This page contains questions and answers regarding CaMSP. They are organized by subject and will be updated quarterly or sooner as needed. If you have questions that do not appear in this document, please contact the Mathematics and Science Leadership Office (MSLO) at 916-323-5847 or via e-mail at mslo@cde.ca.gov.
Questions by Subject
- Lead Partner
- Participation Eligibility
- State and Local Projects
- Consultation and Participation
- Fiscal
- Evaluation and Reporting
- Federal Annual Performance Report (APR)
A. Lead Partner
- What is a Lead Partner?
- What criteria were used to determine Lead Partner eligibility?
- Is it possible for an eligible high-need LEA to be the Lead Partner on two separate applications?
- Is it possible for a county office of education (COE) to be a Lead Partner?
- Is it possible for a charter school to be a Lead Partner?
- What is a Lead Partner?
The Lead Partner is defined as an eligible, high-need local educational agency (LEA) that submits the application, accepts management and fiduciary responsibility for the partnership, and provides a single full-time Project Director who is responsible for the day-to-day activities of the partnership and serves as the primary contact with the California Department of Education (CDE).
- What criteria were used to determine Lead Partner eligibility?
The federal legislation requires a "high-need LEA" partner. An eligible high-need LEA refers to one that serves a student population where at least 40 percent of the students qualify for the National School Lunch. A list of eligible LEAs is posted with each CaMSP Request for Application (RFA).
- Is it possible for an eligible high-need LEA to be the Lead Partner on two separate applications?
Yes, a Lead Partner currently funded for a CaMSP science grant may apply as a Lead Partner for a CaMSP mathematics grant and vice versa. The Lead Partner must meet all eligibility criteria including the 40 percent free and reduced lunch.
- Is it possible for a county office of education (COE) to be a Lead Partner?
Yes, as long as the teachers and students from the schools administered by the COE used to determine its eligibility are the focus of the proposed plan. Schools administered by the COE may include court and community schools, juvenile hall, and community day schools.
- Is it possible for a charter school to be a Lead Partner?
Only existing direct funded charter schools may apply for the CaMSP grant. Schools must have at least one year of student baseline data and, as with any LEA, meet all eligibility criteria including the 40 percent free and reduced lunch.
B. Participation Eligibility
- Is a school eligible to submit an application?
- May an LEA that is not on the Lead Partner eligibility list participate in a CaMSP project?
- For the purpose of the CaMSP, what is the definition of "Institution of Higher Education” (IHE)?
- May an out-of-state IHE participate?
- What is the minimum target number of teacher participants in the treatment group?
- How accurate must the target number of teacher participants be?
- Which teachers are eligible to participate in a new CaMSP project?
- Do teacher participants in the treatment group have to be identified before the application is submitted?
- Must participating teachers’ commitment forms be signed prior to the submission of the proposal, or may this be done in the spring once funding is secured?
- How does the requirement of having 10 percent of teacher participants employed by the Lead Partner apply to a COE?
- May teachers participate concurrently in non-CaMSP funded professional development activities?
- Are high school teachers who teach Pre-Algebra, Algebra Readiness or Algebra I eligible to participate in a CaMSP project?
- May teachers who are released full-time from classroom teaching participate in a CaMSP project?
- May teachers of students in a pull-out (e.g., English language development), or Independent Study teachers who do not have their own classroom of students but teach within a CaMSP project grade level target be considered as participants?
- Are teachers of Special Day Class-Severely Handicapped students who teach science to their assigned students eligible to participate?
- May a teacher who was reassigned continue as a participant if there is a possibility of reinstatement to the original position in the coming years?
- May teacher participants who leave a CaMSP project be replaced?
- May the control group be recruited outside of the project’s partners?
- Is a school eligible to submit an application?
No, only an LEA (e.g., school district, COE, direct funded charter school) on the eligibility list may submit an application. However, individual schools may participate as partners in a CaMSP project.
- May an LEA that is not on the Lead Partner eligibility list participate in a CaMSP project?
All California LEAs (COEs, school districts), public or private elementary or secondary schools, including charter schools, or community-based organizations (CBOs) are eligible to participate in the CaMSP. The eligibility list is used only to determine Lead Partner status.
- For the purpose of the CaMSP, what is the definition of "Institution of Higher Education” (IHE)?
IHE refers to any school in the University of California, California State University, or California Community College systems, and private colleges and universities within California. Partnerships applying for a CaMSP grant must include an engineering, mathematics, or science department of an IHE in California. Partnerships are strongly encouraged to include other faculty who are involved with mathematics or science education and evaluation.
- May an out-of-state IHE participate?
IHEs providing content knowledge and pedagogical skills must be located in California. IHEs from other states may be considered only if they provide the local evaluation for the project.
- What is the minimum target number of teacher participants in the treatment group?
There must be at least 30 teacher participants in the treatment group. Beginning with Cohort 8, partnerships must maintain a minimum of 30 teacher participants throughout the project. If at any time the number of teacher participants falls below 30, the project will be defunded.
- How accurate must the target number of teacher participants be?
Establishing an accurate number of participants is important because the CaMSP project's success in reaching its target is a critical factor in determining whether current or future funding must be reduced. The target number represents the number of teachers the project believes will complete all required intensive and follow-up hours at the end of all funded cycles. The target number on the original application is used to calculate initial funding and is the basis for the allowable 15 percent attrition rate for all cohorts after Cohort 4.
- Which teachers are eligible to participate in a new CaMSP project?
Beginning with RFA 8, Innovation proposals defines New Teacher as:- Teachers who have participated in less than 20 total hours of any CaMSP intensive or classroom follow-up activities may participate in a mathematics or science CaMSP.
- Teachers who have participated in more than 20 total hours of any CaMSP intensive or classroom follow-up activities may participate in another CaMSP as long as the project is in the other subject area.
- Example, a teacher who previously participated in more than 20 hours of a mathematics project may participate in a science project.
- A teacher who has never received any CaMSP training (either math or science)
- A teacher who previously participated in less than 20 total hours of any CaMSP intensive or classroom follow-up hours
- Do teacher participants in the treatment group have to be identified before the application is submitted?
Yes, teachers in the treatment group must be identified prior to submission of the grant application. The CDE strongly encourages the recruitment of 20 percent more than the project’s target number to account for possible attrition over the life of the CaMSP project.
- Must participating teachers’ commitment forms be signed prior to the submission of the proposal, or may this be done in the spring once funding is secured?
Although no copies of teacher commitment forms need to be included in the grant application, projects are required to have commitment forms for teachers in the treatment group on file before submitting an application to the CDE. These teacher commitment forms are designed to help LEAs quantify the target number of teacher participants they will serve. All signed commitment forms for both treatment group teachers and control group teachers must be maintained in a project’s audit file and the forms must be readily available for review by the CDE Monitor during a site visit.
- How does the requirement of having 10 percent of teacher participants employed by the Lead Partner apply to a COE?
When a COE applies as the Lead Partner, at least 10 percent of teacher participants must be from schools administered by the COE. This includes court and community schools, juvenile hall, and community day.
- May teachers participate concurrently in non-CaMSP funded professional development activities?
Yes, as long as the 60 hours of intensive and 24 hours of classroom follow-up required for the CaMSP project are met and there is no scheduling conflict. No transfer or substitution of logged hours from other professional development activities is allowed.
- Are high school teachers who teach Pre-Algebra, Algebra Readiness or Algebra I eligible to participate in a CaMSP project?
Yes, high school algebra teachers are eligible as teacher participants as long as they teach at least one period of pre-Algebra, Algebra Readiness, or Algebra I throughout the duration of the CaMSP project.
- May teachers who are released full-time from classroom teaching participate in a CaMSP project?
No. Teacher participants must be assigned to teach students within the targeted area and grade span of the CaMSP project.
- May teachers of students in a pull-out (e.g., English language development), or Independent Study teachers who do not have their own classroom of students but teach within a CaMSP project grade level target be considered as participants?
Yes, if the teacher participant is the teacher of record for students within the targeted grade level and subject area and have access to the assigned students’ data. In terms of research, teacher participants need to be directly linked to their students' performance.
- Are teachers of Special Day Class-Severely Handicapped students who teach science to their assigned students eligible to participate?
Yes, as long as there is a matched control group of teachers and students. Students need to take a modified state science test and would also need a special test for local assessment.
- May a teacher who was reassigned continue as a participant if there is a possibility of reinstatement to the original position in the coming years?
No, the teacher would no longer be considered eligible. However, the LEA may choose to cover the cost of the teacher’s participation from different funds. Although the teacher could continue in the professional development, that teacher would not be counted as a CaMSP treatment group or control group participant.
- May teacher participants who leave a CaMSP project be replaced?
New teacher participants may not be added to the original cohort once established in the first funding cycle. The reason is to preserve the research focus of the project. Teacher participants are teachers who have completed at least 30 hours of intensive professional development by August 31 of the first cycle. For all cohorts after Cohort 4, teacher participants must complete at least 30 hours of intensive professional development by August 31 for each cycle of the project.
- May the control group be recruited outside of the project’s partners?
Yes, if it is not possible to identify a control group within the project’s partners, it is permissible to work with another district to obtain the necessary number of control teachers. Over-recruiting of the control group as well as the treatment group is strongly encouraged. The control group should be matched as closely as possible to the treatment group. A matched control group of teachers would consist of teachers possessing the same characteristics as the teacher participants including gender, ethnicity, years of teaching experience, and teacher certification.
C. State and Local Projects
- What is the relationship between the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Mathematics and Science Partnership (MSP) and the California MSP?
- What is meant by “pedagogical content knowledge?"
- Why did California target specific grade spans?
- May CaMSP projects address both mathematics and science?
- Must all grades in the targeted grade span be addressed?
- What is the difference between intensive professional development hours and classroom follow-up hours?
- May teachers participate in classroom follow-up hours before attending any related intensive professional development?
- What are potential issues with CaMSP activities that include Senate Bill 472 training for schools in Program Improvement (PI) or assigned to a School Assistance and Intervention Team (SAIT)?
- To what extent should IHE faculty be involved in the professional development activities of a CaMSP project?
- May student teachers or pre-service teachers be paid to participate in a CaMSP project?
- May the Project Director’s position be broken down into two part-time positions to provide greater flexibility in finding the right people for both aspects of the position?
- What is required of a Project Director?
- May the same individual serve as Project Director on two separate grant awards?
- What is the scope of work of the Co-PI?
- May there be some overlap of partners, as long as the project’s partnership is not exactly the same?
- To how many CaMSP projects may an institution or organization belong?
- May partner organizations be involved in multiple, concurrent CaMSP projects?
- Do applicants need to list all other CaMSP projects currently being funded?
- Would the application be “stronger” if partners are from different IHEs?
- Is the review of newly adopted textbooks or outlining the curriculum for the year appropriate activities to be included as intensive hours within a summer institute?
- May professional development activities be initiated before the July 1 start of the performance period?
- What is the relationship between the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Mathematics and Science Partnership (MSP) and the California MSP?
The primary purpose of the MSP is to increase the body of research on professional development models that: - Impact teachers’ content knowledge, pedagogical content knowledge, and instructional strategies
- Improve student achievement in the content areas of mathematics and science
- Result in change to the institutions involved in the project, including change to the IHEs and professional development providers
Both agencies received separate appropriations in the annual federal budget and are guided by No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001, Title II, Part B Legislation. California has limited the use of the funding to projects focusing on mathematics or science. The MSP targets mathematics in grades three through Algebra I and science in grades three through eight. Refer to the latest CaMSP RFA for eligible activities.
- What is meant by “pedagogical content knowledge?”
Lee Shulman (1986) introduced the phrase pedagogical content knowledge and sparked a whole new wave of scholarly articles on teachers' knowledge of their subject matter and the importance of this knowledge for successful teaching. In Shulman's theoretical framework, teachers need to master two types of knowledge: (a) content, also known as “deep” knowledge of the subject itself, and (b) knowledge of the curricular development. Content knowledge encompasses what Bruner (as cited in Shulman, 1992) called the “structure of knowledge”–the theories, principles, and concepts of a particular discipline. Especially important is content knowledge that deals with the teaching process, including the most useful forms of representing and communicating content and how students best learn the specific concepts and topics of a subject. “If beginning teachers are to be successful, they must wrestle simultaneously with issues of pedagogical content (or knowledge) as well as general pedagogy (or generic teaching principles).” Deborah L. Ball has expanded on Shulman with an emphasis on mathematics.
- Why did California target specific grade spans?
In mathematics, the content in grades three through Algebra I prepares students to meet the Algebra I graduation requirement and to succeed on the mathematics section of the California High School Exit Exam. In science, the span begins in grade three because students must prepare for a fifth grade standards-based science test as well as the middle grades NCLB core knowledge science assessment. Additionally, students' success in high school science and mathematics is built on foundational courses in the selected grade spans.
- May CaMSP projects address both mathematics and science?
No, projects may focus on either mathematics or science, not both.
- Must all grades in the targeted grade span be addressed?
No, focusing on only one grade or multiple grades in the targeted grade span is allowed.
- What is the difference between intensive professional development hours and classroom follow-up hours?
Intensive as well as classroom follow-up and support activities are necessary, interdependent components of a CaMSP project design. While the content of each component is similar, it is the relationship between the professional development activities that determines which is which. Intensive, targeted learning is delivered to participants in a concentrated timeframe and followed up with classroom practice and implementation. Intensive training is intended to improve the content knowledge and teaching skills of teachers while classroom follow-up and support is intended to infuse the knowledge and skills gained directly into the classroom to benefit students.
The intent of the “intensive” label is any protracted (two or more hours) instruction or demonstration regarding content or pedagogical process required to fully implement a lesson.
Teachers apply their newly acquired pedagogical content knowledge and pedagogical strategies to the classroom through classroom follow-up and support. Classroom follow-up and support must be directly related to the focus of the intensive training. It is important to structure the classroom follow-up and support activities so that there is a clear link to the implementation of the knowledge and skills gained through the intensive hours of the project. Classroom follow-up and support activities must build on the intensive hours rather than introduce a new focus.
If the activity is actual lesson follow-up – be it debriefing, analysis of student performance, coaching notes on a lesson implemented – then the activity is classified as classroom follow-up.
All IHE partners and professional development content facilitators are strongly encouraged to actively participate in both the classroom follow-up and support as well as the intensive hours of the project.
- May teachers participate in classroom follow-up hours before attending any related intensive professional development?
No, it is not the intent of this for teachers to participate in classroom follow-up activities before attending an intensive training.
- What are potential issues with CaMSP activities that include Senate Bill 472 training for schools in Program Improvement (PI) or assigned to a School Assistance and Intervention Team (SAIT)?
While CaMSP allows mathematics projects to include SB 472 (Chapter 524, Statutes of 2006), training to fulfill a portion of the required 60 hours of intensive training, there are several issues to consider:
- CaMSP projects are required to provide one option for all participants rather than offer multiple options. Therefore, if SB 472 is included in the project design, all teacher participants must attend SB 472 training.
- Teacher participants funded by CaMSP are not eligible to receive reimbursement under SB 472.
- Only those teacher participants funded with CaMSP grant funds to attend SB 472 training will count toward the CaMSP participation numbers.
- In terms of the project's local evaluation, a partnership must consider how SB 472 training may affect the matched control group.
- To what extent should IHE faculty be involved in the professional development activities of a CaMSP project?
If the IHE faculty is a facilitator of the professional development activities, then they are strongly encouraged to participate in both the classroom follow-up as well as the intensive phase of the project. IHE faculty should take the time to observe, support, and provide feedback to teachers in the classroom.
- May student teachers or pre-service teachers be paid to participate in a CaMSP project?
No, CaMSP funds may not be used to pay for student teachers or pre-service teachers as participants. A CaMSP project is for teachers who are currently in the classroom. Even voluntary student teacher involvement would not count toward the number of teacher participants served by a CaMSP project. Only in-service teachers currently employed by the district in the targeted grade span and subject matter count toward the CaMSP project's target number of teachers.
- May the Project Director’s position be broken down into two part-time positions to provide greater flexibility in finding the right people for both aspects of the position?
No, the Project Director may be one full-time individual only. This individual is typically a district staff member familiar with grant work or a teacher on special assignment. In either case, the CDE does not expect this individual to be a fiscal expert but rather a person who can build a strong relationship with the district's budget and accounting staff to assist with the CaMSP project’s reporting requirements. The Project Director is responsible for the day-to-day management and administration of the partnership and serves as the primary contact with the CDE.
- What is required of a Project Director?
The Project Director is a single full-time employee of the Lead LEA and must not be assigned to other projects, duties, or agencies at the expense of the CaMSP project, e.g., a full-time college instructor or LEA administrator. The Project Director is a full-time position, whether funded full or in part by CaMSP.
A Project Director cannot serve as a coach, facilitator (of the professional development content/pedagogy activities), evaluator, or professional development provider to the CaMSP project. The intent of the Request for Application (RFA) and the CDE's expectation is for Project Directors to be employed and available 100 percent for the entire performance period of the grant. Based on performance, grants are awarded up to three cycles of funding. Cycle 1 begins January 1 and ends with September 30 of the following year. Cycles 2 and 3 begin July 1 and end September 30 of the following year. Therefore, a PD must be employed under a year round contract or, as with many Teachers on Special Assignment (TOSA); this individual's contract may include supplemental pay to cover any portion of time not covered under their teacher contract, which is usually a ten month contract.
To further clarify, the project's lead partner must employ a single full-time PD who may not be assigned to other projects, duties, or agencies. The PD may not serve as a coach, facilitator (of the professional development content/pedagogy activities), evaluator, or professional development provider to the CaMSP project or other projects. PDs are the project’s primary contact with the CDE. They are responsible for the day-to-day management and administration of the partnership which includes all reporting requirements. It is crucial they be available year round to meet the obligations of the grant.
Professional development activities required to be completed during the summer months are essential. As a requirement of the grant award, PDs coordinate and facilitate partnership activities and events as well as observe the partnership’s professional development offerings. Thus, the summer months are an especially critical time of year for the PDs work. More specifically:
- All professional development activities must be completed by June 30 of each cycle.
- For Cycle 1, all projects are required to complete at least 30 hours of intensive professional development between January 1 and August 31.
- For Cycle 2, all projects are required to complete at least 30 hours of intensive professional development between July 1 and August 31.
- Data collection and data entry into the statewide evaluator database must be completed, reviewed, and corrected during the summer months to provide mandatory teacher and student data for the United States Department of Education's required Annual Performance Report (APR).
- The APR is available online for projects to begin completing in July/August to ensure on time submission to the CDE.
- May the same individual serve as Project Director on two separate grant awards?
No, an individual may be listed as the Project Director on two separate grant applications if one is being used as a place holder for the application process. Each project would be required to have its own full-time Project Director if both grants were awarded funding.
- What is the scope of work of the Co-PI?
The Co-PI’s role is dependent upon the needs of the CaMSP project and its design. The Co-PI may help design the professional development training, and serve as a content facilitator, coach, or advisor. An individual with the authority to commit their institution must be named either PI of Co-PI of the grant and must serve on the Leadership Team. Neither the PI nor Co-PI may serve as the local evaluator.
- May there be some overlap of partners, as long as the project’s partnership is not exactly the same?
Yes, there may be some overlap of partners as long as the overlap will not over commit any one of the partners. For example, using the same IHE individual to facilitate content and instructional strategy training to more than one project is not advised. Further, it is strongly encouraged that the Lead LEA staff be dedicated to one project at a time. Roles and responsibilities within a particular CaMSP project should be focused and well defined. CaMSP projects are evaluated in part on the capacity of the partners to meet the requirements of the grant.
- To how many CaMSP projects may an institution or organization belong?
An institution or organization may participate in more than one CaMSP project as long as individual teachers do not participate in the activities of more than one CaMSP project at a time.
- May partner organizations be involved in multiple, concurrent CaMSP projects?
Partner organizations may participate in multiple, concurrent CaMSP projects. However, an eligible organization may be the Lead Partner in only one mathematics or one science project during the length of the project. Other organizations may participate in different CaMSP projects as long as the individual teacher participants they serve do not participate concurrently in activities from more than one CaMSP project at a time.
- Do applicants need to list all other CaMSP projects currently being funded?
Yes, the CDE wants to capture this information to determine the number of CaMSP projects being implemented in a particular area, the amount of funding being leveraged, the types of projects and funding being leveraged across the state, and the capacity of an organization and institution to implement such projects.
- Would the application be “stronger” if partners are from different IHEs?
The selection of IHE partners must be dictated by the CaMSP project’s needs. More IHE partners or an array of different IHE partners has no bearing on the grant application review process. Reports by the State Evaluator indicate that the more targeted and manageable the project’s partnership, the better it functions overall.
- Is the review of newly adopted textbooks or outlining the curriculum for the year appropriate activities to be included as intensive hours within a summer institute?
Teacher participants’ review of newly adopted textbooks or outlining yearly curricula may be considered as intensive hours depending on the project’s design. Project Directors considering this should confer with the CDE Project Monitor before implementation.
- May professional development activities be initiated before the July 1 start of the performance period?
Beginning with Cohort 8, CaMSP professional development activities cannot cross fiscal years. Professional development activities must occur after July 1.
D. Private School Consultation and Participation
- Is there language in No Child Left Behind (NCLB), Title II, Part B that provides for private school participation?
- When should private schools be consulted?
- Are private schools that opt to partner in a CaMSP project required to provide the same level of teacher and student data as public school partners?
- Must private school teachers who participate in the professional development activities offered through a CaMSP project receive the same stipend that is offered to public school teachers?
- What type of documentation is required regarding the private school consultation process for the CaMSP application?
- Is there language in No Child Left Behind (NCLB), Title II, Part B that provides for private school participation?
The NCLB Act provides for the participation of private schools in a number of programs (NCLB Section 2201 and 9501), including Title II, Part B. For general information about private school participation, please contact the Title II Leadership Office at TITLEII@cde.ca.gov or 916-445-7331.
- When should private schools be consulted?
Prior to submitting the grant application, the LEA should engage in "timely and meaningful consultation" with private school officials. The consultation process must inform private schools of all services they are eligible to receive under NCLB, including those funded under Title II, Part B. The Consolidated Application includes a list of appropriate private schools that LEAs are to involve in the consultative process. The CDE Web site also maintains a list of private non-profit schools that may enroll students who are eligible for services under the federal NCLB. Consultation generally must include discussions on such issues as:
- How the private school's needs will be identified
- What services will be offered
- How and where the services will be offered and provided
- Who will provide the services
- How the services will be assessed and how the results of assessments will be used to improve those services
- The amount of funds available for services
- The size and scope of services to be provided
- How and when the LEA or agency will make decisions about the delivery of services
- Are private schools that opt to partner in a CaMSP project required to provide the same level of teacher and student data as public school partners?
Yes, information collected for a CaMSP project must include data from all participants. As a condition of participation, all schools agree to the data collection requirements. In order to effectively evaluate a CaMSP project, information from all parties is necessary. If a private school does not administer a California Standards Test (CST), they must provide comparable student testing and local assessment data.
- Must private school teachers who participate in the professional development activities offered through a CaMSP project receive the same stipend that is offered to public school teachers?
Yes, stipends for private school teachers must be available on the same basis as for public school teachers. The stipends must be paid to private school teachers individually. The stipends cannot be paid to the private school or benefit the private school directly.
- What type of documentation is required regarding the private school consultation process for the CaMSP application?
NCLB Section 1120 (b) requires that each LEA must maintain, in the agency’s records, written affirmation signed by officials of each participating private school that the required consultation has occurred. While the CaMSP application does not require a narrative explaining the private school consultation process, applicants must include a signed assurance that the consultation process occurred. Upon request, each LEA must provide the CDE with a copy of the written affirmation that the required consultation has occurred.
E. Fiscal
- May indirect costs be charged on Capital Outlay and Tuition?
- May indirect costs be charged on the entire amount of subawards or subagreements?
- May an IHE charge the full 8 percent indirect on their subcontract portion?
- May CaMSP funds be used to attend conferences?
- May CaMSP funds be used to attend out-of-state conferences?
- May CaMSP funds be used to pay for the Principal Investigator to attend a science or mathematics conference?
- Is it appropriate to purchase classroom materials with CaMSP funds?
- What determines when a purchase should be listed as Capital Outlay?
- Are the budget forms provided in the RFA required?
- What are the consequences if a CaMSP project does not meet its target number of teachers?
- Is the 15 percent teacher attrition rate applied for each funding cycle?
- Is the CaMSP grant considered federal pass-through funds?
- May unused funds be carried over to next year’s budget?
- May a project publish and sell materials developed using CaMSP grant funding?
- May indirect costs be charged on Capital Outlay and Tuition?
No, the indirect cost rate must be calculated using the Subtotal on the Proposed Budget Summary.
- May indirect costs be charged on the entire amount of subawards or subagreements?
Lead LEAs and LEA subgrantees may use an indirect cost rate (not to exceed their CDE-approved indirect cost rate) to budget and claim indirect costs in the 7300–7399 Object Code in the project budget. Current LEA rates are available on the CDE Indirect Cost Rates Web page.
When budgeting and claiming indirect costs, costs in objects 1000-5999 (except Object 5100, Subagreements for Services) may be included in the pool of eligible expenditures to which indirect costs are charged. (Further information on object codes and their definitions may be found in Procedure 330 of the California School Accounting Manual, located on the CDE Definitions, Instructions, and Procedures Web page.) The Lead LEA is responsible for ensuring adherence to these indirect cost criteria.It is necessary to track subagreements (which include subawards) separately from other agreements for reasons related to the indirect cost process. Subagreements are indicated when part or all of an instructional or support activity for which the LEA is responsible is conducted by a third party rather than by the LEA. The LEA's responsibility for the activity may originate from any award, entitlement, or grant.
Up to $25,000 of each subagreement may be coded to Object 5800, Professional/Consulting Services and Operating Expenditures, with the balance coded to Object 5100, Subagreements for Services. This $25,000 per subagreement limit allowable to Object 5800 applies for the duration of the subagreement.
- May an IHE charge the full 8 percent indirect on their subcontract portion?
Yes, an IHE may charge up to an 8 percent indirect cost rate on their subcontract with an LEA for the CaMSP grant. However, the CaMSP project would not be eligible for funding beyond an existing grant to accommodate this amount. It is allowable to renegotiate the contract with the IHE and reallocate existing CaMSP money or in-kind funding for the indirect cost rate. A Budget Revision Request (BRR) form may need to be submitted if any of the line items in the budget change by more than 10 percent.
- May CaMSP funds be used to attend conferences?
CaMSP projects are targeted to provide intensive and classroom follow-up professional development activities. CaMSP funding should only be used for conferences in California where project teachers are focused on a specific strand or focus that is included in the project's overall project design. For example, if a project is focused on lesson study, funds could be used if all participants attend a lesson study conference or institute as part of the intensive hours. It is not appropriate to just pay for teachers to attend a mathematics conference and assume they'll pick up an idea for teaching mathematics.
- May CaMSP funds be used to attend out-of-state conferences?
CaMSP funds may only be used to pay for travel for the Project Director and an additional representative to attend one federal MSP regional meeting in other states per year. The primary focus of CaMSP is to research the effectiveness of a professional development model.
- May CaMSP funds be used to pay for the Principal Investigator to attend a science or mathematics conference?
No, CaMSP funds are intended for projects designed to evaluate and research the effectiveness of long-term professional development activities to a cohort of teachers over multiple years. All projects are encouraged to share their good work at the meetings of the CaMSP Learning Network and at the federal Regional Mathematics and Science Partnership Conferences. This is a great leveraging opportunity for the partnership should they choose to fund this activity.
- Is it appropriate to purchase classroom materials with CaMSP funds?
CaMSP funds may not be used to purchase classroom materials for kindergarten through grade twelve students. The purchase of classroom materials is appropriate where teachers are the students.
- What determines when a purchase should be listed as Capital Outlay?
Individual items must have a cost of $5,000 or over to be considered capital outlay of federal funds. A single laptop at the price of $1,000, regardless of the quantity ordered, does not qualify as capital outlay.
- Are the budget forms provided in the RFA required?
Yes, the forms that are provided in the RFA must be used.
- What are the consequences if a CaMSP project does not meet its target number of teachers?
For Cohorts 4 through 8, funds will be reduced if the project does not meet its target. Funding is based on the target number of participants listed on the original application (maximum of $10,000 per teacher participant.) If attrition occurs beyond the 15 percent allowed, the budget will be reduced by $714 per teacher per day missed.
Beginning with Cohort 8, the following funding scale applies:
30 – 49 Teacher participants = $450,000 per cycle
50 – 69 Teacher participants = $650,000 per cycle
70 – 89 Teacher participants = $850,000 per cycle
90 – 100+ Teacher participants = $1,000,000 per cycle
Should a project fall from one funding scale to another due to attrition, the new funding scale would apply. For example, if the project originally targeted 65 teachers but fell to 49 teachers at some point, their funding would be reduced from $650,000 to $450,000.
- Is the 15 percent teacher attrition rate applied for each funding cycle?
No, the 15 percent attrition rate is from the target number on the original application for all cohorts after Cohort 4..
- Is the CaMSP grant considered federal pass-through funds?
Yes, the CaMSP grant is a federal pass-through fund. CaMSP is funded by NCLB, Title II, Part B and administered by the CDE.
- May unused funds be carried over to next year’s budget?
There is no provision for a no-cost extension of the CaMSP funding. A project must use the funds within the grant’s reporting period.
- May a project publish and sell materials developed using CaMSP grant funding?
Yes, projects may sell materials developed using CaMSP grant funding on a cost recovery basis per OMB - A 87 Part 34,Publication and printing costs.
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Publication costs include the costs of printing (including the processes of composition, plate-making, press work, binding, and the end products produced by such processes), distribution, promotion, mailing, and general handling. Publication costs also include page charges in professional publications.
- If these costs are not identifiable with a particular cost objective, they should be allocated as indirect costs to all benefiting activities of the governmental unit.
- Page charges for professional journal publications are allowable as a necessary part of research costs where:
(1) The research papers report work supported by the Federal Government; and
(2) The charges are levied impartially on all research papers published by the journal, whether or not by federally-sponsored authors.
Per EDGAR, section 74.24, Program Income Funds raised from materials developed by the project must be retained by the grant recipient and the funds must be used in one of three ways: (1) additional fiscal support to the project, (2) used to finance non-federal match, or (3) deducted from the total federal award. The income generated would reduce the grant award to the project.
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F. Evaluation and Reporting
- Are CaMSP projects required to have a Local Evaluator?
- Does the Local Evaluator have to be external to the CaMSP project’s partners?
- Does the Local Evaluator need to be a member of the Leadership Team?
- May the Statewide Evaluator be used as a Local Evaluator?
- Are CaMSP projects required to generate local evaluation reports?
- What is the difference between the Annual Performance Report (APR) due to the U.S. Department of Education (ED) in the fall and the Annual Report due to the CDE in the spring?
- What does the term “on track to complete” mean? What are indicators of a teacher being “on track”?
- Are CaMSP projects required to have a Local Evaluator?
Yes, all CaMSP projects are required to have a Local Evaluator who conducts local CaMSP project evaluations, provides periodic reports on the status of the project to the project’s Leadership Team, submits a progress report in the spring to CDE, and submits an Annual Performance Report to the federal government on the project’s implementation and impact. The Local Evaluator must have strong evaluation skills and experience that include the development and implementation of research-based evaluations. In addition to providing project improvement information, periodic reports, and the required annual local evaluation report for submittal to the federal government, the project’s Local Evaluator should also have the necessary skills to support and facilitate the statewide evaluation efforts.
- Does the Local Evaluator have to be external to the CaMSP project’s partners?
No, the Local Evaluator does not have to be external to the CaMSP project’s partners. However, the Local Evaluator or members of the Local Evaluation Team may not be directly involved with the planning or delivery of the professional development content or pedagogy. Therefore, the Project Director, Principal Investigator, and Co-PI cannot be the local evaluator of the project.
- Does the Local Evaluator need to be a member of the Leadership Team?
While not an official member of the Leadership Team, the Local Evaluator should be involved in all Leadership Team discussions and report regularly to the Leadership Team.
- May the Statewide Evaluator be used as a Local Evaluator?
The intent of the RFA is to have each project subcontract with a neutral third party Local Evaluator to conduct the project's individual local evaluation. This would be separate and apart from the statewide evaluation. Projects are encouraged to work with their IHE partners, other local IHEs and evaluation firms, or partnering LEAs to find a Local Evaluator. Often the research and evaluation faculty at IHEs have the capacity and are eager to partner with a CaMSP project as their Local Evaluator. In other instances, an LEA partner may choose to employ the services of an evaluation firm they have previously worked with successfully for this purpose.
- Are CaMSP projects required to generate local evaluation reports?
In addition to standard formative and summative analyses of the CaMSP project activities, these evaluations must include the design, implementation, and analysis of pre- and post-test of teachers’ content knowledge for both participating teachers and a control group of teachers. Furthermore, the evaluation must examine pre- and post-student state and local assessment data for participating teachers and the control group of teachers in the pertinent curricular areas.
Beginning with Cohort 7, the CDE expects each project to pre-test treatment and control teachers prior to or on day 1 of the summer intensive. Post-tests of the treatment teachers must be timed to provide an analysis of the project's progress by March 2011, and each spring thereafter. Many projects post-test their treatment teachers at the end of the summer intensive, this post-test is not sufficient to meet the spring progress report to CDE. The spring post-test may be a repeat of the one given at end of the summer intensive or a local assessment. The spring report helps the CDE determine which projects to continue funding.
Additionally, a post-test at the end of the performance period (May/June) is expected to document the content knowledge of both treatment and control teachers at the end of each cycle. Thus, we are advising projects to follow a pre/post/post testing plan.
To clarify, treatment teachers must be pre-tested once each year and post-tested at least two times each year. Control teacher must be pre-and post-tested at least once during each cycle of the funding.
- What is the difference between the Annual Performance Report (APR) due to the U.S. Department of Education (ED) in the fall and the Annual Report due to the CDE in the spring?
The APR is the final report required by the ED at the end of a performance cycle. The Annual Report, due to the CDE, is essentially an extended Year-to-Date Expenditure and Progress Report (YTD) . This YTD is used by the CDE to help determine a project's eligibility for additional funding. It must include a copy of the local evaluator's latest periodic progress report.
- What does the term “on track to complete” mean? What are indicators of a teacher being “on track”?
The term “on track to complete” refers to the teacher participants who are projected to complete the required minimum of 60 hours of intensive and 24 hours of classroom follow-up by the end of the performance period (June 30.) An indicator of a teacher being on track is to compare the actual number of intensive and classroom follow-up hours and the remaining scheduled intensive and classroom follow-up hours to the required minimum of 60 intensive hours and 24 classroom follow-up hours. Example: On January 15, a teacher has completed 45 intensive and 14 classroom follow-up hours. Between January 15 and June 30, an additional 15 intensive hours and 8 classroom follow-up hours are scheduled. Assuming the teacher attends all scheduled events, the 60 hours of intensive will be met but the required 24 hours of classroom follow-up will not. This means that the teacher is not on track to completing the minimum required hours.
G. Federal Annual Performance Report (APR)
- The instructions for Section V. Professional Development Models, B. Type of Professional Development Activities, (ii). Follow Up are: “Indicate the type of professional development activities used in your project during the 12-month reporting period. Indicate duration per participant and frequency for each type of professional development model provided in the project.” Is this requesting information only for follow-up hours?
- What is meant by “on-site” professional development?
- What types of groups other than study groups, learning communities, lesson study, and professional learning is the ED looking for?
- Would grade level teams and vertical articulation teams fall into this area as a type of group?
- Do projects have to wait for Public Works, Inc. to populate the APR prior to submitting the APR?
- The instructions for Section V. Professional Development Models, B. Type of Professional Development Activities, (ii). Follow Up are: “Indicate the type of professional development activities used in your project during the 12-month reporting period. Indicate duration per participant and frequency for each type of professional development model provided in the project.” Is this requesting information only for follow-up hours?
Yes, this refers to follow-up hours only.
- What is meant by “on-site” professional development?
On-site means that the follow-up occurs at a school site.
- What types of groups other than study groups, learning communities, lesson study, and professional learning is the ED looking for?
A group type may be a variation or a combination of those listed.
- Would grade level teams and vertical articulation teams fall into this area as a type of group?
Yes, grade level teams and vertical articulation teams are acceptable as group types.
- Do projects have to wait for Public Works, Inc. to populate the APR prior to submitting the APR?
Yes, the report must be completed before submitting it to the CDE where assigned staff will review, approve, and submit the report to the ED.
