2020-2023 AmeriCorps Partners in Learning Campaign for for Grade-Level Reading Grant Copyrighted
January 21, 2020
City of Dubuque Consent Items # 11.
ITEM TITLE: 2020-2023AmeriCorps Partners in Learning Campaignfor
Grade Level Reading GrantApplication
SUMMARY: City Manager recommending approval of the 2020-2023
AmeriCorps Partners in Learning Campaign for Grade-
Level Reading grant application recently submitted to the
lowa Commission on Volunteer Services and now
submitted to the Corporation for National and Community
Service.
SUGGESTED DISPOSITION: Suggested Disposition: Receiveand File;Approve
ATTACHMENTS:
Description Type
2020-2023 AmeriCorps Partners in Learning Grant City Manager Memo
Application-MVM Memo
Staff memo Staff Memo
2020-2023 AmeriCorps Partners in Learning Grant Supporting Documentation
Application & Budget
Dubuque
THE CITY OF �
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DuB E � �
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Maste iece on the Mississi i Zoo�•zoiz•zois
YP pp zoi�*zoi9
TO: The Honorable Mayor and City Council Members
FROM: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
SUBJECT: 2020-2023 AmeriCorps Partners in Learning Campaign for Grade Level
Reading Grant Application Submission
DATE: January 15, 2020
Leisure Services Manager Marie Ware recommends City Council approval of the 2020-
2023 AmeriCorps Partners in Learning Campaign for Grade-Level Reading grant
application recently submitted to the lowa Commission on Volunteer Services and now
submitted to the Corporation for National and Community Service.
The match for the grant is paid for by in-kind supervision, office space, as well as funds
from the Dubuque Community School District, St. Mark Youth Enrichment, Leisure
Services Recreation Division, Carnegie-Stout Public Library. The District provides a
$45,000 match. The City also provides a $20,000 match which was approved as a
recurring improvement package almost three years ago.
The current 2020-2021 grant has been budgeted in the current FY 2020 city budget and
the remainder has been built into the FY 2021 budget anticipating a budget award. The
proposed grant request is $203,761 which will be matched with local in-kind and cash
funds of $206,824, totaling to $410,585. The in-kind and cash match is paid for by
AmeriCorps sites and in-kind match for administration, supervision and training. This
match is 50% of the total grant. This grant would run from September 1, 2020 through
August 31, 2021. This grant application is a federal grant. This application, if funded,
would be a year one of a new, three-year grant cycle.
I concur with the recommendation and respectfully request Mayor and City Council
approval.
v
Mic ael C. Van Milligen
MCVM:jh
Attachment
cc: Crenna Brumwell, City Attorney
Teri Goodmann, Assistant City Manager
Cori Burbach, Assistant City Manager
Marie L. Ware, Leisure Services Manager
2
Dubuque
THE CTTY OF �
AII�A�ueriea Cip
DuB E ,� .�
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Maste iece on the Mississi i zoo�.zo�Z=zo�3
� pp 2017*2019
TO: Michael C. Van Milligen, City Manager
FROM: Marie L. Ware, Leisure Services Manager
SUBJECT: 2020-2023 AmeriCorps Partners in Learning Campaign for Grade Level
Reading Grant Application Submission
DATE: January 13, 2020
INTRODUCTION
The purpose of this memo is to request approval for the 2020-2023 AmeriCorps Grant
application recently submitted via e-grants to the lowa Commission on Volunteer
Service and now submitted to the Corporation for National and Community Service
(CNCS).
BACKGROUND
AmeriCorps Partners in Learning Program has been extremely successful in its 20
years of operation, twelve of which have been under the leadership of the City of
Dubuque. The program's success is apparent in the over 800 AmeriCorps Alumni
giving over 450,000 hours of service in our community. These members and alumni
have performed invaluable service.
AmeriCorps members are paid living allowance stipend for their service and receive an
education award. The stipends and awards are a part of the grant. These funds are
often directly invested in our community in the form of groceries, rent or tuition to local
colleges and universities as well as other direct living expenses. Some of the
AmeriCorps members are grandparents and earn education awards they are passing
along to their grandchildren.
The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) has established priority
areas of funding for their grants. AmeriCorps Partners in Learning fits nicely into CNCS
priority area of education. CNCS emphasizes performance measures and being able to
measure progress. They require evidence-based approaches with evaluative data and
use of a logic model. We must provide evidence that the proposed intervention is
effective for the proposed population and community challenge. A third-party evaluation
was completed prior to the writing of this grant. The evaluation provided excellent
feedback on the AmeriCorps Partners in Learning Program. This was used in the
writing of the grant attached.
The grant focuses on ensuring students read at grade level by 3�d grade and targeting
students with literacy needs. The program has been awarded three-year grants since
near its inception. The grant is currently in its 6�h year, and this grant, if awarded, will
fund years 7 — 9. The grant was submitted to the lowa Commission on Volunteer
Service and now has moved for federal consideration to the Corporation for National
and Community Service. The first successful step was that the grant was
recommended for consideration for federal funding. The grant will be reviewed at the
federal level and awards will be announced later this year, followed by the issuance of
the grant agreement for Council approval, if grant is awarded.
DISCUSSION
AmeriCorps members have become partners in the school they serve. The AmeriCorps
Program has partnered with the Dubuque Community School District to formulate a
program that continues to place AmeriCorps members in elementary schools at the
Kindergarten, 1 S� 2"a and 3�d grade level. The contact time for students will be 21 ,600
hours. The School District provides training to the AmeriCorps members that aligns with
the curriculum taught in the schools. By creating this focus, we have moved the needle
with our AmeriCorps program and members and will continue these efforts.
The AmeriCorps grant is a part of the Campaign for Grade Level Reading locally. The
City Council's priorities include work on the Campaign. This focus allows more
AmeriCorps members to be placed in the schools serving students to raise their reading
proficiency. This service is in line with the Community Solution Action Plan and efforts
around the collective impact model related specifically to Grade Level Reading.
Twenty-Two AmeriCorps members will serve in thirteen elementary schools within the
Dubuque Community School District. They will tutor Kindergarten through third graders
at least three times a week. The short-term outcome proposed in the grant is for 400 of
the 500 students with literacy needs who complete our program will improve by 10
points as measured by the FAST assessment.
Additionally, during the school year, three AmeriCorps Members will serve with St. Mark
Youth Enrichment and 1 Full-Time Member will serve with the Carnegie-Stout Public
Library's Children's library. Six AmeriCorps members will serve students in the summer
in neighborhood parks through Leisure Services providing educational programming;
one members will serve at Carnegie-Stout Public Library in summer reading programs;
and six members will serve at St. Mark's Youth Enrichment. Lastly, 12 members will
serve at Dubuque Community School District summer reading.
For the last academic year (2018-2019) the AmeriCorps program was a huge success.
97°k of the 477 students who worked with AmeriCorps members 30 times or more
improved their FAST Composite Score and are assessments the Dubuque Community
2
School District uses to assess studenYs reading proficiency. We are making a
difference in the lives of Dubuque's children.
This work focuses resources on third grade reading hoping to recover children before
they become disengaged. It is a much better investment to work at the early age.
School District personnel have been leaders in helping the AmeriCorps program focus
the member resources in ways that have been and will continue to be most impactful.
BUDGETIMPACT
The match for the grant is paid for by in-kind supervision, office space, as well as funds
from the Dubuque Community School District, St. Mark Youth Enrichment, Leisure
Services Recreation Division, Carnegie-Stout Public Library. The District provides a
$45,000 match. The City also provides a $20,000 match which was approved as a
recurring improvement package almost three years ago.
The current 2020-2021 grant has been budgeted in the current FY 2020 city budget and
the remainder has been built into the FY 2021 budget anticipating a budget award. The
proposed grant request from CNCS is $203,761 which will be matched with local in-kind
and cash funds of$206,824, totaling to $410,585. The in-kind and cash match is paid
for by AmeriCorps sites and in-kind match for administration, supervision and training.
This match is 50°k of the total grant. This grant would run from September 1 , 2020
through August 31 , 2021 . This grant application is a federal grant. This application, if
funded, would be a year one of a new, three-year grant cycle.
The application contains funding of the current AmeriCorps Director position that has
been budgeted each year in this on-going program anticipating funding of the grant.
This grant also contains a .28 FTE Clerical Assistant. If the grant is approved the
amended budget would contain this new .28 FTE position. The grant and match
funding outlined above fund this clerical assistant position. Both the AmeriCorps
Director as well as the Clerical Assistant position are grant dependent. If for some
reason the grant is not funded the positions are not funded.
RECOMMENDATION
I fully recommend submission and approval of the 2020-2023 AmeriCorps Partners in
Learning Campaign for Grade-Level Reading grant submission that meets the City
Council Management in Progress goals of the Campaign for Grade-Level Reading and
AmeriCorps Program: Funding as well as the positions as listed above.
attachment: 2020-23 Application for Federal Assistance, Budget and Budget Narrative
CC: Heather Satterly, AmeriCorps Program Director
Jenny Larson, Budget and Finance Director
3
D RAFT
PART I - FACE SHEET
APPLICATION FOR FEDERAL ASSISTANCE � T�'PEOFSUBMISSION:
Modified Standard Form424(Rev.02/07 to confirmto the Corporation's eGrants System) Flppliwtion O NomConstmction
2a.DATESUBMITTED TO CORPORATION 3.DATE RECENm BY STATE: STATEAPPLICATION IDBJTIFIER:
FOR NATIONAL AND COMMUNITY
SERVICE(CNCS): 12-NOV-19
26.APPLICATION ID: 4.DATE RECENm BY FEDERAL AGQJCY: FEDERAL IDQJTIFIER:
20AC220460
5.APPLICATION INFORMATION
LEGAL NAME: City of Dubuque f�lAMEAND CONTACT INFORMATION FOR PROJECT DIRECTOR OR OTHER
PERSON TO BECONTACTED ON MATTERS INVOLVING THVS APPLICATION(grve
DUNS NUMBER: 093105302 area codes):
f�lAME: Heather M.SatterN
ADDRESS(grve street address,city,state,zip code and county):
2200 Bunker Hill Rd TELEPFIONE NUMBER (563)690-6171
Oubuque W 52001-3010 FAX NUMBER:
Counry:Dubuque NTERNET EMAIL ADDRESS: hsatterl@cityofdubuque.org
6.Bv1PLOYER IDQJTIFICATION NUMBER(EN): 7.TYPEOFAPPLICANT:
426004596 7a. Local Government-Municipal
76. Lowl Government,Municipal
8.TY PE OF A PPLICATION(Check appropriate box).
� N&N ❑X NEW/PREVIOUSGR4NTEE
O CONTNUATION O AMQJDMQJT
IF Amendment,enter appropriate letter(s)in box(es): ��
A. AUGMQJTATION B.BUDGEf REVISION
Q NO COST IXTQJSION D.OTHER(specAy bebw):
9.f�lAME OF FEDER4 L AGQJCY:
Corporation for National and Community Service
10a.CATALOG OF FEDQt4L DOMESTIC ASSVSTANCE NUMBER: 94.006 11.a.DESCRIPTNE TITLE OF APPLICANT'S PROJECT:
106.TITLE: AmeriCorps State Cdy of Dubuque AmeriCorps Partners in Learning R'ogram
12.ARFAS AFFECTED BY PROJECT(List Cdies,Counties,States,etc): 11.6.CNCS PROGRAM NITWTNE QFANI'):
Dubuque, W
13.PROPOSED PROJECT: START DATE 09/01/20 QJD DATE: OB/31/21 14.CONGRESSIOf�lAL DISTRICT OF: a.Applicant W 01 b.R'ogram W 01
15.ESTINWTED FUNDING: Year#: 1� i6.IS APPLICATION SUBJECT TO REVI2JV BY STATE IXECUTNE
ORDER12372 PROCESS?
a.FEDERAL $ 2W,761.00
0 YES.THISPRFAPPLICATION/APPLICATIONWASMADEAVAILABLE
b.APPLICANT $ 206,824.00 TO THESTATE IXECUTNEORDQ212372 PROCESS FOR
REVIEW ON:
c.STATE $ 0.00 DATE:
d.LOCAL $ 0.00 ❑X NO.PROGR4M IS NOT COVQ2ED BY E.O.12372
e.OTHER $ 0.00
f.PROGRAMINCOME $ 0.00 17.ISTHEAPPLICANTDELNQUQJTONANYFEDERALDEBT?
0 YES if"Yes,"attach an explanation. � NO
g.TOTAL $ 41Q585.00
18.TO THE BEST OF MY KNOWLEDGEAND BELIEF,ALL DATA IN THVS APPLICATION/PRFAPPLICATION ARE TRUEAND CORRECT,THE DOCUMQJT HAS BEQJ
WLY AUTHORQED BY THEGOVERNING BODY OF THEAPPLICANT AND THEAPPLICANT WILL COMPLY WITH THEATTACHEDASSUR4NCES IF THEASSISTANCE
VS AWARDED.
a.TYPEDNAMEOFAUTHORIZEDREPRESQJTATNE: b.TRLE: c.TELEPHONENUMBER:
Heather M.SatterN AmeriCorps Director (563)690-6171
d.SIGNATURE OF AUTHORIZ ED REPRESQJTATN E: e.DATE SIGNED:
11/12/19
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Executive Summary
The AmeriCorps Partners in Learning (APIL) program proposes to have 49 AmeriCorps members
who will tutor K-3rd grade struggling readers one on one or in small groups in the Dubuque
Community School DistricYs elementary schools and summer programs. At the end of the first
program year, the AmeriCorps members will be responsible for increasing the reading scores of 400
students with literacy needs. In addition,the AmeriCorps members will leverage an additional ioo
volunteers who will be engaged in Dubuque community days of service.
The program will focus on the CNCS focus area of Education. The CNCS investment of$203,'76i will
be matched with $206,824, $i9i,o'74 in public funding and$i5,'75o in private funding.
Rationale and Approach/Program Design
THEORY OF CHANGE AND LOGIC MODEL
Dubuque Community School DistricYs (DCSD) students are not reading at grade level by 3rd grade.
Data from DCSD's FAST (Formative Reading Assessment System for Teachers) and Certified Annual
Enrollment provide us with current literacy rates. I n Fa112oi9, 36% of all DCSD 3rd grade students
were not reading at grade level. When poverty is taken into consideration, the data is more severe. In
Fall 2oi9, 4'7% of DCSD's 3rd grade students that were eligible for Free and Reduced Lunch did not
read at grade level, compared to the 2'7% of Non-Free and Reduced Lunch students who did not read
at grade level. When looking at all grade levels leading up to grade 3, the data is similar. I n Fa112o19,
56% of DCSD 2nd grade students, 53% of ist grade students and 59% of Kindergarten students, were
not reading at grade level. I n the Fall of 2oi9� 39% of DCSD K-3rd grade students, or approximately
2�999 students,were not reading at grade level. 5 of i3 Dubuque elementary schools (Audubon,
Fulton, Lincoln, Marshall, Prescott) are Title i which means they are designated as schools with high
percentages of children from low-income families. In the remaining 8 elementary schools, there exists
an increasing percentage of students in poverty: Bryant (39%); Carver (4'7%); Eisenhower (40%);
Hoover (66%); Irving (42%); Kennedy (53%); Sageville (63%); Table Mound(38%).
Our program realizes and understands that children from many backgrounds, impoverished or not,
struggle with reading. However, living in poverty can create a reality for students that contributes to
the struggle of reading at grade level. First, children in poverty are more likely to be unprepared for
kindergarten.A series of longitudinal studies by Hart and Risley (i995-2003) demonstr�ated low
income children heard 3o million fewer words total by age three than did more affluent children.
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These early gaps result in persistent academic challenges in beginning elementary school years.
Second, students in poverty often experience learning loss during the summer. According to the
Campaign for Grade Level Reading, research has proven the summer slide exists. Simply, students
lose ground academically when not engaged academically during the summer. The problem is
particularly acute among low-income students who lose an average of more than two months in the
summer. I n Dubuque,the rate of impoverished households is rising. Research conducted by MIT in
2oi8 showed that there is a str�ong positive correlation between the poverty rate and affordable quality
childcare. Because of this issue, our low-income families in our community str�uggle significantly with
students accessing early childhood education and quality educational summer programming. The
long term academic ramifications for students who do not read at grade level by 3rd grade are great.
According to the Campaign for Grade Level Reading, reading by 3rd grade is a critical milestone in a
child's academic success. Before 3rd grade, students learn how to read. After 3rd grade, students
tr�ansition from learning how to read, to reading to learn.According to a study by researchers,
students who couldn't read at grade level by 3rd grade continued to fall further behind their peers after
3rd grade (McNamara, J.K., Scissons, M, and Gutknecth, N; 2011). In addition, a 2012 study by the
Annie E. Casey Foundation states children who do not read proficiently by the end of third grade are
four times less likely to graduate from high school on time than proficient readers. These ramifications
are serious for both the individual student and the community.
Our integrated, comprehensive,two pronged approach will ensure students with literacy needs read at
grade level by the end of 3rd grade. The first approach consists of a school year program where
members provide 1-1 or small group literacy interventions to str�uggling readers. The second approach
consists of a summer program where members provide i-i or small group literacy support and
enrichment activities. According to the Campaign for Grade Level Reading, communities must use a
collaborative approach to ensure students read at grade level by 3rd grade. Our program works with
both the school district and community partners to target literacy efforts in Dubuque's elementary
schools and summer programs. This year-round approach ensures students continue to build on their
grade level reading efforts from the school year through the summer months.
During the school year, the program will place 22 (u RHT and u MT) members as tr�ained Academic
Reading'I�tors in 13 DSCD elementary schools. Members will tutor K-3rd grade,Tier 2 students
identified through the Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS). MTSS is an evidence-based model to
integrate academic interventions. Tier 2 students are students who are not proficient in reading or
who are at risk of becoming not proficient in reading and require interventions. Tier 2 students do not
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often receive needed interventions from classroom teachers or staff because their time must be spent
with Tier 3 students who need intense,individual interventions from a certified teacher. Therefore,
AmeriCorps members are critical to Tier 2 students'literacy success because these interventions would
not otherwise occur.
'I�toring sessions will occur 1-1 or in small groups. Each session will occur at least three times per
week for i5-3o minutes for a minimum of io weeks or 3o sessions and until the student has been
reassessed and results show the child performing at grade level. Additionally, members will be
providing limited targeted support to 4th (2o i5-3o minute sessions) and 5th (io i5-3o minute
sessions) grade students who have received at least 2 years of previous interventions from our
program during K-3rd grades,who are not proficient or at risk of losing proficiency. i F"I'member
with Carnegie Stout Public Library will focus on phonemic awareness skill building with the DCSD
preschool programs. 3 QT members with St Mark Youth Enrichment will support literacy homework
help and social-emotional learning during the after-school programs at 3 Title i DCSD schools.
AmeriCorps members will use two specific interventions, LEAD 2i and Lexia, both of which are
critical to the success of the tutoring session. These interventions are curriculum used by the
classroom teacher and align with I owa's Common Core standards. I.EAD 2i is designed to foster
essential literacy skills and str�ategies, such as phonemic awareness, phonics, fluency and
comprehension. LEAD 2i provides systematic and explicit instruction as well as built-in differentiated
interventions specifically for Tier 2 students. Lexia provides all students a personalized, systematic,
structured approach in the following reading areas: phonological awareness, phonics, fluency, and
comprehension. It also provides differentiated interventions for Tier 2 students. Lexia's research
proven program targets skill gaps as they emerge and provides student-specific interventions through
Lexia Lessons. Lexia Lessons are scripted materials which allow each member to provide explicit,
multi-sensory interventions in a specific skill area. I.EAD 2i and Lexia intervention materials are
already created for our members,which means all members are provided with a specific script to
follow.
School-based AmeriCorps members will target 80o DCSD students with literacy needs who start our
tutoring program. The program defines start as a student who has at least io tutoring sessions with an
AmeriCorps member. Of the 80o students that our members start with, 500 (ED iA) will complete
the tutoring program. The program defines completion as a student who has 3o tutoring sessions
which equates to io weeks of the program with at least three sessions per week. Of those 500
students, 400 (ED 5A) will show steady progress toward grade level reading proficiency based upon
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fall and spring Formative Assessment System for Teachers (FAST) literacy assessment scores. The
program defines steady progress as improving by 1 or more FAST determined risk levels from the
studenYs fall to spring FAST assessment. Students who make steady progress from fall to spring are
more likely to read at grade level by 3rd grade.
During the summer,the program will combat summer learning loss by placing 26 Minimum Time
(MT) members in summer programs. AmeriCorps members will provide K-3rd grade students small
group or 1-1literacy supports and enrichment programming. Each site will also provide additional
literacy and enrichment interventions. Ten MT members will serve at DCSD's Summer Academy for
the 6 week program. Sis MT members will serve at Leisure Service Playground Explorations for the
ten week program. One MT member will serve at Carnegie-Stout Public Library for the 6 week
program. Sis MT members will serve at St Mark Youth Enrichment for the 6 week program. The
school year tutoring program, coupled with the summer literacy support and enrichment programs,
will ensure students read at grade level by 3rd grade.
EVIDENCE BASE
API L's program design is evidence informed and meets the preliminary tier level. Using an outside
evaluator, Dr. Rachel Daack PhD, of Clarke University,API L conducted an outcome evaluation of the
school-based portion of our literacy services which yielded positive results indicating the sustainability
of student gains in reading over time. The results of the process evaluation to determine stakeholder
perceptions of program delivery and student impacts were also positive, as are the student gains seem
based on our annual performance measure data.
The external outcome evaluation was conducted using a longitudinal cohort design during the 2018-
2oi9 program year for the 2oi'7-2o2o grant cycle. API L has seen steady, positive student growth
towards proficiency in annual performance measure results. I n 2oi4-2oi5, our first year,the
program saw a 6'7% improvement towards K-3rd grade reading proficiency, and in 2015-2016, the
program saw an 89% increase towards K-3rd grade reading proficiency. The steady improvement in
our program data led us to the two main questions for our external outcome evaluation, which were:
i) whether students at grade level by the end of third grade maintained growth to grade level through
fifth grade? and 2) whether students in the high and low-risk categories at the end of third grade grew
by fifth grade?
Complete data sets of FAST reading proficiency scores were available from DCSD for 2'76 of the 32i
individual students served by API L during the school year program. The data sets were of students
who were in 2nd grade in 2oi4-2oi5 or 3rd grade in 2oi5-2oi6 through the end of 5th grade and
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were included in the study. The evaluation results indicated that 52% of the iu students served that
completed 3rd grade at grade level in reading remained at grade level in fifth grade. Of the 96 students
with 'high risk'reading scores in 3rd grade, 5% had improved to grade level by 5th grade and nearly
30% improved by at least one risk level. Among the 69 students with 3rd grade 'some risk'scores, by
5th grade, 22% had improved to grade level and another 54% were able to maintain their 'some risk'
rating. Additionally, 36% of these students dropped to 'some risk'and i2% dropped all the way to 'high
risk'by fifth grade. The findings from the evaluation demonstrated that for most of the students we
served, reading gains were maintained or continued to improve through 5th grade. However, for a
portion of the students a decline was noted after 3rd grade and the end of APIL support. Taking this
research data into consideration, the program and DCSD has determined that that APIL will extend its
intervention model to provide limited target support to 4th and 5th grade students who received
interventions from our program during K-3rd grade in an effort to help students maintain or improve
their risk level.
The program conducted a process evaluation from March 2016 to November 2016. The two main
research questions were: i) I s the API L program being implemented consistently with the program's
logic model and theory of change and 2) Are program beneficiaries generally satisfied with the
program? The program utilized an outside evaluator to conduct and analyze focus groups, surveys
and data files. Surveys completed by the site supervisors showed i00% of the i2 respondents agreed
the interventions implemented by AmeriCorps members have helped children make progress in grade
level reading; 100% agreed AmeriCorps is positively contributing to K-3rd grade reading proficiency;
i00% agreed they were satisfied with the program overall; and 92% agreed the students tutored by
AmeriCorps members have more positive connections to school because of AmeriCorps members.
There were also very high responses to members'tr�aining, attitude and professionalism.
In the program's 2oi8-2oi9 school year,the program had 24 AmeriCorps members serve as
Academic Reading Tutors. Out of the i,o'78 K-3rd grade students served during the school year, 489
K-3rd grade Tier 2 students completed the tutoring program with the required dosage of three times
per week for i5-3o minutes each session, for a minimum of io weeks or 3o sessions over the course of
the school year. Of these 489 students,there were complete data sets for 4'7'7 students. Of the 4'7'7,
9'7% or 463 improved their FAST reading proficiency scores by at least io points, moving them toward
grade level proficiency as reported for Performance Measure EDSA.
During the Summer 2019, 199 students started the 6 week DCSD Summer Reading Academy,where
12 MT members served as academic and enrichment tutors. Based on FAST data, 56% of students
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improved by at least i risk level due to the summer program reading support they received, 3i% of
students remained at High Risk, i3% remained at some or low risk, and only i% of students declined a
risk level. Summer data from DCSD is meaningful to our program, because it shows that our program
is helping stem the summer learning loss issues among our districts most at-risk students. DCSD is
excited about the performance measurement and evaluation data, as both show students who
completed the API L AmeriCorps tutoring program during both the school year and summer program
had positive gains in their reading proficiency.
NOTICE PRIORITY
The APIL program doesn't fit with any 2020-2021 CNCS priority areas. However, the program does
fit with several of our State of Iowa priorities based on the ICVS State Service Plan: i) comprehensive
community str�ategy for Dubuque's Campaign for Grade Level Reading 2) engage underrepresented
populations and those that provide a high return on investment 3) address disparities with minority
populations 4) Governors priority areas of education, childcare and enrichment; and 5) actively
participate in the Iowa Disaster Cadre. The program fits with one of Iowa's priorities based on Iowa
Code. The program is an Iowa Reading Corps program providing data-based, models of literacy
instruction to tutor students from pre-k to 3rd grade who are not proficient in reading or who are at
risk of becoming not proficient in reading.
MEMBER EXPERIENCE
Member experience is a priority of our program. Development begins with the recruitrnent process
where the Director str�ategically recruits, interviews and places members from our community to the
site that is the best fit for each member. During their year of service, members are challenged to
develop personally and professionally. Members are supported and developed at their host site in
partnership with their site supervisors. The Director takes a personal, i-i approach with every member
to challenge them in different ways. This can include community presentations, mentoring other
members, applying for graduate school or leading service projects. Members also gain important
experiences through our Days of Service which are conducted in partnership with Dubuque's National
Service Partnership (DNSP), a collaboration of area national service members and programs. Through
National Days of Service and DSNP, members learn about their community, network with other
national service members, and participate in service opportunities.
Members are provided i2 hours of orientation consisting of general information on the Corporation
for National and Community Service (CNCS),AmeriCorps and the Iowa Commission on Volunteer
Service (ICVS). The program reviews member's rights and responsibilities, code of conduct, prohibited
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activities, Drug Free Workplace Act, grievance procedures, suspension and termination procedures,
sexual harassment and discrimination policies. Members review and sign the Member Service
Agreement which includes the review of the National Criminal History Background Check,prohibited
activities and grievance procedure. Members are trained on data collection, time sheets, and other
program specific information.Additionally, members participate in 4 hours of communication
tr�aining through a low/high ropes course to provide individual and team challenges, as well as 2i
hours of tr�aining, spread out over monthly meetings,focused on Diversity, Equity and Inclusion,
ensuring that members are able to provide the best support to students from different cultures and
backgrounds. DCSD tr�ains members on Tier 2 students, professionalism, confidentiality, LEAD 2i
curriculum, and Lexia interventions. Members are provided intensive on-site training and orientation
at their host site. Finally, all members develop and present a reflection project during our End of
Service Ceremony and Life After AmeriCorps Training.
Organizational Capability
ORGANIZATIONAL BACKGROUND AND STAFFING
API L has been sponsored by the City of Dubuque since 200'7. The City of Dubuque is a Municipal
Corporation governed by an elected mayor and six-member council. The City relies on its expert
personnel to plan and implement the grant and provides in-kind administr�ation, personnel and fiscal
support. The City Council reviews the grant and budget documents each year. The AmeriCorps
Director, Heather Satterly, a 3-term AmeriCorps alum, has been the Director for 2 years in addition to
working in I owa AmeriCorps Grant Management for 3 years. Kim Stickney, also an AmeriCorps
alum, has been the AmeriCorps Assistant for io years. She organizes and maintains key program
paperwork such as Background Checks and Data Collection Submissions. Marie Ware, Leisure
Services Department Manager, oversees the activities of the AmeriCorps Director and members. Marie
has been directly and indirectly involved with grant award management for over twenty-five years for
three cities and a non-profit agency. Arielle Swift,Assistant Public Works Director,previously our
Accountant, has overseen the fiscal responsibilities of the program since 2oi5. Jennifer Raber, Finance
Manager, & Jennifer Larson, Finance and Budget Director, have been training since Apri12oi9, and
will continue to be supported by Arielle.
COMPLIANCE AND ACCOUNTABILITY
API L strongly believes in compliance and accountability. The program prides itself in having a
reputation as a high functioning,low risk program and has a complete plan for compliance and
accountability. The Director ensures site supervisors and host sites fully understand the prohibited
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activities, non-duplication and non-displacement guidelines, and all other rules and regulations
through service agreements and tr�aining. The Director also conducts at least two site visits a year, as
well as a mid-term review to ensure rules and regulations are being followed. The Director keeps lines
of communications open between members and site supervisors to ensure compliance and
accountability. The Director monitors the activities being performed through ongoing communication
with members and site supervisors. The Director can visit any site, at any time without prior
appointment. Should a compliance issue be suspected or arise, the Director holds a meeting with all
parties involved to review guidelines and design a corrective action plan. If compliance issues continue
to be a concern the members are removed from their assigned placement until the site can ensure all
activities fall within the AmeriCorps guidelines. If compliance issues are not corrected, or re-appear,
the Director will no longer place members at the host site. Lastly, the program manages and
implements its program with limited compliance issues. Our staff takes CNCS' Criminal History
Record Check very seriously as well as the following program management policies: time sheets, in
kind documentation,position descriptions, Member Service Agreements, Host Site Agreements,
mandatory training requirements, corrective action forms, midterm and end of year evaluations,
grievance, termination of service, drug free workplace, sexual harassment, prohibited activities and
unallowable activities. Our systems follow this cyclical pattern: follow, monitor, review and update to
detect instances of risk or noncompliance. The AmeriCorps Director runs all background checks on
members.As these checks are completed, the Director completes the ICVS NSCHC Document
Checklist and attaches it to copies of all Background checks. Additionally, copies of all checks are kept
in the member electronic file, as well as in a hard copy format. The AmeriCorps Assistant reviews all
background checks to ensure compliance. The Director and Assistant conduct member and staff file
audits twice a year and works closely with its expert fiscal staff to ensure compliance.
CULTURE THAT VALUES LEARNING
API L, as part of the City of Dubuque, believes in creating an equitable community of choice by being
a data-driven & outcome focused high performance government built on four pillars: Equity,
Resiliency, Sustainability and Compassion. The City of Dubuque City Council develops and sets goals,
policy agenda top priorities and high priorities, as well as management agenda top priorities and high
priorities based on the City mission and vision statements. These goals and priorities set the tone and
expectations of the City government plan for the next 2 years, driving each department and division
within the organization to collect data, measure performance, and continually strive to create
meaningful impact for community members. All departments,including APIL, have performance
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measures that connect to the City goals and priorities. Data is collected on a regular basis and reported
annually to the City Council and the community in the City annual budget review process. During
this budget review process, all departments present the updates to performance measures and impacts
to the City Council for a decision on the next years budget and goals.
MEMBER SUPERVISION
All of our members receive two layers of supervision. First, every host site designates a site supervisor.
Each site supervisor provides daily supervision to their members and conducts biweekly, i-i meetings
with each of their members for clear guidance. Site supervisors also provide on-site training as
described previously and observations by the site supervisor to ensure accurate interventions. Second,
the Director serves as an added level of supervision for all members. The Director meets regularly with
each member to discuss progress and ensure member activities fall within allowable activities. The
Director has an open door policy and members may contact via in-person meeting, email,phone, or
text at any time for any reason. Each site supervisor is tr�ained by the Director. Training occurs before
members arrive on site and are completed in person, i-i, as well as in recorded webinar format to
review overall program changes. The site supervisor tr�aining consists of an overview of the CNCS and
ICVS, member responsibilities, supervisor responsibilities and host site agreements,in-kind match
documentation, time sheets, data collection,prohibited activities and unallowable activities including
nonduplication and nondisplacement. Site supervisors can contact the Director with
questions/concerns at any time.
The AmeriCorps brand is a high priority for our program. All members receive apparel and a photo id,
both with the AmeriCorps logo. Members are required to wear their photo id at all times during
service and are required to wear their AmeriCorps logo apparel at least once per week or more
frequently if participating in a community event. All host sites are provided an "AmeriCorps Members
Serve Here"sign and display it in a prominent location.
Cost Effectiveness and Budget Adequacy
SEE BUDGET.
Evaluation Summary or Plan
API L EVALUATI ON PLAN
PROGRAM BACKGROUND/PROGRAM MODEL
AmeriCorps Partners in Learning Program (APIL) has been extremely successful in its 2o years of
operation, i3 of which have been under the leadership of the City of Dubuque. The program has
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always focused around education, however, the current iteration of APIL focuses on ensuring students
read at grade level by 3rd grade and targeting students with literacy needs. The programs success in
the Dubuque community is apparent in the over'75o AmeriCorps alumni giving over 450,00o hours
of service in our community.
The AmeriCorps Partners in Learning Program has become an important part of the schools served.
The AmeriCorps Program has partnered with the Dubuque Community School District to formulate a
program that continues to place AmeriCorps members in elementary schools at the Kindergarten, 1st,
2nd and 3rd grade level. The School District provides tr�aining to the AmeriCorps members that aligns
with the curriculum taught in the schools. By creating this focus,we have moved the needle with our
AmeriCorps program and members and will continue these efforts.
SCOPE AND PURPOSE OF CURRENT EVALUATION
As a Grantee receiving Corporation funds of less than $500,00o annually,AmeriCorps Partners in
Learning is required to conduct a process evaluation. However,APIL has decided to again go beyond
the minimum to conduct an external impact evaluation of its school year reading tutoring program.
The evaluation will replicate the longitudinal cohort design that was used for the 2oi'7-2o2o grant
cycle and add an additional component to determine if students who have received multiple years of
reading interventions from the AmeriCorps program during K-3rd grade maintain or improve their
reading proficiency by the 5th grade at the same or higher rates than students only served for a single
year.
The purpose of this evaluation is to better understand the sustainability of API L AmeriCorps reading
tutoring over time. The findings of the evaluation will help our AmeriCorps Program learn and grow
to better support our students. Our intent, as a program and a partner in a community impact model,
is to determine how effective our program is and to use this information to drive enhancements to our
processes and procedures and inform future decision-making for our community.
THEORY OF CHANGE
Dubuque Community School DistricYs (DCSD) students are not reading at grade level by 3rd grade.
Data from DCSD's FAST (Formative Reading Assessment System for Teachers) and Certified Annual
Enrollment provide us with current literacy rates. I n Fa112oi9, 36% of all DCSD 3rd grade students
were not reading at grade level. I n Fa112oi9, 56% of DCSD 2nd grade students, 53% of ist grade
students and 59% of Kindergarten students, were not reading at grade level. Overall,in the Fall of
2oi9� 39% of DCSD K-3rd grade students, or approximately 2,999 students, were not reading at grade
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level.
The long term academic ramifications for students who do not read at grade level by 3rd grade are
great. According to the Campaign for Grade Level Reading, reading by 3rd grade is a critical milestone
in a child's academic success. Before 3rd grade, students learn how to read. After 3rd grade, students
tr�ansition from learning how to read, to reading to learn.According to a study by researchers,
students who couldn't read at grade level by 3rd grade continued to fall further behind their peers after
3rd grade (McNamara, J.K., Scissons, M, and Gutknecth, N; 2011). In addition, a 2012 study by the
Annie E. Casey Foundation states children who do not read proficiently by the end of third grade are
four times less likely to graduate from high school on time than proficient readers. These ramifications
are serious for both the individual student and the community.
Our integrated, comprehensive,two pronged approach will ensure students with literacy needs read at
grade level by the end of 3rd grade. The first approach consists of a school year program where
members provide 1-1 or small group literacy interventions to str�uggling readers. Each session will
occur at least three times per week for i5-3o minutes for a minimum of io weeks or 3o sessions and
until the student has been reassessed and results show the child performing at grade level.
Additionally, members will be providing limited targeted support to 4th (2o i5-3o minute sessions)
and 5th (io i5-3o minute
sessions) grade students who received interventions from our program during K-3rd who are not
proficient or at risk of losing proficiency.
The second approach consists of a summer program where members provide i-i or small group
literacy support and enrichment activities. This year-round approach ensures students continue to
build on their grade level reading efforts from the school year through the summer months.
OUTCOME OF INTEREST
The outcome of interest underlying this impact evaluation is that students with literacy needs who
receive API L interventions will improve their reading proficiency as a result of the interventions
provided by the API L AmeriCorps members. This impact evaluation will study the FAST Assessment
scores of students who have receivedAmeriCorps Interventions during their K-3rd grade years and
the FAST Assessment scores of the same students after they have completed 5th grade.
EVALUATION RESEARCH QUESTIONS
The impact evaluation will address the following three research questions:
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i) Do students supported by APIL who reach grade level reading proficiency by the end of third grade
maintain growth to grade level through fifth grade?
2) Do students who receive multiple years of support by API L improve or maintain proficiency
through fifth grade at a higher rate than students supported for only one year?
3) Do students supported by API L who remain in the high and some-risk categories at the end of third
grade maintain their risk level by fifth grade?
EVALUATION DESIGN
API L proposes to use a longitudinal cohort design to tr�ack changes in student reading proficiency over
time. The str�engths of this design include being able to utilize existing FAST data collected by our
program and Dubuque Community School District, as well as data that will be collected during the
2oi9-2o20 5th grade Spring FAST Assessment. The Dubuque Community School District conducts
these evaluations, holds the data, and regularly analyzes this data, ensuring that the evaluation results
will be produced with high reliability and validity.Another str�ength of this impact evaluation design is
that our program will be replicating the same design that was conducted for the 201'7-202o grant
competition. This allows our program to analyze new variables and also allows our program to build a
long-term research plan with this design. One of the downsides of this design is that it can take several
years acquire the data and some students may not complete 5th grade with the DCSD, which can
reduce the final number of complete data sets to review. While this is a limitation, the positives of this
design significantly outweigh the negatives. Our program will be able to utilize this long-term data to
make changes to our program design and effectiveness.
DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS PLAN.
API L utilizes the results of the Formative Assessment System for Teachers (FAST),the state-wide
mandated reading assessment used by Dubuque Community School District for all K-5th grade
students to determine reading proficiency. The DCSD instr�uctional coaches (who are also the
AmeriCorps Site Supervisors) conduct the FAST Assessment three times each year. Much of the data
for this evaluation has been collected, checked and processed in previous years by both the DCSD and
the program for yearly performance measures while students were being served during their K-3rd
grade years. Data is collected in the same way for every program year to ensure accuracy and
consistency. Each program years data is held by the program to allow for the program to compare
which students are seen for multiple years. The program will only pull student data for students who
met dosage and duration requirements of our program. The API L Director sends DCSD a list of
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students who have completed the programs dosage and duration requirements. The DCSD reviews the
students spring FAST scores and risk levels for both 3rd and 5th grade and then cleans this data of all
Personal Identifiable I nformation of the students and provides the risk levels for 3rd and 5th grade
and the total number of years the students were served by API L to our external evaluator to analyze
how many students improved, maintained or declined from their 3rd grade FAST risk level to their 5th
grade FAST risk level using a multivariate regression model. Our evaluator analyzes this quantitative
data and aggregates it into a report for our AmeriCorps Program and DCSD, looking for themes,
concerns, or outliers.
EVALUATO R Q UALI FI CATI O NS
Dr. Rachel Daack, PhD, of Clarke University, will work closely with the Program Director to develop
and execute our impact evaluation. Dr. Daack has a BA in Global Studies, a MA in Geography and a
PhD in Interdisciplinary Studies and currently served as a Professor of Sociology at Clarke University
in Dubuque, IA. Dr. Daack has prior experience with APIL, as she conducted both the Outcome
Evaluation (2oi8-2oi9) and Process Evaluation (2oi5-2oi6). Dr. Daack also provides evaluation
services to several community organizations, which includes St Mark Youth Enrichment and the
Dubuque Dream Center, which support the Dubuque Campaign for Grade-Level Reading I nitiative,
making her an ideal evaluator for our program.
Heather Satterly is a 3-term AmeriCorps alum, and has been the AmeriCorps Director of the City of
Dubuques AmeriCorps Partners in Learning Program for 2 years. Heather has a BS degree in
Recreation, Parks and Tourism Administr�ation with an emphasis on Recreation Therapy from
Western Illinois University. Heather has also worked for another competitively funded Iowa
AmeriCorps Program as a Program Manager for 3 years. She organizes and maintains Student logs
and Data Collection Submissions from AmeriCorps Members and handles the compilation of all
member-student intervention data.
Tammy Duehr is the Lead I nstructional Coach and the K-5th grade Language Arts Coordinator for
the Dubuque Community School District. Tammy has been an educator for the past 28 years. She has
a BS in Elementary Education and Early Childhood Education from Clarke University and a MS in
Reading from Southern Connecticut State University. She was a first and second grade classroom
teacher for 2o years and has held her current positions for the past 8 years. As one of her job
responsibilities, she is always involved with student data. DCSD currently uses FastBridge as their
literacy screener. Gathering, analyzing, and interpreting FAST data is something DCSD does three
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times each year. Tammy is responsible for pulling all the data off the FastBridge system and
organizing it for the district and for individual schools to analyze and make instr�uctional decisions.
Tammy has participated in State meetings to learn about FAST and has the support of Keystone AEA
when working with FAST data.
BUDGET
Line Item Total Year 1 Year 2 Year 3 Notes
Staffing (Evaluator) $3,000 $i,000 $i,000 $i,000 $5o/hr @ 2o hours
Staffing (DCSD) $3,480 $i,i6o $i,i6o $i,i6o $58/hour @ 2o hours
Budget Total $6,480 $2,160 $2,160 $2,160
TIMELINE
In 2o2o-2i(Year One), program staff will begin to pull student data of students who have only
received services for one year in Qi. In Q2, program staff will provide a finalized list of students served
for only one year to DCSD and DCSD will begin to pu113rd grade and 5th grade FAST scores, risk level,
race, gender and Free-Reduced Lunch status. I n Q3, DCSD staff will provide the cleaned data to our
external evaluator,who will begin the analysis. Program staff will begin to pull student names who
were served for multiple years. In Qi of Year'I�vo (2o2i-2o22), program staff will finalize the list of
students who received AmeriCorps services for multiple years during K-3rd grade and will provide the
list of students to DCSD. In Q2 and Q3, DCSD will begin to pu113rd grade and 5th grade FAST scores,
risk level, race, gender and Free-Reduced Lunch status. I n Q3, DCSD staff will provide the cleaned
data to our external evaluator, who will begin the analysis. Data will be analyzed and a report will
prepared for the final evaluation report in Qi of Year Three (2022-2023) for submission with our next
recompete application due to CNCS in January 2023. The Evaluator, Program Staff and DCSD staff
will meet together to review the report to determine a post-evaluation action plan to drive decision
making for continuous improvements to reading interventions, delivery methods, member tr�aining,
and/or management systems will be developed.
Amendment Justification
N/A
Clarification Summary
N/A
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Continuation Changes
N/A
Grant Characteristics
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Page 16
DI
Performance Measures
�isr.ovFo��u a,e� msr.o. oqa�m�
• •
•Ea.o,�o..i3.ia •tii_n.00.si3 ia
Tablel'. MSVsbyFocusAreas Table2M5Vsby06feNves
EtlucaYon 100°0 � K-125uccess � 100°0
,b ot�1�91' NPA1 V9 App&am V�9 Not u„WY'
Table3'. °oMSVs by NPM vs.Appllcantvs. Notln ANV
PM ppllcant otin
0 0°0
TableQ'. Noo� MSVantlMembersby06�eNve
�K-125uccess � 13.18 � 0.9I
P�imery FomSH�ee: EtlucaYon
P�imery Ntevantion: TUNtlng
Samndsry Foms Hree:
Samndsry Ntevantion:
foromneiu:ory
DRAFT
Performance Measure: Tutoring K-3 grade students in Reading
Focus Education Objective: K-12 Success No of 13.18 No of qg
a.�: MSY's Members:
Problem Statement:
Dubuque Communily School District's students are notreading atgrade level by 3rd grade. There are a few
challenges ihat create ihis problem. First, is poverly. Sludents living in poverly are more likely to be
unprepared for kindergarten. Research shows children from low income homes have limited exposure to
reading and vocabulary in ihe early years which can result in persistent academic challenges in
elementary school. Second, is summer leaming loss. Research spanning 100 years has proven sludents
lose ground academically when ihey are outofschool for ihe summer. Therefore, ihe purpose of
AmeriCorps Pariners in Leaming is a lwo pronged program.
During the school year, members lutor K-3rd grade students with literacy needs in ihe elementary schools
in reading to ensure students read atgrade level by 3rd grade. Sludents will be identified as having a
literacy need based upon their scores with the lowa FAST testing. 5 ofihe 13 elementary schools have a
majorily ofsludents who are eligible for free or reduced lunch. Sludents lutored atihese 5 schools are
considered economically disadvantaged. The remaining 8 schools have free or reduced lunch rates of
33%, 22%, 29%, 35%, 28%, 21%, 26% and 29%.
During the summer, members spend 50% ofiheir time lutoring K-3rd grade students with literacy needs who
are enrolled in a summer program in reading to combatihe summer slide. Students lutored in ihe summer
will be identified as having a literacy need based upon their scores with the lowa FAST testing. 5 ofthe 13
elementary schools have a majorily of students who are eligible for free or reduced lunch. Sludents who
attend one ofihese 5 schools are considered economically disadvantaged. The remaining 8 schools have
free or reduced lunch rates of33%, 22%, 29%, 35%, 28%, 21%, 26% and 29%.
Selected Interventions:
Tutoring
Describe Interventions:
During the school year, 11 RHT and 11 MT lutor K-3rd grade, Tier 2 students identifed through ihe Multi—Tier
System of Supports in reading in small groups or one on one at least ihree times per week for 15-30
minutes each session for a minimum of 10 weeks or 30 sessions and until the child has been reassessed
and results show ihe child performing atgrade level. Research shows lutoring sessions for Tier 2
sludents mustbe atleastihree times a week for 15-30 minutes to be effective. 30 sessions equates to 10
weeks ofour program ifsessions are atleastihree times per weekfor 10weeks. Research shows 10
weeks is sufficientto see academic gains in ihe school year. Materials used complementclassroom
curriculum.
Members are trained on data collection processes during orientation and by DCSD attheir on—site
trainings. The program's dosage and duration are revisited to reinforce lutoring sessions are occurring
according to the program's standards. The program uses strong data collection tools to collect information
for our ouq�ut (ED1A). Each member is given a sludent log to collect sludents' name, teacher, grade and
number ofsessions for each intervention used. The members send iheir data to ihe Director and Assistant,
biweekly, where ihey analyze ihe data, ensure accuracy, and organizes ihe data by school and member.
The program sends the collected data to ihe site supervisor quarterly to analyze for accuracy and
progress to targeted ouq�uts and outcomes. The program has an agreement with DCSD to get literacy data
on ihe sludents we serve in a timely manner. In the spring, the Director sends DCSD a listofstudents who
completed the program. DCSD compares the completed sludents' Tall and spring reading assessments and
analyzes how many sludents improved from Tall to spring FAST Assessment. DCSD provides ihe program
with each school's number and percentofsludents who improved.
ED1A Output:
ED1A: Number of individuals served
Target: 500 I n d ivid u a I s
Measured By. Tracking System
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DRAFT
Performance Measure: Tutoring K-3 grade students in Reading
Problem Statement:
S�l�ed�nteroentions:
Described Instrument: Members will record ihe name and school ofeach sludentwho starts the
school year program on ihe StudentAttendance Log. The listofsludentnames
will be cross referenced to ensure no student is counted lwice. Members will
trackeach sludent's individual lutoring session on the SludentAttendance Log.
Sessions must be one on one or small group and 15-30 minutes at least 3
times per week. Sludents who startour program and have a literacy need will
be counted in ihis measure. Students will be identified as having a literacy
need based upon their scores with the lowa FAST testing.
Members will record ihe number oflutoring sessions completed for each
student Each session mustmeetthe requirementofone on one or small group
for at least 15-30 minutes. For our school year program, sludents who have
received at least 30lutoring sessions and have a literacy need will be counted
as having completed ihe school year program. Sludents will be identified as
having a literacy need based upon iheir scores with ihe lowa FAST testing.
EDSA Outcome:
ED5A: Number of sludents with improved academic performance
Target: 400 Sludents
Measured By. Standardized Test
Described Instrument: During our school year program, in the fall sludents take a standardized,
district—approved pre—test in reading titled Formative Assessment System for
Teachers (FAST). FAST aligns with ihe materials being
used in our lutoring program and is appropriate for K-3rd grade. FAST has
demonstrated reliabilily and validily for K-3rd grade sludents. FAST will be
administered to sludents in ihe spring atihe end ofthe school year. Sludents
who complete our school year program (30 sessions or more), who have a
literacy need and who improve in their risk level from the Tall to spring FAST
assessmentwill be counted under ihis measure. Students will be identified as
having a literacy need based upon iheir scores and risk level with the lowa
FAST testing. A change in risk level is significant because ihe FAST expects
students to grow by a risk level. Therefore, if struggling sludents , ihey are
showing greatgrowih from Tall to spring.
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Program Information
AmeriCorps Funding Priorities
*Check any priorily area(s) ihat apply to ihe proposed program. In order to No NOFO Priorily Area
receive priorily consideration, applicants mustdemonstrate ihatihe priorily
area is a significantpartofihe program focus, high qualily program design,
and outcomes.
Grant Characteristics
*Check any grant characteristic(s) ihat apply to ihe proposed program. None of ihe above grant
characteristics
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DRAFT
Demographics
Other Revenue Funds 0
Number ofvolunteers generated by AmeriCorps members 100
Ed Priorily: Enter row number (1-13) of intervention in Education Evidence Brief(enter 0 for N/A) 0
EO Priorily: Enter row number (1-4) of intervention in Econ Opp Evidence Brief(enter 0 for N/A) 0
HF Priorily: Enter row number (1�) of intervention in Healihy F. Evidence Brief(enter 0 for N/A) 0
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Required Documents
Document Name Status
Evaluation Sent
Federally Approved Indirect Cost Agreement Not Applicable
Labor Union Concurrence Not Applicable
Other pocuments Sent
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Page 22
Logic Model
Problem Inputs Adivities Outputs Short-Term Mid-Term Long-Term
Outcomes Outcomes Outcomes
The communily Resources ihat The core activities Directproducts Changes in Changes in Changes in
problem ihatthe are necessary to ihat define ihe from program knowledge, skills, behavior or action. condition or stalus
program activities deliver the intervention or activities. attiludes and Depending on in life. Depending
(interventions) are program activities program model opinions. These program design, on program
designed to (interventions), ihatmembers will outcomes, if ihese outcomes design, ihese
address. including ihe implementor applicable to ihe may or may notbe outcomes may or
number of deliver, including program design, measurable during may not be
locations/sites duration, dosage will almostalways ihe grantyear. measurable during
and number/lype and target be measurable ihe grantyear.
ofAmeriCorps population. during ihe grant Some programs,
members. year. such as
environmental or
capacily—bu ilding
programs, may
measure changes
in condition over a
period as short as
one year.
Dubuque School Year 1-1 and small 500 students with 400 ofihe 500 Children read at Children stay on
Communily School Program group reading literacy needs will sludents with grade level by ihe grade level for
Districtsludents do (September lutoring to K-3rd complete our literacy needs who end ofihird grade middle and high
notread atgrade ihrough May) grade, tier 2 lutoring program complete our school years.
level by 3rd grade, 11 RHT and 11 MT sludents identified (National program will Children graduate
making ihem four AmeriCorps ihrough ihe Multi— Performance improve by 1 risk high school.
times less likely to Members Tier System Measure ED1A) level as measured
graduate on time. 11 Elementary Supports (MTSS). by ihe FAST
Schools within Administered at Assessmentwhen
Dubuque leastthree times comparing fall to
Communily School per week for 15-30 spring scores
District minutes each (National
1 FT atCamegie session for a Performance
Stout Public minimum of 10 Measure ED5A)
Library weeks or 30
3 QT at St Mark sessions and until
Youth Enrichment ihe child has been
reassessed and
Summer Program results show ihe
(June ihrough child performing at
August) grade level.
23 MT AmeriCorps
Members in total
6 MT at Leisure
Page 23
Logic Model
Problem Inputs Adivities Outputs Short-Term Mid-Term Long-Term
Outcomes Outcomes Outcomes
Services
Playground
Program
1 MT at Camegie
Stout Public
Library
6 MT at St. Mark
Youth Enrichment
10 MT at DCSD
Summer Academy
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Page 24
RPT_BGT_424
Decerrber 13, 2019 5:14 PM
City of Dubuque AmeriCorps Partners in Learning Program
City of Dubuque
Application ID: 20AC220460 Budget Dates:
Total Amt CNCS Share Grentee Share
Section I.Progrem Opereting Costs
A. Personnel Eepenses 63,738 55,000 8,738
B. Personnel Fringe Benefits 27,243 25,694 1,549
C.Travel
Staff Travel 1,580 0 1,580
Travel to CNCS-Sponsored Meetings 779 0 779 0
Member Travel
Total $2,359 $0 $2,359
D. Equipment
E.Supplies 6,274 2,800 3,474
F.Contrectual and Consultant Services 3Q370 0 3Q370
G.Training
Staff Training 1,000 0 1,000
Member Training 2,670 0 2,670
Total $3,670 $0 $3,670
H. Evaluation 2,160 0 2,160
I. Other Rogram Opereting Costs 5,660 3,656 2,004
Section I.Subtotal $141,474 $87,150 $54,324
Section I Percentage 62% 38%
Section II.Member Costs
A. Living Allow ance
Full Tme(1700 hrs) 16,150 0 16,150
1-Year Half Time(900 hours) 0 0 0
Reduced Half Tme(675 hrs) 7Q543 3Q543 4Q000
Quarter Time(450 hrs) 12,825 6,075 6,750
Minirrum Tme(300 hrs) 96,900 43,700 53,200
2-Year Half Time(2nd Year) 0 0 0
2-Year Half Time(1st Year) 0 0 0
Three Quarter Time(1200 hours) 0 0 0
Total $196,418 $8Q318 $116,100
B. Member Support Costs
FICA for Members 15,026 15,026 0
Worker's Compensation 6,285 6,285 0
Health Care 4,800 4,800 0
Total $26,111 $26,111 $0
Section II.Subtotal $222,529 $106,429 $116,100
Section II.Percentages 48% 52%
Section III.Administretive/Indirect Costs
A.Corporetion Fixed F�rcentage
CorporetionFixedAmount 42,509 6,109 36,400
Commission Fixed Amount 4,073 4,073 0
Total $46,582 $1Q182 $36,400
B. Federally Approved Indirect Cost Rate
Section III.Subtotal $46,582 $10,182 $36,400
Section III Percentage 22% 78%
Section I+III.Funding Percentages 52% 48%
Budget Totals $410,585 $203,761 $206,824
Budget Total Percentage 50% 50%
Required Match 50%
#of years Receiving CNCS Funds 14
Form 424A Modified SF-424A(4/88 and 12/97)
Page 1
RPT_BGT_424
Decerrber 13, 2019 5:14 PM
City of Dubuque AmeriCorps Partners in Learning Program
City of Dubuque
Total MSYs 13.18
Cost/MSY $15,460
Total Amt CNCS Share Grentee Share
Budget Totals $0 $0 $0
Budget Total Percentage 0% 0%
Required Match 50%
#of years Receiving CNCS Funds 14
Total MSYs 13.18
Form 424A Modified SF-424A(4/88 and 12/97)
Page 2
1 2/1 32 01 9 Budget Narretive for 20AC220460
Budget Narrative: City of Dubuque AmeriCorps Partners in Learning Program for City of
Dubuque
Section I. Program Operating Costs
A. Personnel Expenses
PositionRtle-Qty-AnnualSalary-%Time CNCSShare GranteeShare TotalAmount
AmeriCorps Director:- 1 person(s)at 67100 each x 83.61 %usage 55,000 1,102 56,102
AmeriCorps Assistant:- 1 person(s)at 20363 each x 37.5%usage � 7,636 7,636
CATEGORY Totals 55,000 8,738 63,738
B. Personnel Fringe Benefits
Purpose-Calculation CNCS Share Grantee Share Total Amount
Program Director: Health$14,310+�4/orkers Comp�.032=$1,796+ FICA� p5,694 � 25,694
.0765=$4292+ IPERS�.0944=$5296
Program Assistant:Workers Comp�.032=$244+ FICA� .0765=$584+ � 1,549 1,549
IPERS�.0944=$721
CATEGORY Totals 25,694 1,549 27,243
C. Travel
Staff Travel
Purpose-Calculation CNCS Share Grantee Share Total Amount
Travel to CNCS-Sponsored Meetings: Director travel to 1 CNCS Sponsored � 779 779
meeting:$229 airfare,$400 in hotel,meal=$50 per day diem x 3 days=$150
Travel to ICVS sponsored meeting: ICVS(Director travel to ICVS sponsored
meeting:2 Trips to Des Moines�450 miles each=900 miles x.58 per mile 0 1,000 1,000
(City of Dubuque policy approved mileage reimbursement rete)_$522;$50
per day diem x 3 days$150;$328 for 3 night in hotel)
Director's Travel: Director Travel(Mileage for site supervision for 18 site visits,
60 midterm reviews, and service projects,x 1000 miles per year x.58 per mile 0 580 580
(City of Dubuque policy approved mileage reimbursement rete)=$580.)
CATEGORY Totals � 2,359 2,359
Member Travel
Purpose-Calculation CNCS Share Grantee Share Total Amount
CATEGORY Totals ���
D. Equipment
Item/Purpose-Qty-Unit Cost CNCS Share Grantee Share Total Amount
CATEGORY Totals ���
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E. Supplies
Item-Calculation CNCS Share Grantee Share Total Amount
Member Gear with AmeriCorps Logo: Member gear w/AmeriCorps logo
(Uniforms-polo shirts for school based program members,22 x$40=$88Q t- 0 1,530 1,530
shirts for summer based program 27 x$15=$405,name tags$5 x 49
members=$245; all with AmeriCorps logo)
Copy machine maintenance and supplies:Ccopy machine$456 quarterly,
offce supplies(paper,ink,toner,pens, pencils,post-it notes)$10 per month x 0 1,944 1,944
12=$120
AmeriCorps Program Technology Replacement:AmeriCorps Director Tech
Replacement cost and timeline per Host Org Tech Replacement Policy(Yr 1: 2,800 0 2,800
Director Laptop Computer+2 monitors, Mouse&keyboard$2800)
CATEGORY Totals 2,800 3,474 6,274
F. Contractual and Consultant Services
Purpose-Calculation-Daily Rate CNCS Share Grantee Share Total Amount
Member Development: 1 DCSD employees hourly wage and benefts for 40
hours of training&evaluation =$58 X 40.Trainings include Reading 0 2,320 2,320
Stretegies, LEAD 21 curriculum, assessing students,data processing.Approx
20 days provided over the year.-Daily Rate of 58
Member Supervision: 3 hours of direct member supervisioniWeek per member � 28,050 28,050
for 34 weeks by 11 DCSD staff�a minimum of$25/hour-Daily Rate of 25
CATEGORY Totals � 3Q370 3Q370
G. Training
Staff Training
Purpose-Calculation-Daily Rate CNCS Share Grantee Share Total Amount
Program Director training: Program director attendance at conferences
required by the program sponsor:8 trainings x$75 registretion,$50 per day 0 1,000 1,000
diem x 8=1000-Daily Rate of 125
CATEGORY Totals � 1,000 1,000
Member Training
Purpose-Calculation-Daily Rate CNCS Share Grantee Share Total Amount
Member Development/Communication:4 Mounds Team
Building/communication training;2 trainings per year at$600 each=$1200- 0 1,200 1,200
Daily Rate of 600
Member Orientation and ongoing training: Member Orientation(Portfolios,
handbooks, printed materials and other training supplies as needed.$30 x 49
members=1470.3 day orientation training for fall and summer members. 0 1,470 1,470
Ongoing monthly training for both fall and summer members.)-Daily Rate of
30
CATEGORY Totals � 2,670 2,670
H. Evaluation
������
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IPurpose-Calculation-Daily Rate I CNCS Share Grantee Share Total Amount
Program Evaluation to support AmeriCorps program Evaluation Plan: Program
Evaluation conducted by outside evaluator($50/hr for 20 hours=$1,000)-Daily 0 1,000 1,000
Rate of 50
DCSD Data Processing for AmeriCorps Program Evaluation: 1 DCSD
employees hourly wage and benefts for 20 hours of training&evaluation= 0 1,160 1,160
$58 X 20. Data collection and processing of raw data to be evaluated by
outside evaluator- Daily Rate of 58
CATEGORY Totals � 2,160 2,160
I. Other Program Operating Costs
Purpose-Calculation CNCS Share Grantee Share Total Amount
Criminal History Background Checks: Background Checks(54 x$54 each=
2916. Includes FBI,state of residence and state of service checks for 49 p,g16 0 2,916
members and 5 site summer supervisors. No funds budgeted for 2 program
staff-no expected turn-over.
Site Liabilitiy Insurance:$500 flat rete � 500 500
Member Timekeeping System: Member Timekeeping System($16 x 49 � 784 784
members=$784)
AmeriCorps Director Cell Phone: Program Director cell phone/Ipad combo$60
x 12=$720(negotiated rete per sponsor); For AmeriCorps Program/Staff use 0 720 720
only.
Member Assistance Program(MAP): Member Assistance Program from ASC- 740 � 740
$250 Enrollment+$10 x 49=$740
CATEGORY Totals 3,656 2,004 5,660
SECTION Totals 87,150 54,324 141,474
PERCENTAGE 62% 38% �
Section II. Member Costs
A. Living Allowance
Item-#Mbrs w/Allow-Allowance Rate-#Mbrs w/o Allow CNCS Share Grantee Share Total Amount
Full Time(1700 hrs): 1 Member(s)at a rete of 16150 each � 16,150 16,150
Members W/O allowance 0
1-Year Half Time(900 hours):0 Member(s)at a rete of 0 each ���
Members W/O allowance 0
2-Year Half Time(1 st Year): Member(s)at a rete of each ���
Members W/O allowance
2-Year Half Time(2nd Year): Member(s)at a rete of each ���
Members W/O allowance
Reduced Half Time(675 hrs): 11 Member(s)at a rete of 6413 each 3Q543 4Q000 7Q543
Members W/O allowance 0
Quarter Time(450 hrs):3 Member(s)at a rete of 4275 each 6,075 6,750 12,825
Members W/O allowance 0
Minimum Time(300 hrs):34 Member(s)at a rete of 2850 each 43,700 53,200 96,900
Members W/O allowance 0
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Three Quarter Time(1200 hours): Member(s)at a rete of each ���
Members W/O allowance
CATEGORY Totals 8Q318 116,100 196,418
B. Member Support Costs
Purpose-Calculation CNCS Share Grantee Share Total Amount
FICA for Members: .0765 X 196418=$15,026 15,026 � 15,026
Worker's Compensation: .032 x 196418=6285 6,285 � 6,285
Health Care:$400*12/FT member=4800 4,800 � 4,800
CATEGORY Totals 26,111 � 26,111
SECTION Totals 106,429 116,100 222,529
PERCENTAGE 48% 52% �
Section III. Administrative/Indirect Costs
A. Corporation Fixed Percentage
Item-Calculation CNCS Share Grantee Share Total Amount
Corporetion Fixed Amount Corporetion Fixed Amount�526%x CNCS
share section I+CNCS share section II x 60%=$6109 Grantee share=10% 6,109 36,400 42,509
total section I+total section II=$36400
Commission Fixed Amount: ICVS Fixed Amount�526%X CNCS section I+ 4,073 � 4,073
CNCS section II x 40%=$4073
CATEGORYTotals 1Q182 36,400 46,582
B. Federally Approved Indirect Cost Rate
Calculation-Cost Type-Rate-Rate Claimed-Cost Basis CNCS Share Grantee Share Total Amount
CATEGORY Totals ���
SECTION Totals 1Q182 36,400 46,582
PERCENTAGE 22% 78% �
BUDGETTotals 203,761 206,824 41Q585
PERCENTAGE 50% 50% �
Total MSYs 13.18 ��
Cost/MSY 15,460 ��
Source of Funds
Section Match Description Amount Type Source
Source of Funds Dubuque Community School Distrid(Secured) 45,000 Cash State/Local
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St Mark Youth Enrichment(Secured) 15,750 Cash Private
City of Dubuque(Secured) 114,544 Cash State/Local
Dubuque Community School District Site Supervision & 31,530 In Kind State/Local
Program Development In-Kind(Secured)
Total Source of Funds 206,824 ��
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