The District of Columbia Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) Division of Early Childhood Education (ECE) is responsible for coordinating early childhood education services to District of Columbia children and their families. ECE provides leadership and coordination to ensure all District of Columbia children from birth to kindergarten entrance have access to high-quality early childhood development programs. It implements high standards for programs and professionals, creates supports to meet standards, develops accountability measures, engages community stakeholders, and secures financial supports.
The Pre-k Enhancement and Expansion Act of 2008, Head Start Performance Standards, and DC Child Care Licensing Standards all emphasize early childhood educators having an associate’s and bachelor’s degree in early childhood education or child development. OSSE is making available a grant to support early childhood educators seeking higher education degrees.
OSSE will make competitive grant funds available to one (1) grantee that will be responsible for:
- Recruiting and establishing a relationships with OSSE-approved colleges and universities;
- Recruiting scholarship recipients and their employers;
- Supporting scholarship recipients from the application to course completion and degree attainment;
- Seeking additional funds to support the scholarship program;
- Tracking scholarship recipients’ progress and other related data in “real time”;
- Ensuring that participants meet the scholarship retention requirements;
- Tracking scholarship recipients’ retention goals and other related data in “real time”;
- Ensuring that meaningful incentives are awarded to scholarship recipients;
- Tracking incentives and other related data in “real time”; and
- Maintaining a TEACH Early Childhood license from the Child Care Services Association at the time of the grant award and through the duration of the grant.
Funds up to $850,000.00 are available for fiscal year 2010 to support the grant awarded under this RFA.
The Request for Applications (RFA) will be available on December 21, 2009. Applications may be obtained from the Office of Partnerships and Grants Development website (opgd.dc.gov) at the District Grants Clearinghouse link. Applications may also be obtained from Ms. Sandra McIver, Grants Management Specialist for ECE, 717 14th Street, NW, 12th Floor, Washington, DC 20005. Please call (202) 727-8104.
The Pre-Application Conference will be held on Thursday, January 14, 2010, from 2 to 4 pm at 717 14th Street, NW, 8th Floor Conference Room, Washington, DC 20005. For preparation purposes, interested parties planning to attend the Pre-Application Conference are requested to RSVP to Ms. Sandra McIver at (202) 727-8104 or [email protected].
The deadline for application submission is February 8, 2010.