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Tag Archives: Public Officials
About US – Office of Early Learning
The Office of Early Learning (OEL) is the principal office charged with supporting the Department’s Early Learning Initiative with the goal of improving the health, social-emotional, and cognitive outcomes for children from birth through third grade, so that all children, particularly those with high needs, are on track for graduating from high school college- and career-ready.
OEL is headed by a Deputy Assistant Secretary who reports directly to the Assistant Secretary for Elementary and Secondary Education and advises the Assistant Secretary, Deputy Assistant Secretaries, and other top officials of the Department on policy and administrative issues related to early learning.
In administering the programs assigned to it, OEL establishes cooperative relationships with other Departmental Principal Offices and with other Federal agencies and governmental and nongovernmental organizations as appropriate. For example, OEL jointly administers the Race to the Top – Early Learning Challenge grants with the Administration for Children and Families (ACF) at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
Currently, OEL oversees the following grant programs:
The purpose of the Race to the Top-Early Learning Challenge (RTT-ELC) program is to improve the quality of early learning and close the achievement gap for children with high needs. The RTT-ELC grant program focuses on improving early learning for young children by supporting States’ efforts to increase the number and percentage of children from low-income families and disadvantaged children in each age group of infants, toddlers, and preschoolers enrolled in high-quality early learning programs and designing and implementing an integrated system of high-quality early learning programs and services.
The Preschool Development Grants competition supports States to (1) build or enhance a preschool program infrastructure that would enable the delivery of high-quality preschool services to children, and (2) expand high-quality preschool programs in targeted communities that would serve as models for expanding preschool to all 4-year-olds from low- and moderate-income families. These grants would lay the groundwork to ensure that more States are ready to participate in the Preschool for All formula grant initiative proposed by the Administration.
This program offers grants to support local family literacy projects that integrate early childhood education, adult literacy (adult basic and secondary-level education and instruction for English language learners), parenting education, and interactive parent and child literacy activities for low-income families with parents who are eligible for services under the Adult Education and Family Literacy Act and their children from birth through age 7. Teen parents and their children from birth through age 7 also are eligible. All participating families must be those most in need of program services.
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The program supports the development of early childhood centers of excellence that focus on all areas of development, especially on the early language, cognitive, and pre-reading skills that prepare children for continued school success and that serve primarily children from low-income families.
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The purpose is to promote school readiness and improved learning outcomes of young children by providing high quality professional development programs to improve the knowledge and skills of early childhood educators and caregivers who work in early childhood programs located in high-poverty communities and who serve primarily children from low-income families.
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Eligibility
Eligible Applicants: To be considered for an award under this competition, an applicant must be one or more of the following:
- An LEA in which 20 percent or more of the students served by the LEA are from families with an income below the poverty line (as defined in section 8101(41) of the ESEA).
- A consortium of such LEAs described in paragraph (1) above.
- The Bureau of Indian Education.
- An eligible national nonprofit organization (as defined in section 2226(b)(2) of the ESEA) that serves children and students within the attendance boundaries of one or more eligible LEAs.
Note: Under the definition of “poverty line” in section 8101(41) of the ESEA, the determination of the percentage of students served by an LEA from families with an income below the poverty line is based on the U.S. Census Bureau’s SAIPE data.
An entity that meets the definition of an LEA in section 8101(30) of the ESEA and that serves multiple LEAs, such as a county office of education, an education service agency, or regional service education agency, must provide the most recent SAIPE data for each of the individual LEAs it serves. To determine whether the entity meets the poverty threshold, the Department will derive the entity’s poverty rate by aggregating the number of students from families below the poverty line (as provided in SAIPE data) in each of the LEAs the entity serves and dividing it by the total number of students (as provided in SAIPE data) in all of the LEAs the entity serves.
An LEA for which SAIPE data are not available, such as a non-geographic charter school, must provide a determination by the State educational agency (SEA) that 20 percent or more of the students aged 5-17 in the LEA are from families with incomes below the poverty line based on the same State-derived poverty data the SEA used to determine the LEA’s allocation under part A of title I of the ESEA.
Note: If you are a nonprofit organization, under 34 CFR 75.51, you may demonstrate your nonprofit status by providing: (1) proof that the Internal Revenue Service currently recognizes the applicant as an organization to which contributions are tax deductible under section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code; (2) a statement from a State taxing body or the State attorney general certifying that the organization is a nonprofit organization operating within the State and that no part of its net earnings may lawfully benefit any private shareholder or individual; (3) a certified copy of the applicant’s certificate of incorporation or similar document if it clearly establishes the nonprofit status of the applicant; or (4) any item described above if that item applies to a State or national parent organization, together with a statement by the State or parent organization that the applicant is a local nonprofit affiliate.
National not-for-profit organization means an agency, organization, or institution owned and operated by one or more corporations or associations whose net earnings do not benefit, and cannot lawfully benefit, any private shareholder or entity. In addition, it means, for the purposes of this program, an organization of national scope that is supported by staff or affiliates at the State and local levels, who may include volunteers, and that has a demonstrated history of effectively developing and implementing literacy activities.
Applicant Information
FY 2023 IAL Notice Inviting Applications (NIA)
- Application available in Federal Register on March 14, 2023
FY 2023 IAL Competition Timeline
- NIA Available: March 14, 2023
- Deadline for Notice of Intent to Apply: March 29, 2023
- Deadline for Transmittal of Applications: May 15, 2023
FY 2023 IAL Application Instructions
The IAL Application Package is available for applicants to download and use as a guide only. This document can also be found on Grants.gov. Unless the applicant qualifies for an exception to the electronic submission requirement, all IAL grant applications must be submitted electronically via Grants.gov.
FY 2023 IAL Application Instructions: PDF
Technical Assistance (TA) Pre-Application Meeting for Prospective Applicants
To assist applicants in preparing applications, the Department will host a TA meeting via Microsoft Teams for applicants interested in applying on:
Tuesday March 21, 2023 at 2:00 pm – 4:00 pm Eastern Standard Time
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Archive Information
Resources
Evidence-Based Literacy Resources
Please visit the What Works Clearinghouse (WWC) to search for additional resources and research on effective literacy practices.
Performance Information
This SRCL National Performance Report explores the implementation and outcomes for the 2014–15 grant performance year. To read the full report, click on The FY 2016 SRCL National Performance Report.
Striving Readers Comprehensive Literacy Program
The Striving Readers Comprehensive Literacy (SRCL) program is authorized as part of the FY 2010 Consolidated Appropriations Act (Pub. L. No. 111-117) under the Title I demonstration authority (Part E, Section 1502 of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). Through the Act, Congress provided $200 million for a comprehensive literacy development and education program to advance literacy skills for students from birth through grade 12.
Formula grants were awarded to State Education Agencies (SEAs) and other entities to establish or support a Literacy Team with expertise in literacy development and education for children from birth to grade 12 to assist in developing a comprehensive literacy plan aligned with their system-wide academic content standards to advance pre-literacy, reading and writing skills of children and youth. Forty-seven SEAs, the District of Columbia, the Bureau of Indian Education, Virgin Islands, American Samoa, Guam and Mariana Islands each developed a Comprehensive Literacy Plan.
Below are the State Profile Plans that supports development of comprehensive literacy plans for SEAs, BIE and Outlying Areas that receive discretionary grants or set-aside awards.*
*Plans developed with SRCL SEA discretionary or set-aside grant funds to BIE and Outlying Areas.
STATE PROFILE
| Alaska MS Word (126K) |
Montana MS Word (192K) |
| Alabama MS Word (133K) |
North Carolina MS WORD (190K) |
| Arizona MS Word (134K) |
North Dakota MS Word (195K) |
| Bureau of Indian Education MS Word (203K) |
Nebraska MS Word (187K) |
| California MS Word (192K) |
New Hampshire MS Word (199K) |
| Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands MS Word (189K) |
New Jersey MS Word (185K) |
| Colorado MS Word (218K) |
New Mexico MS Word (196K) |
| Connecticut MS Word (223K) |
New York MS Word (194K) |
| District of Columbia MS Word (219K) |
Nevada MS Word (194K) |
| Florida MS Word (189K) |
Ohio MS Word (191K) |
| Georgia MS Word (190K) |
Oklahoma MS Word (196K) |
| Guam MS Word (196K) |
Oregon MS Word (199K) |
| Iowa MS Word (186K) |
Pennsylvania MS Word (197K) |
| Idaho MS Word (185K) |
Rhode Island MS Word (189K) |
| Indiana MS Word (189K) |
South Carolina MS Word (195K) |
| Kansas MS Word (187K) |
Tennessee MS Word (192K) |
| Kentucky MS Word (188K) |
Texas MS Word (191K) |
| Louisiana MS Word (196K) |
Utah MS Word (192K) |
| Massachusetts MS Word (195K) |
Vermont MS Word (191K) |
| Maine MS WORD (189K) |
Virgin Islands MS Word (192K) |
| Michigan MS Word (186K) |
Virginia MS Word (192K) |
| Minnesota MS Word (192K) |
Washington MS Word (194K) |
| Missouri MS Word (187K) |
Wisconsin MS Word (194K) |
| Mississippi MS Word (190K) |
Wyoming MS Word (192K) |
Innovative Approaches to Literacy
What’s New
The U.S. Department of Education published a Notice Inviting Applications (NIA) in the Federal Register on March 14 , 2023 for the fiscal year (FY) 2023 Innovative Approaches to Literacy (IAL) Program competition, Assistance Listing Number 84.215G.
For more information about how to apply for an IAL grant, visit the Applicant Information page.
Call for Peer Reviewers
The Department is seeking peer reviewers for the Innovative Approaches to Literacy grant competition. We are seeking reviewers with demonstrated experience in the following professions: school and public library media specialists, reading and literacy specialists, Pre-Kindergarten through 12th grade (PK-12) teachers and administrators, program evaluators, and PK-12 education consultants. The Department seeks reviewers with experience implementing high quality literacy activities. The Department is also seeking reviewers with knowledge of high needs communities and the challenges faced by students and their families. Additionally, the most qualified candidates may have expertise in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) initiatives, staff development, strategic planning, evaluation and prior experience reviewing grant applications for other Federal programs.
Please read through the instructions and complete the submissions process if you are interested in serving in this round of IAL grant competitions.
Program Description
The IAL program supports high-quality programs designed to develop and improve literacy skills for children and students from birth through 12th grade in high-need local educational agencies (high-need LEAs) and schools. The Department intends to promote innovative literacy programs that support the development of literacy skills in low-income communities, including programs that:
- develop and enhance effective school library programs, which may include providing professional development for school librarians, books, and up-to-date materials to high-need schools;
- provide early literacy services, including pediatric literacy programs through which, during well-child visits, medical providers trained in research-based methods of early language and literacy promotion provide developmentally appropriate books and recommendations to parents to encourage them to read aloud to their children starting in infancy; and
- provide high-quality books on a regular basis to children and adolescents from low-income communities to increase reading motivation, performance, and frequency.
Preschool Development Grant – Birth through Five
The Preschool Development Grant Birth through Five (PDG B-5) program is a $250 million competitive federal grant designed to improve states’ early childhood systems by building upon existing federal, state, and local early care and learning investments. PDG B-5 was established in 2015 through the bipartisan Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), which reauthorized the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). While funding for these programs is appropriated to the Department of Health and Human services (HHS), these programs are jointly administered by HHS and the U.S Department of Education (ED).
The PDG B-5 grant seeks to empower state governments to better leverage federal, state and local early care and education investments. States are not to create another early childhood program, but rather help coordinate early childhood programs and services that already exist in the state according to the identified needs of the state
