Summer Schools in the Arts

CFDA No. 45.024
2006NEA02SS
8515100

Grant Program Description

To raise the quality and availability of arts education in communities nationwide, the Arts Endowment created the Summer Schools in the Arts program. This program supports rigorous, challenging summer arts education programs that enable children and youth to acquire knowledge and skills in the arts as well as gain lifelong interests in the arts and culture.

Summer arts education programs offer several advantages for quality arts learning by providing:

• Challenging and engaging arts education opportunities during the summer.
• Immersion experiences where students spend consecutive hours each day for multiple weeks.
• Comprehensive arts instruction that otherwise would not be available because of limited resources.

A summer school in the arts is one that:

• Provides summer instruction in one or more arts disciplines.
• Offers a comprehensive curriculum where participants actively create and/or perform as well as respond to the arts.
• Culminates in public performances, exhibitions, or other demonstrations of the participants' achievements in the arts.
• Measures the extent to which students gain knowledge and skills according to national, state, or local arts education standards through pre- and post-assessment tests.
• Offers instruction to the same group of students over a minimum of 90 contact hours.
• May provide free or subsidized tuition for students of limited financial resources.
• Serves children and youth generally between the ages of 5 and 18.

As part of this program, grantees will be required to participate in an evaluation and assessment training workshop. Each organization will send at least one person – either the project director or evaluator – to attend a one-day session in Washington, DC.

All organizations that are interested in applying must submit a Statement of Interest through Grants.gov, the federal government's online application system. The Grants.gov system will accept Statements of Interest through May 22, 2006. Following review of these statements, it is anticipated that no more than 100 organizations will be invited, by the week of July 17, 2006, to submit formal applications. Formal applications must be submitted through Grants.gov and will be accepted through August 28, 2006.

The number and amount of the awards will be determined by the funds that are made available to the Arts Endowment.

Award Information

Grant Amounts and Matching Funds

The Arts Endowment anticipates awarding fewer than 50 grants ranging from $15,000 to $35,000. All grants require a nonfederal match of at least 1 to 1.

The Arts Endowment expects that the grantee will allocate no less than $2,500 for project evaluation. In addition, the costs of travel and subsistence for one person to attend the evaluation and assessment training workshop in Washington, DC, must be included in the project budget.

Period of Support

Summer school programs must take place during the summer of 2007. The Arts Endowment's period of support for this program may start no earlier than April 1, 2007, and must end no later than May 31, 2008. This period of support is intended to allow for planning, evaluation, and close out as well as instructional time.

Applicant Eligibility

Nonprofit, tax-exempt 501(c)(3), U.S. organizations; units of state or local government; or federally-recognized tribal communities or tribes may apply. To be eligible, the applicant organization must:

• Meet the Arts Endowment's "Legal Requirements," including nonprofit, tax-exempt status, as detailed in the FY 2007Grants for Arts Projects guidelines, at the time of application.
• Have a three-year history of providing arts education instruction prior to the application deadline.
• Have submitted acceptable Final Report packages by the due date(s) for all Arts Endowment award(s) previously received.

For projects that involve multiple organizations, one organization that meets the eligibility requirements above must act as the official applicant, submit the application, and assume full responsibility for the grant.

Please note that funding is not available for individual elementary or secondary schools -- charter, private, or public -- directly. Local education agencies (school districts) and state and regional education agencies are eligible. Schools may participate as partners in projects for which another eligible organization applies.

The designated fifty state and six jurisdictional arts agencies (SAAs) and their regional arts organizations (RAOs) are not eligible to apply under the Summer Schools in the Arts guidelines. SAAs and RAOs are eligible to apply through the Partnership Agreements guidelines.

Application Limits

Organizations are limited to one Statement of Interest and, if invited, one application.

An organization may submit only one application on its own behalf (including a Statement of Interest under this program) for FY 2007 funding under either these Summer Schools in the Arts guidelines or the Arts Endowment's Grants for Arts Projects guidelines. For example, an organization that submits a Statement of Interest in response to this announcement (whether or not it results in an invitation to apply), may not apply to the Arts Endowment under the June 12, 2006, Learning in the Arts for Children and Youth deadline or the August 14, 2006, Access to Artistic Excellence deadline. An organization that applied under the March 13, 2006, Access to Artistic Excellence deadline may not submit a Statement of Interest for Summer Schools in the Arts.

A second application from an organization for a consortium project is not eligible for this program.

How to Prepare and Submit an Application

All organizations that are interested in applying must submit a Statement of Interest through Grants.gov, the federal government's online application system. Statements of Interest that are not submitted through Grants.gov (i.e., those that are sent via email, fax, or delivery service) will not be accepted and will be returned.

The Arts Endowment has created an easy-to-follow checklist for registering. Step-by-step instructions for registering also are available at www.grants.gov/GetStarted. If you have problems registering, call the Grants.gov help desk at 1-800-518-4726, e-mail support@grants.gov, or consult the information posted on the Grants.gov Web site at www.grants.gov/CustomerSupport. The Grants.gov Customer Service hours are 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time, Monday to Friday.

Statement of Interest

Submit via Grants.gov up to three pages that briefly outline your project and the schools, local education agencies (school districts), and communities that will be affected. Include information on:

• The community in which the summer school will take place and the demographics of the expected student participants.
• The number and age range of the students and the process by which they will register or be selected to participate. Describe efforts to make the project available to children and youth of limited financial resources.
• The curriculum including the aesthetic and educational philosophies that underpin it and the essential goals and learning outcomes for participants. Also describe the scheduling approaches and the sequencing of instruction to achieve the desired knowledge and skills. State the duration of instruction, i.e., hours per day, days per week, and number of weeks/sessions reflecting a minimum of 90 contact hours.
• How the curriculum and instruction are linked to national, state, or local arts education standards.
• The nature of culminating performances, exhibitions, or other demonstrations of participants' acquired knowledge and skills.
• How progress will be assessed toward the program's stated goals, with particular attention to determining increases in participants' arts knowledge and skills through pre- and post-assessment testing.
• Plans for documenting the project, both successes and shortcomings.
• The anticipated budget for the summer school including sources of matching funds. Be sure to note the funds for project evaluation and attendance for one person at the evaluation and assessment training workshop to be held in Washington, DC. Do not include costs that are covered by other direct or flow-through federal grants.
• Some specific examples of activities from the past three years that demonstrate your organization's ability to carry out the project.

Do not reduce type below 12 point font size; leave space between paragraphs. Label the top of the first page of your Statement of Interest with your organization's name, address, and the name, phone number, and e-mail of the contact person for the project. Label the top of pages two and three with the name of your organization and page number. Format your document for portrait (vs. landscape) orientation. Leave a margin of at least one inch at the top, bottom, and sides of all pages.

Do not send work samples or supplementary material with your Statement of Interest; they will not be reviewed.

The Statement of Interest must be submitted through Grants.gov, the federal government's online application system. The Grants.gov system will accept Statements of Interest through May 22, 2006.

Please go to the instructions for submitting the Statement of Interest through Grants.gov.

Formal Application

Only those organizations that are invited to apply after review of the Statements of Interest will submit formal applications. The application requirements will be the same as those for the Learning in the Arts for Children and Youth category in the FY 2007Grants for Arts Projects guidelines.

Application Review

The following criteria are considered during the review of Statements of Interest and, in more detail, during the review of applications:

The artistic excellence of the project, which includes the:

• Quality of the arts learning experience including the demonstrated potential to increase participants' knowledge and understanding of and skills in the arts based on the application of national, state, or local arts education standards.
• Professional quality of the artists, arts educators, or the works of art that are to be involved, as appropriate.
• Quality of the participating organizations including their experience in arts learning for children and youth and the programming of arts learning activities.

The artistic merit of the project, which includes the:

• Opportunities for direct participation in and experience with the arts.
• Opportunities for the study of works of art or the acquisition of artistic skills.
• Plans for the assessment of participants' arts education standards-based knowledge and skills both before and at the conclusion of the summer school session.
• Degree of commitment from any organizations and individuals serving as partners in the project.
• Plans for evaluation and documentation of the project's achieved goals for the summer school's future use as well as for other existing or potential summer school projects.
• Likelihood that the project will achieve the identified outcome(s) and the feasibility of the proposed performance measurements. *
• Ability to carry out the project including the appropriateness of the budget, the quality and clarity of the project goals and design, the resources involved, and the qualifications of the project's personnel.
• Where appropriate, the potential to reach underserved children and youth such as those whose opportunities to experience arts learning are limited by geography, ethnicity, economics, or disability.

* The Arts Endowment, along with other federal agencies, collects information on the projects it funds in order to track the results – or outcomes – of its activities. This information is compiled and reported to Congress and the public. The outcome the Arts Endowment intends to achieve through the Summer Schools in the Arts program is: Children and youth demonstrate skills, knowledge, and/or understanding of the arts, consistent with national, state, or local arts education standards. Within the context of this outcome, we ask all applicants to define what they would like to achieve, how they will assess the degree to which it is achieved, and, upon completion of the project, what they have learned from their successes and failures.

All applications are reviewed by an advisory panel. Panel recommendations are forwarded to the National Council on the Arts, which then makes recommendations to the Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. The Chairman reviews the Council's recommendations and makes the final decision on all grant awards. Pending the availability of funding, it is anticipated that applicants will be notified of award or rejection in April 2007.

Award Administration

Crediting Requirement

Grantees must clearly acknowledge support from the National Endowment for the Arts in their programs and related promotional material including publications and Web sites. Organizations that receive grants may be provided with specific requirements for acknowledgment of the Summer Schools in the Arts program.

Administrative Requirements

Before submitting a Statement of Interest, organizations should review the Grants for Arts Projects guidelines and General Terms & Conditions for detailed information on legal requirements and other administrative matters that pertain to this announcement.

Agency Contacts

If you have questions, please contact the Arts Endowment staff at 202/682-5579.

Reporting Burden

The public reporting burden for this collection of information is estimated at an average of 10 hours per response for Statements of Interest and 32 hours per response for Formal Applications. This includes the time for reviewing instructions, searching existing data sources, gathering and maintaining the data needed, and completing and reviewing the collection of information. The Arts Endowment welcomes any suggestions that you might have on improving the guidelines and making them as easy to use as possible. Send comments regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information, including suggestions for reducing this burden, to: Office of Guidelines & Panel Operations, Room 710, National Endowment for the Arts, 1100 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC 20506-0001. Note: Applicants are not required to respond to the collection of information unless it displays a currently valid U.S. Office of Management and Budget (OMB) control number.

March 2006

OMB No. 3135-0112 Expires 11/30/2007

National Endowment for the Arts · an independent federal agency
1100 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20506