request for proposal tribal attendance pilot project grant · 5) describe your communication plan...

Partnership for Systematic Attendance Improvement

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Request for Proposal Tribal Attendance Pilot Project Grant

2016-2017

Grant Proposal Due Date: January 29, 2016

Oregon Department of Education Office of Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction

255 Capitol Street NE Salem, OR 97310-0203


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PROPOSAL NARRATIVE

2016-2017 Tribal Attendance Pilot Project (TAPP) Grant Proposal

Instructions: Complete Sections A-C below. The number of pages for (Section A) cannot exceed 15 pages.

Proposal Questions (Section A)

Instructions: Answer the following questions using specific examples whenever possible.

1) Provide a narrative of the proposed project including steps to developing a system to improve attendance in your district. Indicate the level of collaboration with existing and new partners in the design and implementation of this project. How does this project develop and/or support your school and/or district’s efforts to develop an environment to reduce chronic absenteeism for AI/AN students? This project is developed entirely through the collaborative efforts of the PSD and the CTUIR. The Family Advocate will be employed by the district but will be an individual who has strong connections to the CTUIR community. The individual will be selected from a candidate list that is approved by the CTUIR Education Department. This project is one more step in the collaborative efforts to eliminate the achievement gap that exists between our AI/AN students and their peers in the PSD. The Family Advocate will be based at Washington Elementary School and will work closely with our CTUIR students and their families to reduce absenteeism in this group of students. As a part of this project, the Advocate will build upon current services offered in the school district and by the tribe to establish wrap-around services to support students in school attendance.

2) Provide an outline of your project’s action plans that includes ongoing activities, goals, related outcomes, and indicators of success/needed improvement.

a) Activites: The Family Advocate will develop and document specific strategies to address factors that impact students’ ability to attend school. The Family Advocate will form relationships with tribal and district partners to create wrap-around services to support AI/AN students in school.


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An after school program will be developed to support AI/AN students academically and create a safe place for after school activities. The Family Advocate will form relationships with students and parents. The Family Advocate will create a system to incentivize student attendance.

b) Goal: Ensure that all AI/AN students and families receive school, district and community supports that improve attendance.

c) Outcome: Students participating in the Tribal Attendance Pilot Project will improve their overall attendance rating to 95%.

d) Indicator: The School District will analyze attendance data and document a

significant decrease in chronic absenteeism among AI/AN students.

3) Provide the job description and process to hire the TAPP Family Advocate. Include resources the district will provide to the position. Include the collaboration of the tribe in the hiring process of the position. The TAPP Family Advocate will be a Pendleton School District employee that will work closely with closely with the following entities of the CTUIR:

Yellowhawk health and mental health

Tribal Truancy

Department of Children and Family Services

Circles of Care. In addition, as a part of his regular duties, the advocate will meet with students, parents and district staff to identify barriers to student attendance and assist with interventions and incentive programs. The successful candidate will be chosen from a list of applicants approved by the CTUIR.

4) Provide a profile of the individuals your project will impact. This must include but is not limited to: a) Population profile of AI/AN students in the district or school

(truancy/absenteeism, assessment outcomes, achievement, opportunities for school engagement, etc.) See Appendix F – Title VII Report

b) Population profile of the school administrators, faculty, and staff and how it reflects the student population demographics Our staff population does not reflect our student demographics. This is a continual issue that is addressed in the PSD. We have made efforts to include


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CTUIR staff in our recruiting efforts, but at this point we do not have an AI/AN staff members at Washington Elementary.

c) Description of factors that contribute to chronic absenteeism in the

school(s) participating in TAPP Due to the geographical distance of the reservation to Washington Elementary School, our CTUIR student get on the bus early in the morning. Students who miss the bus often times do not have another ride to school.

Student behavior on the bus is an issue that we deal with regularly. Students who are removed from the bus for disciplinary reasons sometimes lack resources for alternative transportation to school. Historical trauma effects some of our students. Due to parents’ school experiences and lack of connection to the school of their children, attendance is affected.

5) Describe your communication plan for reaching out and disseminating information and messaging about school attendance.

The Family Advocate will use several forms of communication to reach out to our Native American Students. We will generate a student list that consists of only those students that are in the Washington Elementary attendance area in our current School Messenger System. This will allow the Family Advocate to send recorded phone messages, text messages and emails to just those students. In addition, we will take out ads in the CUJ, the tribal newspaper and the advocate will make regular appearances on the tribal radio station. These methods of outreach will be done in addition to individual contacts with parents.

6) Describe your district/school’s readiness to implement the TAPP. What other grants/programs/strategies have you used or are currently using to support this work? What do current programming or services look like in regards to cultural responsiveness for AI/AN students?

The Pendleton School District has worked very closely with the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation to improve outcomes for our Native American Students. We have partnered on the American Indian Alaskan Native Culturally Responsive Teaching Learning and Pedagogy grant and the State Tribal Education Partnership grant. PSD administration meets monthly with education leadership from CTUIR to address issues affecting our Native American Students. The PSD and CTUIR are currently in the process of updating our Memorandum Of Understanding to support our students.

7) What do you anticipate as potential barriers for the implementation of the

TAPP? What mechanisms are in place to address these barriers? Are there unique characteristics of your district that need to be considered?


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One of the barriers to implementation of the grant is feelings of distrust toward the school district by tribal members. CTUIR is a very close community, which makes it difficult for anyone from the outside to get in. Recruiting and selecting the right person who understands how to navigate both school and tribal politics is critical to our success.

8) The tremendous impact of partnerships on the project is a key priority.

Summarize the overall level, design and impact of the existing and developed partnerships associated with this proposal. Partnerships at a minimum must include the tribe and district.

The PSD and CTUIR Education Department collaborated on the design of this project. In addition to our on-going partnership, the following tribal entities will be included in implementation:

Title VII Indian Education Program

Tribal Truancy

CTUIR Department of Children and Family Services

Yellowhawk Tribal Health Center

a) Indicate any role partners played in the development of this proposal

This project was developed as a joint effort between the PSD and the CTUIR.

b) Describe the role of existing partners in implementation of the project

The PSD and CTUIR Education Department will continue to meet monthly to monitor the progress of the project and provide supports and resources as necessary to the Family Advocate.

c) Describe the possible ongoing role the partners will play beyond the grant The intention of this grant is that systems are put in place to support our AI/AN students and reduce chronic absenteeism. Once we have established systems and supports, it is the intention for these to continue beyond the life of the grant via continued partnership between the PSD and CTUIR.

Budget (Section B)

How does your proposed budget align with the attendance project and its activities? Describe to what level collaborating partners will provide leverage/support/allocation of resources (e.g., fiscal, personnel, technology, training, coaching, materials, etc.) to assist in implementing and sustaining the project.


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100% of the budget will support the activities of the grant, including the indirect costs, which will be used to support the salary and benefits of a district administrator charged with oversight of the grant.

d) Budget Worksheet (Appendix D)

a) Complete the budget worksheet for the project. There is no requirement for matching funds, however, contributions of other funds and in-kind donations of time and materials will be considered as indicators of support by partners. A donation of time should be calculated based on the cost for the school district to hire someone to fulfill those responsibilities. Please only list matching funds, including in-kind donations, that have been committed for the development and implementation of this project. Any commitments that extend beyond the timeline of this grant should be described in collaborative detail statements below

e) Budget Narrative a) Describe how the amount in each line item of the budget was determined.

Relate this description to the proposed activities b) Identify roles and responsibilities for each individual including the

salary/salaries funded entirely through the grant c) Identify the nature of contracted services included in any professional and

technical services d) Identify specific events and venues if travel includes conferences and

meetings in other states e) List representative examples of supplies and materials. f) Identify individual items included in non-consumable, computer software,

computer hardware, and capital outlay. Staff salary and benefits includes that of the Family Advocate as well as extra duty time for Washington Elementary Staff to hold separate Open House and family involvement events specifically for our AI/AN students and their families. In addition, salary and benefits of staff members working in the after school program will be charged to this line item. In-State travel for staff includes the travel for the Family Advocate as there will be regular travel between the school and the reservation for meetings. The professional development line item will include the costs for substitutes and for exception time for staff members attending PD opportunities outside of their contracted day. This PD will be specific to strategies around supporting AI/AN students. The In-state travel for students includes fees to get students and parents to school for meetings or activities to build connection to the school. This might be via tribal transportation or taxi.


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The “other” expenses for students includes attendance incentives, rewards and celebrations for students. Supplies and equipment includes printing of business cards and flyers, etc. to advertise grant opportunities. Office Supplies includes cell phone and computer for the Family Advocate. The “other” under Supplies and Equipment includes the costs for parent events, including transportation to the school for special events, food for events, parent involvement activities and meetings on the reservation for families.

Sustainability Plan (Section C)

g) Briefly describe your plan for continuing the project funded through this grant beyond the grant period. How do you anticipate sustainability of the project for at least two years beyond this grant? The PSD and CTUIR meet monthly to collaborate on issues surrounding education and our AI/AN students. As this is an established practice prior to this grant, this collaboration will be our avenue for sustaining the systems and interventions for our AI/AN students beyond the life of the grant.

An electronic version of the completed proposal including a scanned copy of the signed Statement of Assurances in Rich Text (RTF), Word (.doc or .docx), or PDF format must be received by 12:00 pm on January 15,

2016. It is the districts responsibility to contact Tabitha Whitefoot to verify receipt of documents. Please use the Secure File Transfer Process outlined below to submit the electronic version of the grant proposal. Secure File Transfer Process

An electronic version of the complete proposal must be submitted to Tabitha Whitefoot ([email protected]) using the Secure File Transfer system available on the ODE district website: https://district.ode.state.or.us/apps/xfers/. Follow the instructions provided at the bottom of the page to complete the submission of the file. Contact the ODE helpdesk at 503-947-5715 if you need assistance with the Secure File Transfer Process. Should there be any technical issues with the Secure File Transfer Process, please email proposal directly to Tabitha Whitefoot at the addressed above. Please note: The communication between Apple and PC is not reliable. ODE uses PC exclusively, so consider submitting your proposal through a Microsoft-PC interface.

In addition, a hard copy of the original signed Statement of Assurances should be mailed to:

Oregon Department of Education Deputy Superintendent of Public Instruction 255 Capitol Street NE Salem, Oregon 97310-0203 Attention: Tabitha Whitefoot

Envelopes must be plainly marked: Request for Proposal-Tribal Attendance Pilot Project

mailto:[email protected]

https://district.ode.state.or.us/apps/xfers/


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APPENDIX A Tribal Attendance Pilot Project Grant

2016-2017

PROPOSAL COVER PAGE (Please Print or Type – All Fields Must Be Completed)

Project Name: Partnership for Systematic Attendance Improvement

Amount: $150,000

Project Director: Tricia Mooney

Address: 1100 Southgate, Suite 8

City: Pendleton State: Oregon Zip: 97801

Phone: 541-966-3253 Email: [email protected]

Grant Fiscal Agent Contact: Michelle Jones




Tribal Partner: Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation

Address: 4611 Timine Way


Phone: 541-429-7822 Email:[email protected]

Participating Partner:

Address:

City: State: Zip:

Phone: Email:


Address:

City: State: Zip:

Phone: Email:


Address:

City: State: Zip:

Phone: Email:


Address:

City: State: Zip:

Phone: Email: * Add additional partner contacts as applicable.


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APPENDIX B

Statement of Assurances for District

District Name: Pendleton School District 16R


City: Pendleton State: OR Zip: 97801


The organization assures:

1. Adherence to the expectations stated in the proposal. 2. Participating project directors and/or project staff will be released to participate in

planning and design activities. 3. None of the moneys received through this grant will be used to replace expenditures

for required programs that are the responsibility of the sponsoring agency. 4. The organization will participate fully in all agreed program evaluations and

continuous improvement processes with the Oregon Department of Education. 5. The organization agrees to abide by all terms of its grant proposal. The Oregon

Department of Education must approve any modifications to the proposal in writing. 6. The following fiscal and program reports will be submitted to the Oregon Department

of Education by their respective due dates: Initial Progress Report due June 30, 2016; Interim Progress Report due February 1, 2016; Final Report with narrative due June 30, 2017.

7. Grant recipients must commit to providing all of the requested reports and deliverables in order to receive the funds.

8. The organization will be required to share strategies, models, evaluation information, and lessons learned with other organizations involved in this work.

9. The undersigned have read the proposal packet, understand the requirements of the organization’s participation and commit their support. Tricia Mooney

1/20/16

Print Name of Authorized Agent Date

Assistant Superintendent

Title

1/20/16

Signature of Authorized Agent Signature Date


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APPENDIX C

Commitment / Collaborative Partnership Agreement Collaborators Detail Statements

The district and tribe have reviewed, discussed, and agreed to their part in implementing the project proposed in this grant proposal:

Organization

1. Pendleton School District 16R DISTRICT

2. Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation TRIBE

List below possible community resources or partner agencies. If time allows submit letters of collaboration. Letters will be required as project partnerships develop.

A letter of collaboration that details the commitment of the agency or institution to the project goals must be included for the required partners (1 and 2) Additional partners listed above will be contacted and letters requested. Letters will then be submitted as available. The collaboration detail statements will address:

Types of expertise they will lend to achieve the project goals.

Commitments of staff time and availability to assist with the realizing the project goals.

The specific resources (financial, in-kind, materials, expertise, etc.) the partner will contribute to the project.

The limitations of their involvement.

The commitment of the partner beyond the life of the grant.

Commitment letters demonstrate active and on-going collaboration in the project and exceeds a standard letter of support.


Pendleton School District

APPENDIX D

Proposed Budget Worksheet Title of Project: Partnership for Systematic Attendance Improvement ____________________________________________________________ Project Start Date: January, 2016 Project End Date: June 30, 2017

Tribal Attendance

Pilot Project

LOCAL* IN-KIND &

OTHER SOURCE*

TOTAL

A. Staff

Salaries $83,800

Benefits $24,825

In-State Travel $1,500

Professional Development $5,000

Other

B. Students

In-State Travel $1,000

Supplies

Other $6,500

C. Supplies and Equipment $500

Office Supplies (phone, copier, etc.)

$3,200

Instructional Supplies

Equipment (less than $300)

Other $13,175

D. Indirect/Overhead Indirect Cost @ 7% maximum

$10,500

E. Other (Include explanation)

COLUMN TOTAL * There is no requirement for matching funds, however, contributions of private funds and in-kind donations of time and materials will be considered as indicators of support by partners.



APPENDIX E

Participating School Profile (please submit a profile for each identified school)

Complete the following table as applicable. Add rows as needed.

District School Name

Washington Elementary School


Attendance: Percent of AI/NA students attending 90% enrolled days or more:

2014-2015 62%

2013-2014 61%

2012-2011 51%

2011-2012 67%

2014-2015 Percent Meeting or Exceeding

Percent of American Indian /

Alaskan Native

Elementary (Grades 3-5)

Middle (Grades 6-8)

High (Grade11)

Mathematics 40.7%

Reading 46%

Please list current school or district activities focused on improving attendance. Include specific references to AI/AN issues. The district currently employs a School Support Liaison who is charged with supporting student attendance across the district. The district has partnered with CTUIR on other grants aimed at creating a more culturally responsive teaching and learning environment with an outcome of making schools more welcoming to our AI/AN students.



APPENDIX F

Washington School Title VII Report-August 31st thru December 18

th 2015

Washington School Student Count

Started School August 31st with 132 native students

Lost a total of 31 students

18 student transition from Washington to Sunridge Jr. High

2- Portland

2- Oklahoma

1- Hermiston

3-Athena- Weston

2-Pilot Rock

1- Sherwood

2-McKay

September 2015

132- Starting Count-

Ending Count in September-132

October - 2015

132- Starting Count

Ending Count in October -132

November 2015

132– Starting Count - 2 student left- home schooled 1- student moved to Kansas

Ending Count in November- 129

December 2015

129- Starting count

Ending Count in December-129

Fall Conference- November 2015

129 students, 91 parents showed up = 71%

FAMILIES OF NATIVE STUDENTS- 2 PARENTS HOUSHOLD- SINGLE AND

GUARDIAN’S

41- Single Parents



19 Who live with grandparents/relatives or other people

69 two parent household

IEP-COUNT 1st 2 2- communication only 2nd 1 1-communication only 3rd 4 1 communication only 3 –Specific Learning Disabilities/Reading or Math 4th 8 4- communication only 2- Communication and Emotionally Disturbed 1-communication/learning disabled 1- other health impaired 5th 4 1- communication only 1- communication/learning disabled 1-hearing impaired 1-communication/Intellectual disability Total Actual IEP Students- –19 ACTUAL COUNT OF NATIVE STUDENTS -CTUIR/FEDERALLY RECOGNIZED/DESCENDENTS 1st grader-17 Native Students 9- Students are CTUIR Enrollees 4-CTUIR-Descendents 3- Federally Recognized Tribe 1- Descendant 2nd grader- 20 Native Students 12- Students are CTUIR Enrollees 1-CTUIR- descendants 4- Federally-Recognized Tribe 3- Descendant 3rd grade- 33 Native Students 25- Students are CTUIR Enrollees 3- CTUIR-Descendent 4- Federally Recognized Tribe 1- Descendant 4th grade -28 Native Students



23 - Students are CTUIR Enrollees -0- CTUIR- descendent 4- Federally Recognized Tribe 1- Descendant 5th grade -31 Native Students 25 Students are CTUIR Enrollees 0--CTUIR-Descendent 5- Federally Recognized Tribe 1- Descendants

Programs going on at Washington 2015-2016

Daughters of Tradition and Sons of Tradition have returned to Washington school as an after

school program. We currently have

have 20 girls in the program and 5 boys in Sons of Tradition, program is being offered by

Yellowhawk Prevention, under the

Guidance of Wenona Scott and Marcie Picard. The program is on Mondays. 3:00 to 4:00,

Pendleton School District provides the

busing.

PROGRAMS THAT ARE PROVIDED TO WASHINGTON SCHOOL THRU TRIBAL

PROGRAMS.

PARTNERING WITH TRIBAL TRUANCY AND WASHINGTON SCHOOL

I met every other week with Aimee VanNice, Corrina Robinson and Michele Gomez (Dist.

Truancy Officer), Shane Rivera and myself and go over attendance list and staff individual cases,

discuss families, make referral or Home Visit request, or possible C.A.R.E meeting. I have 5

pending cases that have been referred to Tribal Court. I keep track of students who have high

absenteeism, based on that information and staff and request of home visit, we monitor students

who are at 85%.

PARTNERING WITH LIFEWAYS and STRENTHING OF THE FAMILIES

Lifeway’s continues to provide a therapist 2 x a week, and System of Care who is currently

providing mentorships for students who need positive support. This is going well, we have many

students who do not have a positive role model in their lives or any mentorship to guide them.

Yellowhawk has not provided us with an on sight Therapist at this point, one is still needed.

Strength of the Families meets periodically with Mrs. Robinson our school counselor and staffs

students who have needs or families whom may need some type of support put in place to assist

their student/family.



Attendance Percentage from Sept thru December 2015

September- 2015

506- students- 93.18%

Entire school Percentage for September- 94.43%

October 2015

506- students- 92.95%

Entire School Percentage for October- 94.1%

November 2015

506 students – 92.85%

Entire School Percentage for November -93.87%

December 2015

506 students-92.73%

Entire School Percentage for December-93.55%

Perfect attendance- September thru December 2015

September and October – 22 students- received perfect attendance -movie passes

November – 37 students received perfect attendance awards- movie passes

December - 54 students received perfect attendance awards- movie passes-

Letters, Referrals, Staffing that have been made by Title VII- Sept thru December 18th

2015

5- Referral were made November, requesting all them go through Court and not CAB, ongoing

Truancy Issues.

8-Referrals Requested for Truancy to go by and make home visits and talk to parents about

Constance absents after letters have gone out to parents

This is for September thru December regarding Tribal Truancy

1st letter: 18

2nd letter:3

3RD

letter-4

Referral to C.A.B. -0- Refer to Court: 5

Actual Cases seen by Community Accountably Board (CAB)—0—cases-

Actual Cases who went to Tribal Courts- 0 – all cases are still pending

Referrals for Home Visit’s follow-Up by Tribal Truancy: 8



3- Referral to Dept. of Children Service/Tribal referrals- made by myself and school

counselor/principal

2- Request to come in and investigate allegation

2-Meeting with Social Services to discuss potential cases/phone contact-

From -09-01-15 thru 12-18--15 - I have attended to the following for correspondence

190- Phone calls made for various reasons, including return calls to parents who called me for

some reason, and returning call to community partners, calling parents for reminders.

25 - Email request from parents concerns

34-- 506 letters, and application mailed out for Washington 5 and PELC -29

23- Letters sent at the beginning of year to parents who students had high absenteeism

7- Miscellanies Letters/behaviors, lunch money /appointment reminders, Thank You,

etc…..

5 --Phone calls/ concerning behavior issues

5-- Staffing/concerns about students, behavior, attendance, and misc.

1- Referrals made to System of Care for Mentor/Counselor-per staffing with teacher

I have not attended any IEP meetings concerning 506 students.

I have not Attended IPS meetings concerning 506 students.

Behavioral Report- Native Report Only-

During the school year District 16 R is required to track behavior issues

Number of In School Suspension and Out of School Suspension

This is the total for the period of September thru December 2015

Incidents by Action

In-School Suspension-

Sept- -0- ISS

Oct- - 0- ISS

Nov- 0- ISS

Dec.-0- ISS



Out of School Suspension

Sept- 0- OSS

Oct- -0- OSS

Nov-0- OSS

Dec.- 1- OSS

request for proposal tribal attendance pilot project grant · 5) describe your communication plan...

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