U.S. Department of Education: Supporting Effective Educator Development Program

The Supporting Effective Educator Development (SEED) Program provides funding to increase the number of highly effective educators by supporting the implementation of evidence-based practices that prepare, develop, or enhance the skills of educators. Grants will allow eligible entities to develop, expand, and evaluate practices that can serve as models that can be sustained and disseminated.

The SEEP program includes the following absolute priorities. Each absolute priority constitutes its own funding category and applicants may only address one absolute priority:

Absolute priority 1 – Supporting Effective Teachers: This priority is for projects that will implement activities that are supported by moderate evidence. Applicants under this priority may propose one or more of the following activities:

• Providing teachers from nontraditional preparation and certification routes or pathways to serve in traditionally underserved Local Educational Agencies (LEAs)
• Providing teachers with evidence-based professional development activities that address literacy, numeracy, remedial, or other needs of LEAs and the students the agencies serve
• Providing teachers with evidence-based professional enhancement activities, which may include activities that lead to an advanced credential

Absolute priority 2 – Supporting Effective Principals or Other School Leaders: This priority is for projects that will implement activities that are supported by promising evidence. Applicants under this priority may propose one or more of the following activities:

• Providing principals or other school leaders from nontraditional preparation and certification routes or pathways to serve in traditionally underserved LEAs;
• Providing principals or other school leaders with evidence-based professional development activities that address literacy, numeracy, remedial, or other needs of LEAs and the students the agencies serve
• Providing principals or other school leaders with evidence-based professional enhancement activities, which may include activities that lead to an advanced credential

SEED also includes includes one competitive preference priority and one invitational priority:

• Competitive preference priority – Promoting science, technology, engineering, or math (STEM) education, with a particular focus on computer science. The focus is on projects designed to improve student achievement or other educational outcomes in one or more of the following areas: Science, technology, engineering, math, or computer science. These projects must address the following priority area: Increasing the number of educators adequately prepared to deliver rigorous instruction in STEM fields, including computer science, through recruitment, evidence-based professional development strategies for current STEM educators, or evidence-based retraining strategies for current educators seeking to transition from other subjects to STEM fields.
• Invitational priority – Support for the use of micro-credentials: This priority includes projects that support teachers, principals, or other school leaders earning micro-credentials based on demonstrated mastery of specific skills or competencies through the use of performance-based outcomes. The micro-credentials should be portable across schools, LEAs, or states.

Amount: The estimated number of awards is 5-8 with awards ranging $1,000,000-$6,000,000 per project year and averaging $3,500,000 per project year. The project period is for up to 36 months with renewal of up to two additional years. Award recipients must provide at least 25 percent of the funds (cash or through in-kind contributions) for the total cost for each year of activities supported by the grant.

Note: The budget request for FY 2018 does not include funds for new awards under this program. However, the U.S. Department of Education (USDE) is inviting applications to allow sufficient time to complete the grant process before the end of the current fiscal year, if Congress appropriates funds for this program. Contingent upon the availability of funds and the quality of applications, the USDE may make additional awards in subsequent years from the list of unfunded applications from this competition.

Eligibility:

• An institution of higher education that provides course materials or resources that are evidence-based in increasing academic achievement, graduation rates, or rates of postsecondary education matriculation
• A national nonprofit organization with a demonstrated record of raising student academic achievement, graduation rates, and rates of higher education attendance, matriculation, or completion, or of effectiveness in providing preparation and professional development activities and programs for teachers, principals, or other school leaders
• The Bureau of Indian Education
• A partnership consisting of an institution of higher education or national nonprofit, and a for-profit entity

Link: https://www.grants.gov/web/grants/view-opportunity.html?oppId=302014

This post was filed under: