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UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION OFFICE OF INNOVATION AND IMPROVEMENT Investing in Innovation Fund November 8, 2013 Re: Applicant Name: Maricopa County Education Service Agency PR/Award Number: U411C130116 Grant Type: Development Absolute Priority (and subpart, if applicable): AP 3—Improving STEM Education (subpart a) Dear Investing in Innovation Fund (i3) Highest-Rated Applicant: Congratulations! We are pleased to inform you that you have been selected as a highest-rated applicant for the FY 2013 Investing in Innovation (i3) competition. Applicants that submitted the highest-scoring applications among the 618 distinct applications that the U.S. Department of Education (the Department) received this year are designated as “highest-rated applicants” until all eligibility and other requirements of the i3 program have been satisfied. Once the highest-rated applicants have satisfied those requirements, they will receive a 2013 i3 grant. The purpose of this letter is to describe the information you will need to provide so that the Department can make a final decision on your eligibility to receive a grant under the i3 program and the exact amount of that award. Review of your proposed budget In your application, you requested $3,000,000 of Department funds. Staff from the Office of Innovation and Improvement (OII) have conducted an initial review of your proposed budget to ensure that it is both fair and adequate to meet the needs of your project. To be allowable, a cost proposed in your budget must be necessary and reasonable; be allocable; and conform to limitations under relevant Federal statutes, regulations, and cost principles. Enclosed with this letter is a summary of the areas of your proposed budget for which clarifying information is needed in order to complete the budget review. OII staff will be contacting you shortly to discuss these matters with you in more detail. You must submit the requested information in writing as soon as possible but no later than November 22, 2013, 4:30 PM, Washington, DC time. Please submit the requested information via e-mail to i3HRA@ed.gov, or if you are unable to send by email, by fax at (202) 205-5631. Please be sure to include in your submission your PR/Award number, applicant name, and contact information. Following your submission, OII staff will confirm receipt of the materials and may contact you if further information is needed to complete your budget review. If you receive an i3 grant award, you will be informed of the total amount of Department funds approved for your project in your grant award notification. Our mission is to ensure equal access to education and to promote educational excellence throughout the Nation. Evidence of required private-sector matching funds To be eligible to receive an i3 award, you must obtain matching funds from the private sector equal to at least 15 percent of your i3 grant award. The private-sector match can be met through matching funds, in-kind contributions, or any combination of these two sources. A highest-rated applicant must submit evidence of at least 50 percent of the required private-sector match prior to the awarding of an i3 grant. As stated in the notice inviting applications (NIA), an i3 grant award cannot be made unless an applicant provides adequate evidence that at least 50 percent of the required private-sector match has been committed.1 Evidence of the remaining 50 percent of the required private-sector match must be provided no later than six months after the project start date (i.e., 6 months after January 1, 2014, or by July 1, 2014). The grant will be terminated if the grantee does not secure its full private-sector match by the established deadline. Amount of your required match. The amount of your required match is approximately $450,000 (15 percent of $3,000,000 the amount of Department funds requested). Please note that the amount of your required match is an approximate amount because it is based on the amount of Department funds you requested. If, after the Department completes its review of your proposed budget, we approve for your project an amount of funds that differs from the amount of funds you requested, your required match will be adjusted accordingly. Evidence of your required match. Based on our review of your application, we have determined that you have not yet provided adequate evidence that a private-sector match has been committed to your project equal to at least 15 percent of your i3 grant award. Accordingly, you must submit evidence that at least 50 percent of the required private-sector match (including any evidence you may have included in your application) and receive confirmation from the Department that such evidence is sufficient and adequate as soon as possible but no later than December 11, 2013, 4:30 PM, Washington, DC time. Please submit the requested information via e-mail to i3HRA@ed.gov, or if you are unable to send by email, by fax at (202) 205-5631. Please be sure to include in your submission your PR/Award number, applicant name, and contact information. To assist the Department in reviewing the evidence of your required match, you may, if you wish, complete the enclosed summary sheet and include it with your evidence submission. If you have questions regarding the evidence for your match, please be sure to raise them with the OII staff person who contacts you to discuss your application (as noted above). Information about and resources for the required match. See the FY 2013 i3 Guidance and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) at http://www2.ed.gov/programs/innovation/faq.html for more information about the matching requirement; in particular, see section F (Matching Requirement). Please note that the Department is not specifying the type of documentation that you must provide as evidence that you have secured the required match. However, the documentation must demonstrate that private-sector funds or in-kind contributions have been committed to your project. Examples of such evidence include funding agreements with a private-sector entity or other signed documents (such as commitment letters) indicating the source, amount, purpose, and date of receipt of funds or in-kind contributions. To assist organizations unfamiliar with 1 An i3 applicant may have, but was not required to, provide evidence in its application that the private-sector match has been committed. Our mission is to ensure equal access to education and to promote educational excellence throughout the Nation. these types of documents, the Department has posted examples of adequate documentation of a private-sector match on its Web site at http://www2.ed.gov/programs/innovation/index.html. To assist potential i3 grantees in meeting the matching requirement, the Department has identified some potential private sector resources, including the Foundation Registry i3 (https://www.foundationregistryi3.org/) and the Social Impact Exchange (interested applicants should email mward@growthphilanthropy.org). For information on these resources, see “Securing the i3 Private Sector Match” available at http://www2.ed.gov/programs/innovation/matchingresources.html. The Department has no role in the funding decisions made by any private funder, and therefore, cannot guarantee that seeking these resources will result in securing the required match. The Department does not endorse any particular funding resource, including those listed here, and strongly encourages applicants to seek matching funds or in-kind donations from a diverse range of individuals, corporations, private businesses, local charitable and service organizations, and foundations. Status of your partners In your application, you indicated that you are applying as a partnership applicant. If you are awarded an i3 grant, an OII staff person will confirm with you which partners, if any, of the partners identified if your application may be awarded subgrants. Note that an entity must be one of the types of entities required to be part of the partnership (i.e., a nonprofit organization, an LEA, or a consortium of schools) in order to receive a subgrant. Moreover, any nonprofit organization included in the partnership must have a record of significantly improving student achievement, attainment, or retention through its record of work with an LEA or schools (record of improvement) in order to be eligible to receive a subgrant. Entities that are not eligible to be part of the partnership may, however, be involved in implementing your proposed project and receive funds through a contract consistent with the Department’s regulations regarding procurement at 34 CFR 80.36 High-Need Students The notice of final priorities, requirements, definitions, and selection criteria for the i3 program, published in the Federal Register on March 27, 2013 (2013 i3 NFP) (78 FR18682-18709) established that all i3 grantees must implement practices that are designed to improve student achievement (as defined in the 2013 i3 NFP) or student growth (as defined in the 2013 i3 NFP), close achievement gaps, decrease dropout rates, increase high school graduation rates (as defined in the 2013 i3 NFP), or increase college enrollment and completion rates for high-need students (as defined in the 2013 i3 NFP). By November 22, 2013, please provide the Department with a description of how you are defining high–need students and which of the identified outcomes in this requirement you plan to monitor if your project were funded. Please note the page numbers of your application that support your response. Signed Documentation Since your application was submitted electronically, the Department does not have original signatures on your application forms, including the SF-424 Application for Federal Assistance, Grants.gov Lobbying Form, the SF-424B Assurances—Non-Construction Programs, and, if applicable, the SF-LLL Disclosure of Lobbying Activities. Please mail in hard copies of the Our mission is to ensure equal access to education and to promote educational excellence throughout the Nation. forms with original signatures of the authorized representative to the Department at the address listed below. Before mailing these forms, we ask that you either scan and e-mail i3HRA@ed.gov or fax (202-205-5631) these signature forms to the Department. If you are having difficulty accessing the forms from your application, you may complete and submit the attached blank forms. Please mail hard copies of these forms with original signatures of authorized representatives to: Carol Lyons U.S. Department of Education 400 Maryland Avenue, SW, 4W203 Washington, DC 20202-5930 Thank you for your prompt attention to these matters. If you have questions on other matters regarding your application or the i3 program, please submit them via e-mail to i3HRA@ed.gov. Again, congratulations on being selected as a highest-rated i3 applicant. We look forward to working with you. Sincerely, Carol Lyons Director Office of Investing in Innovation Office of Innovation and Improvement U.S. Department of Education Enclosures Our mission is to ensure equal access to education and to promote educational excellence throughout the Nation.