of each grant project. The financial management system records will identify adequately the source and application of funds and will contain information pertaining to grant awards, authorizations, obligations, unobligated balances, assets, outlays (i.e., expenditures), income, and interest. Fiscal control and accounting procedures will permit the tracing of funds to a level of expenditure adequate to establish that funds have been used in accordance with the approved grant application. The applicant agrees to maintain effective control over and accountability for all funds, property, and other assets. Public school districts, open enrollment charter schools, and regional education service centers in Texas must comply with the accounting requirements in the Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR) module of the Financial Accountability System Resource Guide, Texas Education Agency (34 CFR 74.21; 34 CFR 80.20; TEA Financial Accountability System Resource Guide). M. Expenditure Reports: Contractor shall submit expenditure reports in the time and manner requested by Agency as specified in the instructions to the Standard Application System (SAS) which are incorporated by reference. Unless otherwise specified, interim reports are due to TEA within 15 days after the end of each reporting period. Unless otherwise specified, the final expenditure report is due within 30 days after the ending date of the grant. Revised expenditure reports, where the grantee is claiming additional expenditures beyond that originally requested, must be submitted within 60 days after the ending date of the grant, or as specified in the applicable Program Guidelines. N. Refunds Due to TEA: If Agency determines that Agency is due a refund of money paid to Contractor pursuant to this contract, Contractor shall pay the money due to Agency within 30 days of Contractor's receipt of written notice that such money is due to Agency. If Contractor fails to make timely payment, Agency may obtain such money from Contractor by any means permitted by law, including but not limited to offset, counterclaim, cancellation, termination, suspension, total withholding, and/or disapproval of all or any subsequent applications for said funds. O. Records Retention: Contractor shall maintain its records and accounts in a manner which shall assure a full accounting for all funds received and expended by Contractor in connection with the contract project. These records and accounts shall be retained by Contractor and made available for programmatic or financial audit by Agency and by others authorized by law or regulation to make such an audit for a period of not less than five years from the date of completion of the contract project or the date of the receipt by Agency of Contractor's final claim for payment or final expenditure report in connection with this contract, whichever is later. If an audit has been announced, the records shall be retained until such audit has been completed. Contractor understands that acceptance of funds under this contract acts as acceptance of the authority of the State Auditor’s office, or any successor agency, to conduct an audit or investigation in connection with those funds. Contractor further agrees to cooperate fully with the State Auditor’s Office or its successor in the conduct of the audit or investigation, including providing all records requested. Contractor will ensure that this clause concerning the authority to audit funds received indirectly by subcontractors through Contractor and the requirements to cooperate is included in any subcontract it awards. P. Time and Effort Recordkeeping: For those personnel whose salaries are prorated between or among different funding sources, time and effort records will be maintained by Applicant that will confirm the services provided within each funding source. Applicant must adjust payroll records and expenditures based on this documentation. This requirement applies to all projects, regardless of funding source, unless otherwise specified. For federally funded projects, time and effort records must be in accordance with the requirements in the applicable OMB cost principles. Q. Forms, Assurances, and Reports: Contractor shall timely make and file with the proper authorities all forms, assurances and reports required by federal laws and regulations. Agency shall be responsible for reporting to the proper authorities any failure by Contractor to comply with the foregoing laws and regulations coming to Agency's attention, and may deny payment or recover payments made by Agency to Contractor in the event of Contractor's failure so to comply. R. Intellectual Property Ownership: Contractor agrees that all Works are, upon creation, works made for hire and the sole property of TEA. If the Works are, under applicable law, not considered works made for hire, Contractor hereby assigns to TEA all worldwide ownership of all rights, including the Intellectual Property Rights, in the Works, without the necessity of any further consideration, and TEA can obtain and hold in its own name all such rights to the Works. Contractor agrees to maintain written agreements with all officers, directors, employees, agents, representatives and subcontractors engaged by Contractor for the Contract Project, granting Contractor rights sufficient to support the performance and grant of rights to TEA by Contractor. Copies of such agreements shall be provided to TEA promptly upon request.

	TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System School Year 2010-2011
SCHEDULE #6A – cont. GENERAL PROVISIONS & ASSURANCES			074903
		County-District No.
Connections Grant
Contractor warrants that (i) it has the authority to grant the rights herein granted, (ii) it has not assigned or transferred any right, title, or interest to the Works or Intellectual Property Rights that would conflict with its obligations under the Contract, and Contractor will not enter into any such agreements, and (iii) the Works will be original and will not infringe any intellectual property rights of any other person or entity. These warranties will survive the termination of the Contract. If any preexisting rights are embodied in the Works, Contractor grants to TEA the irrevocable, perpetual, non-exclusive, worldwide, royalty-free right and license to (i) use, execute, reproduce, display, perform, distribute copies of, and prepare derivative works based upon such preexisting rights and any derivative works thereof and (ii) authorize others to do any or all of the foregoing. Contractor agrees to notify TEA on delivery of the Works if they include any such preexisting rights. On request, Contractor will provide TEA with documentation indicating a third party’s written approval for Contractor to use any preexisting rights that may be embodied or reflected in the Works. For School Districts and Nonprofit Organizations: The foregoing Intellectual Property Ownership provisions apply to any school districts, nonprofit organizations, and their employees, agents, representatives, consultants and subcontractors. If a school district or nonprofit organization or any of its subcontractor(s) wish to obtain a license agreement to use, advertise, offer for sale, sell, distribute, publicly display, publicly perform or reproduce the Works, or make derivative works from the Works, then express written permission must first be obtained from the TEA Copyright Office. For Education Service Centers (ESCs): The foregoing Intellectual Property Ownership provisions apply to an Education Service Center (ESC) and its employees, agents, representatives, consultants, and subcontractors. If an ESC or any of its subcontractor(s) wish to obtain a license agreement to use, advertise, offer for sale, sell, distribute, publicly display, publicly perform or reproduce the Works, or make derivative works from the Works, then express written permission must first be obtained from the TEA Copyright Office. For Colleges and Universities: The foregoing Intellectual Property Ownership provisions apply to any colleges and universities and their employees, agents, representatives, consultants, and subcontractors; provided, that for all Works and derivative works created or conceived by colleges or universities under the Contract, they are granted a non-exclusive, non-transferable, royalty-free license to use the Works for their own academic and educational purposes only. The license for academic and educational purposes specifically excludes advertising, offering for sale, selling, distributing, publicly displaying, publicly performing, or reproducing the Works, or making derivative works from the Works that are created or conceived under this Contract and colleges and universities and their employees, agents, representatives, consultants, and subcontractors are prohibited from engaging in these uses and activities with regard to the Works unless the prior express written permission of the TEA Copyright Office is obtained. S. Unfair Business Practices: Unfair Business Practices: By signing this Contract, Contractor, if other than a state agency, certifies that Contractor, within the preceding 12 months, has not been found guilty, in a judicial or state agency administrative proceeding, of unfair business practices. Contractor, if other than a state agency, also certifies that no officer of its company has, within the preceding 12 months, served as an officer in another company which has been found, in a judicial or state agency administrative proceeding, to be guilty of unfair business practices. Contractor, whether a state agency or not a state agency, certifies that no funds provided under this Contract shall be used to purchase supplies, equipment, or services from any companies found to be guilty of unfair business practices within 12 months from the determination of guilt. T. Subcontracting: Contractor shall not assign or subcontract any of its rights or responsibilities under this contract, except as may be otherwise provided for in this application, without prior formal written amendment to this contract properly executed by both Agency and Contractor. U. Use of Consultants: Notwithstanding any other provision of this application, Applicant shall not use or pay any consultant in the conduct of this application if the services to be rendered by any such consultant can be provided by Applicant's employees. V. Capital Outlay: If Contractor purchases capital outlay (furniture and/or equipment) to accomplish the objective(s) of the project, title will remain with Contractor for the period of the contract. Agency reserves the right to transfer capital outlay items for contract noncompliance during the contract period or as needed after the ending date of the contract. This provision applies to any and all furniture and/or equipment regardless of unit price and how the item is classified in Contractor's accounting record.

	TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System School Year 2010-2011
SCHEDULE #6A – cont. GENERAL PROVISIONS & ASSURANCES			074903
		County-District No.
Connections Grant
W. Agency Property (terms): In the event of loss, damage or destruction of any property owned by or loaned by Agency while in the custody or control of Contractor, its employees, agents, consultants or subcontractors, Contractor shall indemnify Agency and pay to Agency the full value of or the full cost of repair or replacement of such property, whichever is the greater, within 30 days of Contractor's receipt of written notice of Agency's determination of the amount due. This applies whether the property is developed or purchased by Contractor pursuant to this contract or is provided by Agency to Contractor for use in the contract project. If Contractor fails to make timely payment, Agency may obtain such money from Contractor by any means permitted by law, including but not limited to offset or counterclaim against any money otherwise due to Contractor by Agency. X. Travel Costs: Amounts authorized for maximum recovery for travel and per diem costs against any state or federal funding source are restricted to those amounts which are approved in the State of Texas Appropriations Bill in effect for the particular funding period. Any amount over this limit must come from local funding sources. Applicant must recover funds at a lesser rate if local policy amounts are less than the maximum allowed by the state. Out-of-state travel may not exceed the federal government rate for the locale. Travel allowances are not allowable costs. Y. Funds for Religious Worship, Instruction: No funds will be used to pay for religious worship, instruction, or proselytization, or for any equipment or supplies for such, or for any construction, remodeling, repair, operation, or maintenance of any facility or part of a facility to be used for religious worship, instruction, or proselytization (34 CFR 76.532 and P. L. 107-110, section 9505). Z. Disclosure of Gifts and Campaign Contributions: The grantee shall file disclosures of gifts and campaign contributions as required by State Board of Education Operating Rule 4.3, which is incorporated as if set out in full. The grantee has a continuing obligation to make disclosures through the term of the contract. Failure to comply with State Board of Education Operating Rule 4.3 is grounds for canceling the grant. AA. Submission of Audit Reports to TEA: Grantees which are public school districts and open enrollment charter schools agree to submit the required annual audit report, including the reporting package required under OMB Circular A-133, if an audit is required to be conducted in accordance with OMB Circular A-133, to the TEA Division of School Financial Audits in the time and manner requested by the Agency. Grantees which are nonprofit organizations (other than charter schools) and universities/colleges that expend $500,000 or more total in federal awards in any fiscal year and are thus required to conduct a Single Audit or program-specific audit in accordance with the requirements in OMB Circular A-133, agree to submit a copy of such audit to TEA when the schedule of findings and questioned costs disclosed audit findings relating to any federal awards provided by TEA. A copy of such audit shall also be submitted to TEA if the summary schedule of prior audit findings reported the status of any audit findings relating to any federal awards provided by TEA. A nonprofit organization or university/college grantee shall provide written notification to TEA that an audit was conducted in accordance with OMB Circular A-133 when the schedule of findings and questioned costs disclosed no audit findings related to any federal awards provided by TEA or when the summary schedule of prior audit findings did not report on the status of any prior audit findings related to any federal awards provided by TEA. Nonprofit organizations (other than charter schools) and universities/colleges shall submit the audit report to the TEA Division of Discretionary Grants. Audit reports must be submitted to TEA within 30 days of receipt of the report from the auditor. Failure to submit a copy of the audit to TEA could result in a reduction of funds paid to the grantee, a refund to TEA, termination of the grant, and/or ineligibility to receive additional grant awards from TEA. BB. Federal Rules, Laws, and Regulations That Apply to all Federal Programs: Contractor shall be subject to and shall abide by all federal laws, rules and regulations pertaining to the contract project, including but not limited to: 1. Americans With Disabilities Act, P. L. 101-336, 42 U.S.C. sec. 12101, and the regulations effectuating its provisions contained in 28 CFR Parts 35 and 36, 29 CFR Part 1630, and 47 CFR Parts 0 and 64; 2. Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, as amended (prohibition of discrimination by race, color, or national origin), and the regulations effectuating its provisions contained in 34 CFR Part 100; 3. Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, as amended (prohibition of sex discrimination in educational institutions) and the regulations effectuating its provisions contained in 34 CFR Part 106, if Contractor is an educational institution; 4. Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (nondiscrimination on the basis of handicapping condition), and the regulations effectuating its provisions contained in 34 CFR Part 104 and 105;

	TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System School Year 2010-2011
SCHEDULE #6A – cont. GENERAL PROVISIONS & ASSURANCES			074903
		County-District No.
Connections Grant
5. the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, as amended (prohibition of discrimination on basis of age), and any regulations issued thereunder, including the provisions contained in 34 CFR Part 110; 6. the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1975, as amended (ensures access to educational records for students and parents while protecting the privacy of such records), and any regulations issued thereunder, including Privacy Rights of Parents and Students (34 CFR Part 99), if Contractor is an educational institution (20 USC 1232g); 7. Section 509 of H.R. 5233 as incorporated by reference in P. L. 99-500 and P. L. 99-591 (prohibition against the use of federal grant funds to influence legislation pending before Congress); 8. Pro-Children Act of 2001, which states that no person shall permit smoking within any indoor facility owned or leased or contracted and utilized for the provision of routine or regular kindergarten, elementary, or secondary education or library services to children [P. L. 107-110, Section 4303(a)]. In addition, no person shall permit smoking within any indoor facility (or portion of such a facility) owned or leased or contracted and utilized for the provision of regular or routine health care or day care or early childhood development (Head Start) services [P. L. 107-110, Section 4303(b)(1)]. Any failure to comply with a prohibition in this Act shall be considered to be a violation of this Act and any person subject to such prohibition who commits such violation may be liable to the United States for a civil penalty, as determined by the Secretary of Education (P. L. 107-110, Section 4303(e)(1)]. 9. Fair Labor Standards Act (29 USC 207), Davis Bacon Act (40 USC 276(a), and Contract Work Hours and Safety Standards Act (40 USC 327 et seq.), as applicable, and their implementing regulations in 29 CFR 500-899, 29 CFR Parts 1,3,5, and 7, and 29 CFR Parts 5 and 1926, respectively. 10. Buy America Act: Contractor certifies that it is in compliance with the Buy America Act in that each end product purchased under any federally funded supply contract exceeding $2,500 is considered to have been substantially produced or manufactured in the United States. End products exempt from this requirement are those for which the cost would be unreasonable, products manufactured in the U. S. that are not of satisfactory quality, or products for which the agency head determines that domestic preference would be inconsistent with the public interest. Contractor also certifies that documentation will be maintained that documents compliance with this requirement (FAR 25.1-.2). 11. P.L. 103-227, Title X, Miscellaneous Provisions of the GOALS 2000: Educate America Act; P.L. 103-382, Title XIV, General Provisions of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended; and General Education Provisions Act, as amended. CC. Federal Regulations Applicable to All Federal Programs: 1. For Local Educational Agencies (LEAs): 28 CFR 35 Subparts A-E, 28 CFR 36 Subparts C & D, Appendix A, 29 CFR 1630, 34 CFR 75 or 76 as applicable, 77, 79, 80, 81, 82, 85, 97, 98, 99, 104, 47 CFR 0 and 64, and OMB Circulars A-87 (Cost Principles), A-133 (Audits), and A-102 (Uniform Administrative Requirements); 2. For Education Service Centers (ESCs): 28 CFR 35 Subparts A-E, 28 CFR 36 Subparts C & D, Appendix A, 29 CFR 1630, 34 CFR 75 or 76 as applicable, 77, 79, 80, 81, 82, 85, 97, 98, 99, 104, 47 CFR 0 and 64, and OMB Circulars A-87 (Cost Principles), A-133 (Audits), and A-102 (Uniform Administrative Requirements); 3. For Institutions of Higher Education (IHEs): 28 CFR 35 Subparts A-E, 28 CFR 36 Subparts C & D, Appendix A, 29 CFR 1630, 34 CFR 74, 77, 79, 81, 82, 85, 86, 97, 98, 99, 104, 47 CFR 0 and 64, and OMB Circulars A-21 (Cost Principles), A-133 (Audits), and A-110 (Uniform Administrative Requirements); 4. For Nonprofit Organizations: 28 CFR 35 Subparts A-E, 28 CFR 36 Subparts C & D, Appendix A, 29 CFR 1630, 34 CFR 74, 77, 79, 81, 82, 85, 97, 98, 99, 104, 47 CFR 0 and 64, and OMB Circulars A-122 (Cost Principles), A-133 (Audits), and A-110 (Uniform Administrative Requirements); 5. For State Agencies: 28 CFR 35 Subparts A-E, 28 CFR 36 Subparts C & D, Appendix A, 29 CFR 1630, 34 CFR 76, 80, 81, 82, 85, 97, 98, 99, 104, 47 CFR 0 and 64, OMB Circulars A-87 (Cost Principles), A-133 (Audits), and A-102 (Uniform Administrative Requirements); and 6. For Commercial (for-profit) Organizations: 29 CFR 1630 and 48 CFR Part 31. DD. General Education Provisions Act (GEPA), as Amended, Applicable to All Federal Programs Funded or Administered Through or By the U. S. Department of Education: 1. Participation in Planning: Applicant will provide reasonable opportunities for the participation by teachers, parents, and other interested parties, organizations, and individuals in the planning for and operation of each program described in this application (20 USC 1232(e)).

	TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System School Year 2010-2011
SCHEDULE #6A – cont. GENERAL PROVISIONS & ASSURANCES			074903
		County-District No.
Connections Grant
2. Availability of Information: Any application, evaluation, periodic program plan, or report relating to each program described in this application will be made readily available to parents and other members of the general public (20 USC 1232(e)). 3. Sharing of Information: Contractor certifies that it has adopted effective procedures for acquiring and disseminating to teachers and administrators participating in each program described in this application significant information from educational research, demonstrations, and similar projects, and for adopting, where appropriate, promising educational practices developed through such projects (20 USC 1232(e)). 4. Prohibition of Funds for Busing: The applicant certifies that no federal funds (except for funds appropriated specifically for this purpose) will be used for the transportation of students or teachers (or for the purchase of equipment for such transportation) in order to overcome racial imbalance in any school or school system, or for the transportation of students or teachers (or for the purchase of equipment for such transportation) in order to carry out a plan of racial desegregation of any school or school system (20 USC 1228). 5. Direct Financial Benefit: Contractor certifies that funds expended under any federal program will not be used to acquire equipment (including computer software) in any instance in which such acquisition results in a direct financial benefit to any organization representing the interests of the purchasing entity or its employees or any affiliate of such an organization [20 USC 1232(b)(8)]. EE. Payment for Services: Payment for service(s) described in this Contract is contingent upon satisfactory completion of the service(s). Satisfaction will be determined by TEA's Project Administrator, in his sole discretion but in accordance with reasonable standards and upon advice of his superiors in TEA, if necessary. FF. Family Code Applicability: By signing this Contract, Contractor, if other than a state agency, certifies that under Section 231.006, Family Code, that Contractor is not ineligible to receive payment under this Contract and acknowledges that this Contract may be terminated and payment may be withheld if this certification is inaccurate. TEA reserves the right to terminate this Contract if Contractor is found to be ineligible to receive payment. If Contractor is found to be ineligible to receive payment and the Contract is terminated, Contractor is liable to TEA for attorney’s fees, the costs necessary to complete the Contract, including the cost of advertising and awarding a second contract, and any other damages or relief provided by law or equity. GG. Interpretation: In the case of conflicts arising in the interpretation of wording and/or meaning of various sections, parts, Appendices, General Provisions, Special Provisions, Exhibits, and Attachments or other documents, the TEA Contract and its General Provisions, Appendices and Special Provisions shall take precedence over all other documents which are a part of this contract. HH. Registered Lobbyists: No state or federal funds transferred to a contractor/grantee may be used to hire a registered lobbyist. II. Test Administration and Security: This contract is executed by Agency subject to assurance by Contractor that it has at all times been and shall remain in full compliance with Title 19, Texas Administrative Code Chapter 101, and all requirements and procedures for maintaining test security specified in any test administration materials in the possession or control of Contractor, or any school, campus, or program operated by Contractor. Notwithstanding any other provision in this contract or any other document, this contract is void upon notice by Agency, in its sole discretion, that Contractor or any school, campus, or program operated by Contractor has at any time committed a material violation of Title 19, Texas Administrative Code Chapter 101, or any requirement or procedure for maintaining test security specified in any test administration materials in the possession or control of Contractor, or any school, campus, or program operated by Contractor. Expenditures and/or activities for which Contractor may claim reimbursement shall not be accrued or claimed subsequent to receipt of such notice from Agency. JJ. Social Security Numbers: Social Security numbers will not be provided by TEA as a part of this agreement. TEA is not requiring or requesting school districts or other grantees to provide Social Security numbers as a part of this agreement. KK. Student-identifying Information: Contractor agrees that in executing tasks on behalf of TEA, Contractor will not use any student-identifying information in any way that violates the provisions of FERPA and will destroy or return all student-identifying information to TEA within thirty (30) days of project completion.

	TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System School Year 2010-2011
SCHEDULE #6A – cont. GENERAL PROVISIONS & ASSURANCES			074903
		County-District No.
Connections Grant
LL. High-Risk Status, Special Conditions, and Enforcement Actions: Pursuant to the provisions in 34 CFR 80.12 and 74.14, a grantee may be identified by TEA as high-risk if the grantee has a history of unsatisfactory performance; is not financially stable; has a financial management system that does not meet federal financial management standards or the requirements in TEA’s Financial Accounting and Reporting (FAR) module; has not conformed to terms and conditions of previous awards; or is otherwise not responsible. TEA may impose one or more special conditions or restrictions on a high-risk grantee, including payment on a reimbursement basis; withholding authority to proceed to the next phase until receipt of evidence of acceptable performance within a given funding period; requiring additional, more detailed financial reports; additional project monitoring; requiring the grantee to obtain technical or management assistance; establishing additional prior approvals; or other conditions that may be legally available. A grantee identified as high-risk will be notified in writing by TEA of the special conditions imposed and the process for removing the high-risk status and special conditions. Pursuant to the provisions in 34 CFR 80.43 and 74.62, if a grantee materially fails to comply with any term of an award, whether stated in a federal statute or regulation, an assurance, in a grant application, or elsewhere, TEA may take one or more of the following enforcement actions as appropriate in the circumstances: temporarily withhold cash payments pending correction of the deficiency or more severe enforcement action; disallow all or part of the cost of an activity or action not in compliance; wholly or partly suspend or terminate the current award; withhold further awards for the program; or take other remedies that may be legally available. If an enforcement action is imposed, the grantee will be notified in writing by TEA of the actions imposed and the process for remedying the noncompliance or removing the enforcement actions. TEA reserves the right to not award a discretionary grant to a high-risk grantee or to a grantee that is materially non-compliant with the terms and conditions of another award. Rev. 03/2010 The signing of Schedule #1 - General Information by applicant indicates acceptance of and compliance with all requirements described on this schedule.

	TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System School Year 2010-2011 Required for all federal grants regardless of the dollar amount
SCHEDULE #6B Certification Regarding Debarment, Suspension, Ineligibility and Voluntary Exclusion—Lower Tier Covered Transactions			074903
		County-District No.
Connections Grant
This certification is required by the Department of Education regulations implementing Executive Order 12549, Debarment and Suspension, 34 CFR Part 85, for all lower tier transactions meeting the threshold and tier requirements stated at Section 85.11. Terms defined: As used in these Provisions and Assurances § "Covered Transaction"— A transaction under Federal non-procurement programs, which can be either a primary covered transaction or a lower tier covered transaction. § "Lower Tier Covered Transaction"— (1) Any transaction between a participant and a person other than a procurement contract for goods or services, regardless of type, under a primary covered transaction; (2) Any procurement contract for goods or services between a participant and a person, regardless of type, expected to equal or exceed the Federal procurement small purchase threshold of $25,000; (3) Any procurement contract for goods or services between a participant and a person under a covered transaction, regardless of amount. § "Participant"– Any person who submits a proposal for, enters into, or reasonably may be expected to enter into a covered transaction, including an agent or representative of another participant. § "Principal"— An officer, director, owner, partner, principal investigator, or other person within a participant with management or supervisory responsibilities related to a covered transaction; or a consultant or other person, whether or not employed by the participant or paid with Federal funds, who (1) is in a position to handle Federal funds; (2) is in a position to influence or control the use of those funds; or (3) occupies a technical or professional position capable of substantially influencing the development or outcome of an activity required to perform the covered transaction. § "Excluded Parties List System (EPLS)"— The list maintained and disseminated by the General Services Administration (GSA) containing names and other information about persons who are ineligible. § "Debarment"— Action taken by a debarring official (Federal agency) to exclude a person (recipient) from participating in covered transactions. § "Suspension"— An action taken that immediately prohibits a person from participating in covered transactions for a temporary period, pending completion of an agency investigation and any judicial or administrative proceedings that may ensue. § "Ineligible" generally refers to a person who is either excluded or disqualified. § "Person"— Any individual, corporation, partnership, association, unit of government or legal entity, however organized, except: foreign governments or foreign governmental entities, public international organizations, foreign government owned (in whole or in part) or controlled entities, and entities consisting wholly or partially of foreign governments or foreign governmental entities. § "Proposal"—A solicited or unsolicited bid, application, request, invitation to consider or similar communication by or on behalf of a person seeking to participate or to receive a benefit, directly or indirectly, in or under a covered transaction. § "Voluntarily Excluded"—A status of nonparticipation or limited participation in covered transactions assumed by a person pursuant to the terms of a settlement. 1. By signing SAS Schedule #1 and submitting this proposal, the prospective lower tier participant is providing the certification set out below. 2. The certification in this clause is a material representation of fact upon which reliance was placed when this transaction was entered into. If it is later determined that the prospective lower tier participant knowingly rendered an erroneous certification, in addition to other remedies available to the Federal Government, the department or agency with which this transaction originated may pursue available remedies, including suspension and/or debarment. 3. The prospective lower tier participant shall provide immediate written notice to the person to whom this proposal is submitted if at any time the prospective lower tier participant learns that its certification was erroneous when submitted or has become erroneous by reason of changed circumstances. 4. The terms "covered transaction", "debarred", "suspended", "ineligible", "lower tier covered transaction", "participant", " person", "primary covered transaction", " principal", "proposal", and "voluntarily excluded", as used in this clause, have the meanings set out in the Definitions and Coverage sections of rules implementing Executive Order 12549. You may contact the person to which this proposal is submitted for assistance in obtaining a copy of those regulations. 5. The prospective lower tier participant agrees by submitting this proposal that, should the proposed covered transaction be entered into, it shall not knowingly enter into any lower tier covered transaction with a person who is debarred, suspended, declared ineligible, or voluntarily excluded from participation in this covered transaction, unless authorized by the department or agency with which this transaction originated.

	TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System School Year 2010-2011 Required for all federal grants regardless of the dollar amount
SCHEDULE #6B Certification Regarding Debarment, Suspension, Ineligibility and Voluntary Exclusion—Lower Tier Covered Transactions			074903
		County-District No.
Connections Grant
6. The prospective lower tier participant further agrees by submitting this proposal that it will include the clause titled Certification Regarding Debarment, Suspension, Ineligibility, and Voluntary Exclusion-Lower Tier Covered Transactions, without modification, in all lower tier covered transactions and in all solicitations for lower tier covered transactions. 7. A participant in a covered transaction may rely upon a certification of a prospective participant in a lower tier covered transaction that it is not debarred, suspended, ineligible, or voluntarily excluded from the covered transaction, unless it knows that the certification is erroneous. A participant may decide the method and frequency by which it determines the eligibility of its principals. Each participant may but is not required to, check the Non-procurement List. 8. Nothing contained in the foregoing shall be construed to require establishment of a system of records in order to render in good faith the certification required by this clause. The knowledge and information of a participant is not required to exceed that which is normally possessed by a prudent person in the ordinary course of business dealings. 9. Except for transactions authorized under paragraph 5 of these instructions, if a participant in a covered transaction knowingly enters into a lower tier covered transaction with a person who is suspended, debarred, ineligible, or voluntarily excluded from participation in this transaction, in addition to other remedies available to the Federal Government, the department or agency with which this transaction originated may pursue available remedies, including suspension and/or debarment. Certification (1) The prospective lower tier participant certifies, by signature on SAS Schedule #1 and by submission of this proposal, that neither it nor its principals are presently debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment, declared ineligible, or voluntarily excluded from participation in this transaction by any Federal department or agency. (2) Where the prospective lower tier participant is unable to certify to any of the statements in this certification, such prospective participant shall attach an explanation to this proposal. ED 80-0014, 9/90 (Replaces GCS-009 (REV.12/88), which is obsolete) 68 FR 66544, 66611, 66612, 66613, 66614, November 26, 2003 As amended by the Texas Education Agency (04/02) The signing of Schedule #1--General Information by applicant indicates acceptance of all requirements described on this schedule.

	TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System School Year 2010-2011 Required for all federally funded grants greater than $100,000.
SCHEDULE #6C. Lobbying Certification			074903
		County-District No.
Connections Grant
Submission of this certification covers all federal programs in this application, is required by the U. S. Department of Education and Section 1352, Title 31, of the United States Code, and is a prerequisite for making or entering into a subgrant or subcontract over $100,000 with any organization. (Read instructions for this schedule for further information.) The applicant certifies by signature on Schedule #1 - General Information, to the best of his or her knowledge and belief, that: (1) No federal appropriated funds have been paid or will be paid, by or on behalf of the undersigned, to any person for influencing or attempting to influence an officer or employee of any agency, a Member of Congress, an officer or employee of Congress, or an employee of a Member of Congress in connection with the making of any federal grant, the entering into of any cooperative agreement, and the extension, continuation, renewal, amendment, or modification of any federal grant or cooperative agreement. (2) If any funds other than federal appropriated funds have been paid or will be paid to any person for influencing or attempting to influence an officer or employee of any agency, a Member of Congress, an officer or employee of Congress, or an employee of a Member of Congress in connection with this federal grant or cooperative agreement, the undersigned shall complete and submit Standard Form - LLL, "Disclosure of Lobbying Activities," in accordance with its instructions. (See Schedule #6D - Disclosure of Lobbying Activities.) (3) The applicant shall require that the language of this certification be included in the award documents for all subawards at all tiers (including subgrants, contracts under grants and cooperative agreements, and subcontracts) and that all subrecipients shall certify and disclose accordingly. This certification is a material representation of fact on which the U. S. Department of Education and the Texas Education Agency relied when they made or entered into this grant or contract. Any organization that fails to file the required certification shall be subject to a civil penalty of not less than $10,000 and not more than $100,000 for each such failure. Dept. of Education form #ED 80-0008 11/89 As amended by the Texas Education Agency 03/90 The signing of Schedule #1--General Information by applicant indicates acceptance of all requirements described on this schedule.

TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY

Standard Application System

School Year 2010-2011

SCHEDULE #6D -

Disclosure of Lobbying Activities

074903

County-District No.

Connections Grant

Complete this form to disclose lobbying activities for lobbying services procured (pursuant to 31 U.S.C. 1352). This disclosure form is required for any federal grant/contract received in excess of $100,000 and on any subgrant/subcontract made by the grantee/contractor. (Read the instructions for this schedule for further information.) Do not sign and submit this disclosure form unless lobbying activities are being disclosed.

Federal Program:

Name:

1. Type of Federal Action

a. Contract

b. Grant

2. Status of Federal Action:

a. Bid/Offer/Application
b. Initial award
c. Post-award

3. Report Type:

a. Initial filing

b. Material change

For Material Change Only:

Year:

Quarter:

Date of last Report:

4. Name and Address of Reporting Entity:

Subawardee

5. If Reporting Entity in No. 4 is Subawardee, Enter Name and Address of Prime:

Texas Education Agency

1701 N. Congress Avenue

Austin, Texas 78701

Tier (if known):

Congressional District (if known):

Congressional District (if known):

21

6. Federal Department/Agency:

7. Federal Program Name/Description:

CFDA Number, if applicable:

8. Federal Action Number, if known:

9. Award Amount, if known:

$

10. a. Name and Address of Lobbying Registrant

(if individual, last name, first name, MI):

10. b. Individuals Performing Services (including address if different from No. 10a; last name, first name, MI):

(Attach Continuation Sheet(s), if necessary)

[ITEMS 11-15 REMOVED]

16. Information requested through this form is authorized by Title 31 U.S.C. Section 1352. This disclosure of lobbying activities is a material representation of fact upon which reliance was placed by the tier above when this transaction was made or entered into. This disclosure is required pursuant to 31 U.S.C 1352. This information will be reported to the Congress semi-annually and will be available for public inspection. Any person who fails to file the required disclosure shall be subject to a civil penalty of not less than $10,000 and not more than $100,000 for each such failure.

Signature:

Name:

Title:

Telephone#:

Date:

Federal Use Only:

Standard Form LLL

	TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System School Year 2010-2011
SCHEDULE #6E NCLB ACT PROVISIONS & ASSURANCES			074903
		County-District No.
Connections Grant
The following special provisions apply to all programs funded under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, as amended by P. L. 107-110, No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001. By signing Schedule #1 of this SAS, the applicant is assuring it is in compliance with the following provisions: A. Each such program will be administered in accordance with all applicable statutes, regulations, program plans, and applications. B. The control of funds provided under each such program and title to property acquired with program funds will be in a public agency or in a nonprofit private agency, institution, organization, or Indian tribe, if the law authorizing the program provides for assistance to such entities. C. The public agency, nonprofit private agency, institution, or organization, or Indian tribe will administer such funds and property to the extent required by the authorizing statutes. D. The applicant will adopt and use proper methods of administering each such program, including the enforcement of any obligations imposed by law on agencies, institutions, organizations, and other recipients responsible for carrying out each program and the correction of deficiencies in program operations that are identified through audits, monitoring, or evaluation. E. The applicant will cooperate in carrying out any evaluation of each such program conducted by or for the Texas Education Agency, the Secretary of Education or other federal officials. F. The applicant will use such fiscal control and fund accounting procedures as will ensure proper disbursement of, and accounting for, federal funds paid to such applicant under each such program. G. The applicant will submit such reports to the Texas Education Agency (which shall make the reports available to the Governor) and the Secretary of Education, as the Texas Education Agency and the Secretary of Education may require to enable the Texas Education Agency and the Secretary of Education to perform their duties under each such program. H. The applicant will maintain such records, provide such information, and afford access to the records as the Agency (after consultation with the Governor) or the Secretary may find necessary to carry out the Agency's or the Secretary's duties. I. Before the application was submitted, the applicant afforded a reasonable opportunity for public comment on the application and has considered such comment. J. Gun-Free Schools Act: The local education agency assures that it is in compliance with Section 37.007(e) of the Texas Education Code, which requires expulsion of a student who brings to school or possesses at school a firearm as defined by 18 U.S.C. Section 2891 [pursuant to the requirements in P. L. 107-110, Section 4141(d)(1)]. In addition, the local educational agency certifies that it has a policy requiring referral to the criminal justice or juvenile delinquency system of any student who brings a firearm or weapon to school [P. L. 107-110, Section 4141(h)(1)]. K. Student Records Transfer: The local educational agency shall ensure that a student’s records and, if applicable, a student’s individualized education program as defined in section 602(11) of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, are transferred to a charter school upon the transfer of the student to the charter school, and to another public school upon the transfer of the student from a charter school to another public school, in accordance with applicable state law (P. L. 107-110, section 5208). L. Consolidation of Administrative Funds: A local educational agency, with the approval of TEA, may consolidate and use for the administration of one or more programs under the No Child Left Behind Act not more than the percentage, established in each program, of the total available for the local educational agency under those programs. A local educational agency that consolidates administrative funds shall not use any other funds under the programs included in the consolidation for administration for that fiscal year. Consolidated administrative funds shall be used for the administration of the programs covered and may be used for coordination of these programs with other federal and non-federal programs and for dissemination of information regarding model programs and practices. M. Privacy of Assessment Results: Any results from an individual assessment referred to in the No Child Left Behind Act of a student that become part of the education records of the student shall have the protections provided in section 444 of the General Education Provisions Act [P. L. 107-110, section 9523 and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) of 1975, as amended].

	TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System School Year 2010-2011
SCHEDULE #6E – cont. NCLB ACT PROVISIONS & ASSURANCES			074903
		County-District No.
Connections Grant
N. School Prayer: The local educational agency certifies that it is in compliance with Section 25.901 of the Texas Education Code. In addition, as a condition of receiving funds under the No Child Left Behind Act, the local educational agency certifies that no policy of the local educational agency prevents, or otherwise denies participation in, constitutionally protected prayer in public elementary schools and secondary schools, as detailed in the guidance provided by the U. S. Secretary of Education pertaining to such. The state educational agency shall report to the Secretary of Education each year a list of those local educational agencies that have not filed this assurance or against which complaints have been made to the State educational agency that the local educational agencies are not in compliance with this requirement (P. L. 107-110, section 9524(b). O. Equal Access to Public Schools Facilities – Boy Scouts of America Equal Access Act: No public elementary school, public secondary school or local educational agency that has a designated open forum or a limited public forum and that receives funds made available from the U. S. Department of Education shall deny equal access or a fair opportunity to meet, or to discriminate against, any group officially affiliated with the Boy Scouts of America, or any other youth group listed in Title 36 of the United States Code (as a patriotic society), that wishes to conduct a meeting within that designated open forum or limited public forum, including denying such access or opportunity or discriminating for reasons based on the membership or leadership criteria or oath of allegiance to God and country of the Boy Scouts of America or of the youth group listed in Title 36 of the United States Code (as a patriotic society). For the purposes of this section, an elementary school or secondary school has a limited public forum whenever the school involved grants an offering to, or opportunity for, one or more outside youth or community groups to meet on school premises or in school facilities before or after the hours during which attendance at the school is compulsory. Nothing in this section shall be construed to require any school, agency, or a school served by an agency to sponsor any group officially affiliated with the Boy Scouts of America, or any other youth group listed in Title 36 of the United States Code (as a patriotic society). Compliance with this provision will be enforced through rules and orders issued by the Office for Civil Rights. If the public school or agency does not comply with the rules or orders, no funds made available through the Department of Education shall be provided by a school that fails to comply with such rules or orders or to any agency or school served by an agency that fails to comply with such rules or orders (P. L. 107-110, section 9525). P. General Prohibitions: None of the funds authorized under the No Child Left Behind Act shall be used to develop or distribute materials, or operate programs or courses of instruction directed at youth, that are designed to promote or encourage sexual activity, whether homosexual or heterosexual; to distribute or to aid in the distribution by any organization of legally obscene materials to minors on school grounds; to provide sex education or HIV-prevention education in schools that instruction is age appropriate and includes the health benefits of abstinence; or to operate a program of contraceptive distribution in schools (P. L. 107-110, section 9526). Q. Armed Forces Recruiter Access to Students and Student Recruiting Information: In accordance with guidance issued by the U. S. Department of Education, each local educational agency receiving assistance under the No Child Left Behind Act shall provide, on a request made by military recruiters or an institution of higher education, access to secondary school students names, address, and telephone listings, upon prior written consent of a student or the parent of a student. A secondary school student or the parent of the student may request that the student’s name, address, and telephone listing not be released without prior written parental consent, and the local educational or private nonprofit school shall notify parents of the option to make a request and shall comply with any request. Each local educational agency receiving assistance under the No Child Left Behind Act shall provide military recruiters the same access to secondary school students as is provided generally to post secondary educational institutions or to prospective employers of those students (P. L. 107-110, section 9528). R. Unsafe School Choice Option: The local educational agency certifies that it shall establish and implement a policy requiring that a student attending a persistently dangerous public elementary school or secondary school, as determined by the Texas Education Agency, or who becomes a victim of a violent criminal offense, while in or on the grounds of a public elementary or secondary school that the student attends, be allowed to attend a safe public elementary or secondary school within the local educational agency, including a public charter school (P. L. 107-110, section 9532). S. Civil Rights: Nothing in the No Child Left Behind Act shall be construed to permit discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex (except as otherwise permitted under Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972), national origin, or disability in any program funded under the No Child Left Behind Act (P. L. 107-110, section 9534).

	TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System School Year 2010-2011
SCHEDULE #6E – cont. NCLB ACT PROVISIONS & ASSURANCES			074903
		County-District No.
Connections Grant
T. Student Privacy, Parental Access to Information, and Administration of Certain Physical Examinations to Minors: The local educational agency assures that it is in compliance with Chapter 26 of the Texas Education Code concerning parental rights and responsibilities. In addition, the local educational agency receiving funds under the No Child Left Behind Act certifies that it shall develop and adopt policies, in consultation with parents, regarding certain rights of a parent to access and inspect information; student privacy; the administration of physical examinations or screenings (except for examinations or screenings required by state law); and the collection, disclosure, or use of personal information collected from students for the purpose of marketing or selling that information. The local educational agency also assures that it is in compliance with the requirements for annually notifying parents of such policies and specific events (P. L. 107-110, Title X, Part F, section 1061). U. Assurances related to the education of homeless children and youths: (1) The LEA assures that each child of a homeless individual and each homeless youth shall have equal access to the same free, appropriate public education, including a public preschool education, as provided to other children and youth. (2) The LEA assures that homeless children and youth are afforded the same free, appropriate public education as provided to other children and youth. (3) The LEA assures that it will review and undertake steps to revise any laws, regulations, practices, or policies that may act as a barrier to the enrollment, attendance, or success in school of homeless children and youth. (4) The LEA assures that it will not separate students from the mainstream school environment on the basis of homelessness alone. (5) The LEA assures that homeless children and youth have access to the education and other services that they need to in order to meet the same challenging State student academic achievement standards to which all students are held. V. Definitions: The following terms shall be defined as follows for programs authorized and carried out under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001: Charter School: An open enrollment charter school receiving federal funds of any type must meet the federal definition of a charter school as provided in P. L. 107-110, Section 5210(1). The term “charter school” means a school that: (A) is created by a developer as a public school, or is adapted by a developer from an existing public school, and is operated under public supervision and control; (B) operates in pursuit of a specific set of educational objectives determined by the school’s developer and agreed to by the authorized public chartering agency [i.e., the State Board of Education (SBOE)]; (C) provides a program of elementary or secondary education, or both; (D) is nonsectarian in its programs, admissions policies, employment practices, and all other operations, and is not affiliated with a sectarian school or religious instruction; (E) does not charge tuition; (F) complies with the Age Discrimination Act of 1975, Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, Title IX of the Education Amendments of 1972, section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act; (G) is a school to which parents choose to send their children, and that admits students on the basis of a lottery, if more students apply for admission than can be accommodated; (H) agrees to comply with the same Federal and State audit requirements as so other elementary schools and secondary schools in the State, unless such requirements are specifically waived for the purpose of this program; (I) meets all applicable Federal, State, and local health and safety requirements; (J) operates in accordance with State law; and (K) has a written performance contract with the authorized public chartering agency in the State (i.e., SBOE) that includes a description of how student performance will be measured pursuant to State assessments that are required of other schools and pursuant to any other assessments mutually agreeable to the SBOE. 2. Community-Based Organization: A public or private nonprofit organization of demonstrated effectiveness that is representative of a community or significant segment of a community and that provides educational or related services to individuals in the community. 3. Core Academic Subjects: English, reading or language arts, mathematics, science, foreign languages, civics and government, economics, art, history, and geography.

	TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System School Year 2010-2011
SCHEDULE #6E – cont. NCLB ACT PROVISIONS & ASSURANCES			074903
		County-District No.
Connections Grant
4. Highly Qualified: (A) when used with respect to any public elementary school or secondary school teacher teaching in a State, means that– (i) the teacher has obtained full State certification as a teacher (including certification obtained through alternative routes to certification) or passed the State teacher licensing examination, and holds a license to teach in such State, except that when used with respect to any teacher teaching in a public charter school, the term means that the teacher meets the requirements set forth in the State's public charter school law; and (ii) the teacher has not had certification or licensure requirements waived on an emergency, temporary, or provisional basis; (B) when used with respect to– (i) an elementary school teacher who is new to the profession, means that the teacher– (I) holds at least a bachelor's degree; and (II) has demonstrated, by passing a rigorous State test, subject knowledge and teaching skills in reading, writing, mathematics, and other areas of the basic elementary school curriculum (which may consist of passing a State-required certification or licensing test or tests in reading, writing, mathematics, and other areas of the basic elementary school curriculum); or (ii) a middle or secondary school teacher who is new to the profession, means that the teacher holds at least a bachelor's degree and has demonstrated a high level of competency in each of the academic subjects in which the teacher teaches by– (I) passing a rigorous State academic subject test in each of the academic subjects in which the teacher teaches (which may consist of a passing level of performance on a State-required certification or licensing test or tests in each of the academic subjects in which the teacher teaches); or (II) successful completion, in each of the academic subjects in which the teacher teaches, of an academic major, a graduate degree, coursework equivalent to an undergraduate academic major, or advanced certification or credentialing; and (C) when used with respect to an elementary, middle, or secondary school teacher who is not new to the profession, means that the teacher holds at least a bachelor's degree and– (i) has met the applicable standard in clause (i) or (ii) of subparagraph (B), which includes an option for a test; or (ii) demonstrates competence in all the academic subjects in which the teacher teaches based on a high objective uniform State standard of evaluation that– a. is set by the State for both grade appropriate academic subject matter knowledge and teaching skills; b. is aligned with challenging State academic content and student academic achievement standards and developed in consultation with core content specialists, teachers, principals, and school administrators; (III) provides objective, coherent information about the teacher's attainment of core content knowledge in the academic subjects in which a teacher teaches; (IV) is applied uniformly to all teachers in the same academic subject and the same grade level throughout the State; (V) takes into consideration, but not be based primarily on, the time the teacher has been teaching in the academic subject; (VI) is made available to the public upon request; and (VII) may involve multiple, objective measures of teacher competency. Parental Involvement: The participation of parents in regular, two-way and meaningful communication involving student academic learning and other school activities, including ensuring: (A) that parents play an integral role in assisting their child’s learning; (B) that parents are encouraged to be actively involved in their child’s education at school; (C) that parents are full partners in their child’s education and are included, as appropriate, in decision making and on advisory committees to assist in the education of their child; and (D) the carrying out of other activities, such as those described in section 1118 of P. L. 107-110.

	TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System School Year 2010-2011
SCHEDULE #6E – cont. NCLB ACT PROVISIONS & ASSURANCES			074903
		County-District No.
Connections Grant
Professional Development includes activities that: (A) improve and increase teachers’ knowledge of the academic subjects the teachers teach, and enable teachers to become highly qualified; (B) are an integral part of broad schoolwide and districtwide educational improvement plans; (C) give teachers, principals, and administrators the knowledge and skills to provide the students with the opportunity to meet challenging State academic content standards and student academic achievement standards; (D) improve classroom management skills; (E) are high quality, sustained, intensive, and classroom-focused in order to have a positive and lasting impact on classroom instruction and the teacher’s performance in the classroom and are not one-day or short-term workshops or conferences; (F) support the recruiting, hiring, and training of highly qualified teachers, including teachers who became highly qualified through State and local alternative routes to certification; (G) advance teacher understanding of effective instructional strategies that are: (H) based on scientifically based research (except for programs under Title II, Part D, Enhancing Education Through Technology of this Act); and (I) strategies for improving student academic achievement or substantially increasing the knowledge and teaching skills of teachers; and (J) are aligned with and directly related to State academic content standards, student academic achievement standards, and assessments and the curricula and programs tied to the standards; (K) are developed with extensive participation of teachers, principals, parents, and administrators of schools to be served under this Act; (L) are designed to give teachers of limited English proficient children, and other teachers and instructional staff, the knowledge and skills to provide instruction and appropriate language and academic support services to those children, including the appropriate use of curricula an assessments; (M) to the extent appropriate, provide training for teachers and principals in the use of technology so that technology and technology applications are effectively used in the classroom to improve teaching and learning in the curricula and core academic subjects in which the teachers teach; (N) as a whole, are regularly evaluated for their impact on increased teacher effectiveness and improved student academic achievement with the findings of the evaluations used to improve the quality of professional development; (O) provide instruction in methods of teaching children with special needs; (P) include instruction in the use of data and assessments to inform and instruct classroom practice; (Q) include instruction in ways that teachers, principals, pupil services personnel, and school administrators may work more effectively with parents; and (R) may include activities that: (i) involve the forming of partnerships with institutions of higher education to establish school-based teacher training programs that provide prospective teachers and beginning teachers with an opportunity to work under the guidance of experienced teachers and college faculty; (ii) create programs to enable paraprofessionals (assisting teachers employed by an LEA receiving assistance under Title I Part A) to obtain the education necessary for those paraprofessionals to become certified and licensed teachers; and (iii) provide follow-up training to teachers who have participated in activities described previously in this definition that are designed to ensure that the knowledge and skills learned by the teachers are implemented in the classroom. Scientifically Based Research: (A) means research that involves the application of rigorous, systematic, and objective procedures to obtain reliable and valid knowledge relevant to education activities and programs; and (B) includes research that: (i) employs systematic, empirical methods that draw on observation or experiment; (ii) involves rigorous data analyses that are adequate to test the stated hypotheses and justify the general conclusions drawn; (iii) relies on measurements or observational methods that provide reliable and valid data across evaluators and observers, across multiple measurements and observations, and across studies by the same or different investigators;

	TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System School Year 2010-2011
SCHEDULE #6E – cont. NCLB ACT PROVISIONS & ASSURANCES			074903
		County-District No.
Connections Grant
(iv) relies on measurements or observational methods that provide reliable and valid data across evaluators and observers, across multiple measurements and observations, and across studies by the same or different investigators; (v) is evaluated using experimental or quasi-experimental designs in which individuals, entities, programs, or activities are assigned to different conditions and with appropriate controls to evaluate the effects of the condition of interest, with a preference for random-assignment experiments, or other designs to the extent that those designs contain within-condition or across-condition controls; (vi) ensures that experimental studies are presented in sufficient detail and clarity to allow for replication or, at a minimum, offer the opportunity to build systematically on their findings; and (vii) has been accepted by a peer-reviewed journal or approved by a panel of independent experts through a comparably rigorous, objective, and scientific review. Teacher Mentoring: Activities that– (A) consist of structured guidance and regular and ongoing support for teachers, especially beginning teachers, that– (i) are designed to help the teachers continue to improve their practice of teaching and to develop their instructional skills; and part of an ongoing developmental induction process that– (I) involves the assistance of an exemplary teacher and other appropriate individuals from a school, local educational agency, or institution of higher education; and (II) may include coaching, classroom observation, team teaching, and reduced teaching loads; and (III) may include the establishment of a partnership by a local educational agency with an institution of higher education. Technology: State-of-the-art technology products and services. W. ESEA Performance Goals, Indicators, and Performance Reporting: The LEA assures it has adopted the five performance goals and the related performance indicators established by the U. S. Department of Education and as submitted in the Texas Consolidated State Application for Funds Under the No Child Left Behind Act. The LEA also assures that it will develop and implement procedures for collecting data related to the performance indicators where such data is not already collected through the Academic Excellence Indicator System (AEIS) or PEIMS and that it will report such data to the Agency in the time and manner requested. X. Transfer of School Disciplinary Records: The LEA assures it has a procedure in place to transfer disciplinary records, with respect to a suspension or expulsion, to any private or public elementary school or secondary school for any student who is enrolled or seeks, intends, or is instructed to enroll, on a full- or part-time basis, in the school. This requirement shall not apply to any disciplinary records with respect to a suspension or expulsion that are transferred from a private, parochial or other nonpublic school, person, institution, or other entity, that provides education below the college level (P. L. 107-110, section 4155). Revised 03/03 The signing of Schedule #1 - General Information by applicant indicates acceptance of and compliance with all requirements described on this schedule.

	TEXAS EDUCATION AGENCY Standard Application System (SAS) School Year 2010-2011
SCHEDULE #6F—		County-District No. __074903_______
PROGRAM SPECIFIC PROVISIONS AND ASSURANCES
Connections Grant

1. The applicant must provide assurance that it will certify, under certain circumstances, that schools have adopted and are enforcing Internet safety policies. As a condition of participating in the grant program, each LEA must submit a Children’s Internet Protect Act (CIPA) certification form included in the application to TEA. If applying as an SSA as part of a partnership, the signature of each authorized official for each member district signifies compliance with this requirement. The fiscal agent must ensure that it will certify, under certain circumstances, that schools have adopted and are enforcing Internet safety policies. As a condition of participating in the grant program, each LEA must submit a CIPA certification form included in the application to TEA.

The CIPA requirements in the ESEA apply with respect to elementary or secondary schools for which Title II, Part D funds are used to purchase computers used to access the Internet or to pay the direct costs associated with accessing the Internet. Subpart 4 of the NCLB Title II, Part D legislation incorporates the ESEA requirements of CIPA. These provisions require LEAs to certify, under certain circumstances, that schools have adopted and are enforcing Internet safety policies. (See Schedule #1—General Information, Part 2: List of Required Attachments.)

2. The applicant must provide assurance that financial assistance provided under this grant will supplement, and not supplant, state and local funds.

3. The applicant must provide assurance that it will comply with the prohibition of text messaging and emailing while driving during official federal grant business. Federal grant recipients, sub recipients and their grant personnel are prohibited from text messaging while driving a government owned vehicle, or while driving their own privately owned vehicle during official grant business, or from using government supplied electronic equipment to text message or email while driving.Recipients must comply with these conditions under Executive Order 13513, “Federal Leadership On Reducing Text Messaging While Driving,” October 1, 2009.

4. All applicants must have on file at TEA a current ePlan (2009-2010) approved for each participating district by the time the application is submitted to TEA; the grantee must submit in the first progress report an ePlan to cover the 2010-2011 school years.

Before forwarding the application for competitive review and scoring, TEA will verify whether the current ePlan (2009-2010) has been submitted and approved. If applicants have not submitted the ePlan to TEA and had it approved by the application deadline date of June 17, 2010, the application is not eligible to be forwarded for review and scoring and will be returned to the applicant.

5. The applicant must provide assurance that districts will be provided with the necessary infrastructure to support 21st Century classrooms and enhance student instruction.

6. The applicant must provide assurance that districts will be provided with appropriate technical and pedagogical support.

7. The applicant must have a 2009-2010 Texas STaR chart on file with TEA demonstrating that the campus has a substantial need for assistance in acquiring and using technology. Before forwarding the application for competitive review and scoring, TEA will verify whether the current STaR Chart (2009-2010) has been submitted and approved. If the applicant has not submitted the STaR Chart to TEA and had it approved by the application deadline date of June 17, 2010, the application is not eligible to be forwarded for review and scoring and will be returned to the applicant.

8. The applicant must provide assurance that it will contract with an external evaluator to evaluate the program, and that it will expend no more than 8% of the total grant award on evaluation services. The required evaluation is an allowable cost to be budgeted and paid from the grant. The evaluation must be conducted by an evaluator who has the capability to remain independent and objective in carrying out the evaluation. “Independent and objective” implies that there is no influence or control, real or perceived, exerted on the evaluator by any person who is involved in the provision of program services. Therefore, the only way in which a contracted evaluator can be truly independent and objective is to not be involved in any manner in the provision of program services or activities.

9. Public Law 107-110, Section 9521 states “a local educational agency may receive funds under a covered program for any fiscal year only if the State educational agency finds that either the combined fiscal effort per student or the aggregate expenditures of such agency and the State with respect to the provision of free public education by such agency for the preceding fiscal year was not less than 90% of such combined fiscal effort or aggregate expenditures for the second preceding fiscal year”.

LEAs are responsible for maintaining effort and for documenting maintenance of effort (MOE). TEA will verify each LEA’s MOE using information obtained from the PEIMS database. TEA staff will notify the applicant in the event fiscal effort has not been maintained. The final grant amount will be reduced in exact proportion by which the LEA fails to meet 90% of the combined fiscal effort per student and aggregate expenditures (using the measure more favorable to the LEA. [P. L. 107-110, Title IX, Section 9521.]

10. The applicant must provide assurance that it will meet the Title II, Part D, requirement, or submit a waiver, that a grantee shall use not less than 25% of awarded grant funds to provide ongoing, sustained, and intensive, high-quality professional development. The recipient shall provide professional development in the integration of advanced technologies, including emerging technologies, into curricula and instruction and in using those technologies to create new learning environments, such as professional development in the use of technology.

11. The applicant assures that it will maintain control over all equipment, including electronic devices for use at home, and implement a check-out system for such devices.

The signing of Schedule #1 – General Information by applicant indicates acceptance of and compliance with all requirements described on this schedule.

Division No. 711-001 Texas Education Agency William B. Travis Building Document Control Center 1701 N. Congress Avenue Austin, TX 78701-1494

TO:

This acknowledges receipt of your application submitted under the Request for Application for: Connections Grant (RFA# 701-10-114)

Please reference the Document Control Number shown below in all correspondence regarding this application.

Applicant’s Contact Person (To be completed by applicant)

Document Control Number (Assigned by TEA)

CUT ALONG DOTTED LINE AND ATTACH TO FIRST COPY OF APPLICATION

If you download this document from the TEA Grants website:

Please print this page and preceding page (front/back) on card stock (US Postal Service requirement for postcards) so that we may mail it to the appropriate person.

Application Receipt Acknowledgment

This postcard is provided to expedite the notification of receipt of your application in the Texas Education Agency’s Document Control Center. Cut out and self-address this postcard on the reverse side so that it will be returned to the proper person at your organization. Indicate any information that would be helpful to you in identifying this application.

Attach the postcard to the first copy of your application. This postcard will be returned to you with the Document Control Number that will be assigned by the Texas Education Agency.

If you do not receive this notification of receipt of your application within fifteen (15) days from the date you mailed the application, please call:

Texas Education Agency

Document Control Center

512-463-9304