News from the Grants Administration Division
Competitive Grant Opportunity Published on the TEA Grant Opportunities Page
TEA is announcing the availability of grant funds for the 2021-2023 T-STEM Planning and Implementation Grant Program. Request for Application (RFA) #701-20-131 is authorized by the General Appropriations Act, Article III, Rider 49, 86th Texas Legislature, and Texas Education Code (TEC), §§ 39.235. The RFA is available on the TEA Grant Opportunities Page.
Eligibility
See the General and Fiscal Guidelines, Eligibility To Apply for Competitive Grants.
Eligible applicants include LEAs that: serve students in grades 9-12 with an active relationship with the feeder middle school(s) or serve students in grades 6-12. If proposing a 6-12 model, the T-STEM Academy must serve a middle grade (6, 7, or 8) and grade 9 during the Implementation Year (2022-2023) and will progressively scale up by adding at least one grade level per year in the high school. Priority points will be given to campuses with a 6-12 model. Recipients of the 2018–2019 P-TECH and ICIA Planning Grant, 2019-2020 P-TECH and ICIA Planning Grant, 2018–2020 P-TECH and ICIA Success Grant, the 2019-2021 P-TECH and ICIA Success Grant, the 2020-2022 P-TECH and ICIA Planning and Implementation Grant, or the 2020-2022 P-TECH Success Grant are not eligible for the 2021–2023 T-STEM Planning and Implementation Grant. Recipients of the Lone Star STEM Grant are not eligible for the 2021-2023 P-TECH, T-STEM or ECHS Planning and Implementation Grant. 2020-2021 Planning, Provisional and Designated ECHS, P-TECH, and T-STEM campuses are not eligible for 2021–2023 T-STEM Planning and Implementation Grant. More information about each program can be found at the T-STEM Website.
Grant Period
February 15, 2021, through June 15, 2023.
Funding
It is anticipated that approximately 7 grants will be awarded up to a maximum amount of $150,000.
Description
The purpose of the 2021–2023 T-STEM Academy Planning and Implementation Grant is to solicit grant applications from eligible applicants who, upon receipt of the grant, will engage in 29 months (February 15, 2021 to June 15, 2022) of T-STEM Academy planning and implementation with support from the TEA selected technical assistance provider, to establish the foundational components of the T-STEM Academy.
Grantees who receive the 2021-2023 T-STEM Academy Planning and Implementation Grant will use the first 18 months (February 15, 2021-August 2022) planning to implement the design elements and requirements aligned to the T-STEM Blueprint and the K-12 STEM Framework.
The T-STEM Blueprint is the foundation of the model. Each grantee, with the support of the TEA technical assistance provider, will align with the T-STEM Blueprint, and will be required to describe plans for T-STEM components such as school design, student recruitment, establishment of partnership agreements with businesses, creation of an articulation agreement with a 4-year institution detailing how the associate degree and accrued credits could lead to a baccalaureate degree, creation of pathways to industry-based certifications, and appropriate work-based learning for 100% of participating students at all grade levels and how the campus will be measured for accountability. The STEM Framework is the measure of the high-quality STEM components for the model.
The K-12 STEM Framework outlines the 6 Domains of a high-quality K-12 STEM program. This framework is being used by campuses throughout Texas. T-STEM campuses should be aware of the framework and strive to have the high-quality indicators incorporated into their programming.
The STEM Planning Guide completed for this T-STEM Planning and Implementation grant is aligned to the high-quality indicators outlined in the STEM Framework.
During the Planning Year grantees are required to apply for T-STEM designation in November 2021 when the designation application window opens to begin serving students in the 2022–2023 school year, as required by this grant. TEA will fund a limited number of each model for this grant (see the “Eligible Applicants” section).
The T-STEM Academy may be established as a whole-campus model, a small standalone campus, a school-within-a-school model, or other models as chosen by the campus and approved by TEA.
Planning grant funds will be utilized to support campus needs for establishing the foundational implementation elements of the T-STEM Academy. Each grantee, with the support of the TEA technical assistance provider, will align with the T-STEM Academy Blueprint, and will require the grantee to describe plans for the T-STEM Academy in the STEM Planning Guide.
More information on the T-STEM model can be found at the TEA website for T-STEM.
Application Deadline
Applications must be received by the Texas Education Agency by 11:59 p.m. (Central Time), November 10, 2020, to be considered for funding.
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