DEPARTMENT: Pre-K 4 SA
DEPARTMENT HEAD: Sarah Baray, Ph.D.
COUNCIL DISTRICTS IMPACTED: Citywide
SUBJECT:
Competitive Grants Approval
SUMMARY:
This item includes a staff briefing and Board consideration of the entities receiving awards from the Pre-K 4 SA Competitive Grants Program with a cumulative value of up to $4.3 million.
BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Pre-K 4 SA competitive grants were approved during the original vote in 2012. The vision for these grants was to provide additional full-day and/or enhanced prekindergarten services in existing programs for 1,700 students per year. The RFP for the Competitive Education Grants for Pre-K Four Programs was released on September 18, 2017 and responses were due on October 27, 2017. A total of 44 entities submitted applications to be considered for grant funding.
The Pre-K 4 SA Board of Directors conducted a work session on February 28, 2018 to discuss grant proposals.
ISSUE:
To achieve the goal of increasing access to quality prekindergarten programs, Pre-K 4 SA’s competitive grants will fund projects to expand or enhance educational opportunities for four-year-olds in San Antonio, especially programs that target underserved students. Funding will be distributed among four groups: 1) public and charter schools, 2) private and parochial schools, 3) child development centers (accredited), and (4) child development centers (unaccredited).
In order to award funding in these four categories, Pre-K 4 SA conducted a multi-stage evaluation process to review, score, and recommend applicants for funding:
1) Evaluation Committees: Four committees of education experts and community leaders were assembled to score proposals in the public/charter, private/parochial, and child development center categories.
2) Interviews: Interviews were conducted with the finalists that were recommended by the evaluation committees.
3) Site visits: To address any remaining questions following the interview process, site visits were conducted to view the operations of the applicants prior to selection.
4) Executive Committee: Based on recommendations from the evaluation committees and results from the interviews and site visits, the Executive Committee selected the list of awardees and allocated funding to each awarded entity.
Based on this evaluation process, Pre-K 4 SA staff has identified 23 organizations across the four categories to recommend for funding at a value of $4,230,282. Child development centers will receive the award value in a bundle of services, materials, and professional development.
To implement the grant awards, a contract template agreement for each category will be utilized with all awarded agencies. Public/charter and private/parochial awardees will receive grant award in the form of reimbursements. Pre-K 4 SA will purchase and donate all materials and services to provide development centers with the value of awards. The contract template agreements are included in the Attached Resolution.
After awardees are approved, Pre-K 4 SA staff will work with the awarded agencies to develop individualized attachments to the contracts that will include the scope of work, budget, and performance metrics.
ALTERNATIVES:
If the Board does not approve the recommended awardees, the contract start date of July 1, 2018 may be delayed and students and teachers will not be able to receive services at the start of the 2018-19 school year.
FISCAL IMPACT:
Funding for these grant awards is available in the FY 2019 Pre-K 4 SA Proposed Budget contingent upon approval by the Board of Directors and City Council.
RECOMMENDATION:
Staff recommends for the Board to approve the 23 recommended awardees and award amounts.