U.S. Department of Education: Promise Neighborhoods
Promise Neighborhoods aims to improve the academic and developmental outcomes of children and youth living in the most distressed communities of the United States, including ensuring school readiness, high school graduation, and access to a community-based continuum of high-quality services. The program serves neighborhoods with high concentrations of individuals with low incomes; multiple signs of distress, which may include high rates of poverty, childhood obesity, academic challenges, and juvenile delinquency, adjudication, or incarceration; adverse childhood experiences (ACEs); and schools implementing comprehensive support and improvement activities or targeted support and improvement activities. All strategies in the continuum of solutions must be accessible to children with disabilities and English learners.
The competition includes three absolute priorities and three competitive preference priorities:*
Absolute Priority 1—Non-Rural and Non-Tribal Communities: Applicants must propose to implement a PN strategy that serves one or more non-rural or non-Tribal communities.
* Absolute Priority 2—Rural Applicants: An applicant must demonstrate one or more of the following:
(a) The applicant proposes to serve a local educational agency (LEA) that is eligible under the Small Rural School Achievement (SRSA) program or the Rural and Low-Income School (RLIS) program of the ESEA.
(b) The applicant proposes to serve a community that is served by one or more LEAs with a locale code of 32, 33, 41, 42, or 43.
(c) The applicant proposes a project in which a majority of the schools served have a locale code of 32, 33, 41, 42, or 43.
(d) The applicant is an institution of higher education (IHE) with a rural campus setting, or the applicant proposes to serve a campus with a rural setting. Rural settings include any of the following: Town-Fringe, Town-Distant, Town-Remote, Rural-Fringe, Rural-Distant, Rural-Remote, as defined by the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES) College Navigator search tool.
Note: See solicitation for links that will help determine rural status.
* Absolute Priority 3—Tribal Communities: An applicant must propose to implement a PN strategy that serves one or more Indian Tribes.
* Competitive Preference Priority 1—Strengthening Cross-Agency Coordination and Community Engagement to Advance Systemic Change (up to 5 points).
* Competitive Preference Priority 2—Increasing Postsecondary Education Access, Affordability, Completion, and Post-Enrollment Success (up to 3 points).
* Invitational Priority—Increasing the Number or Percent of Students Who Complete the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA).
Applicants must provide pipeline services that facilitate coordination of the following activities:
(1) Providing early learning opportunities for children, including by: (i) Providing opportunities for families to acquire the skills to promote early learning and child development; and (ii) Ensuring appropriate diagnostic assessments and referrals for children with disabilities and children aged 3 through 9 experiencing developmental delays, consistent with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
(2) Supporting, enhancing, operating, or expanding rigorous, comprehensive, effective educational improvements, which may include high-quality academic programs, expanded learning time, and programs and activities to prepare students for postsecondary education admissions and success.
(3) Supporting partnerships between schools and other community resources with an integrated focus on academics and other social, health, and familial supports.
(4) Providing social, health, nutrition, and mental health services and supports, for children, family members, and community members, which may include services provided within the school building.
(5) Supporting evidence-based programs that assist students through school transitions, which may include expanding access to postsecondary education courses and postsecondary education enrollment aid or guidance, and other supports for at-risk youth.
Amount: $18,000,000 is available to make up to 5 awards that range from $4,000,000 – $6,000,000 annually. The project period is up to 60 months.
Matching requirements:
* An applicant proposing a project that meets Absolute Priority 1—Non-rural and Non-Tribal Communities must obtain matching funds or in-kind donations equal to at least 100 percent of its grant award.
* An applicant proposing a project that meets Absolute Priority 2—Rural Applicants or Absolute Priority 3—Tribal Communities must obtain matching funds or in-kind donations equal to at least 50 percent of its grant award.
* At least 10 percent of an applicant’s total match must be cash or in-kind contributions from the private sector, which may include philanthropic organizations or private sources.
Eligibility: An eligible entity must be one of the following:
(a) An IHE, as defined in section 102 of the HEA (20 U.S.C. 1002);
(b) An Indian Tribe or Tribal organization, as defined in section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act; or
(c) One or more nonprofit entities working in formal partnership with not less than one of the following entities: (i) A high-need LEA; (ii) An IHE, as defined in section 102 of the HEA (20 U.S.C. 1002); (iii) The office of a chief elected official of a unit of local government; and/or (iv) An Indian Tribe or Tribal organization, as defined under section 4 of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act.
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