If you are a rural Colorado BOCES or Administrative Unit, apply to participate in I-REECCH, a 5-year U.S. Department of Education Jacob K. Javits grant-funded project through the University of Denver.

• Dr. Norma Hafenstein, PI
• Dr. Kristina Hesbol, Co-PI
• Dr. Robert Reichardt, Evaluator

I-REECCH Application Form

Submit to MCE.IREECCH@du.edu by 10/26/2020 at 11:59 pm MT 

Informational Webinars

Before submitting your application, we strongly recommend emailing MCE.IREECCH@du.edu as soon as possible to schedule a webinar with our team. At that meeting, we can answer questions and discuss more details of the I-REECCH Grant.

Elements

The format outlined below must be followed:

• Part A – AU Information
• Part B – AU Demographics & Data
• Part C – Rural Member Districts’ Superintendents and Support
• Part D – Narrative (no more than 7 pages)

Required

• Primary Point of Contact
• Signatures of commitment and support from:
  • Rural BOCES / AU Executive Director
  • All Superintendents from participating districts
  • District Gifted Education Director(s) who will collaborate with I-REECCH
• Each AU’s/District’s Demographic Data
  • 2019-2020 Counts (or use 2018-2019 data)
• Finalists must also submit signatures of commitment and support from:
  • All participating elementary principals
  • All participating gifted education directors and coordinators
  • Members of building leadership teams, as applicable
  • Two school board members per district (staggered terms recommended)

Goal of I-REECCH

The goal of Impacting Rural Education through Expanding Culturally Responsive Curriculum, Computer Science Training, and Higher Order Thinking Skill Development (I-REECCH) is to partner with rural school educators and policymakers in Colorado to significantly increase identification of and service to underrepresented gifted and talented student populations. We are serving the community and also conducting research to determine effectiveness.

Key Outcomes of I-REECCH

• All students in participating elementary schools/classrooms will receive instruction in a computation thinking module by the end of fifth grade.
• At least 90% of teachers will report implementing critical thinking skill development practices.
• At least 90% of teachers will report implementing culturally responsive practice for culturally and linguistically diverse learners.
• All schools will develop a talent pool of potential students for gifted and talented recognition that is reflective of local demographics, including under-represented students.
• All participating AU gifted identification rates for students from under-represented groups will reach the state average for all groups of 7.3% (CDE, 2019-2020).

Central Research Question

What attitudes and practices of rural teachers and leaders influence the identification of and service to traditional marginalized, rural, gifted and talented students, specifically those who are economically under resourced, are English Learners, and/or who identify as Hispanic or Native American?

Key Activities

• Ongoing, virtual professional learning for teachers and school leaders in computational thinking, critical thinking skill development, and culturally responsive practice for culturally and linguistically diverse learners utilizing Project ECHO.
• Support for implementation and continuous improvement strategies to reach I-REECCH’s key outcomes.
• Two-way communication including ongoing reporting of benchmarks, budget expenditures, challenges, and successes.

Funding

The rural Colorado BOCES site is budgeted for funding per year in years 1-5. The amount is calculated at some amount per elementary school (K-5 grade band) in the district plus some amount for overall support. The stipend would pay for participation in interviews and surveys, pulling non-identified data and sharing non-identified data, participating in ECHO training sessions, leadership team stipends, substitute pay as needed, training materials such as Depth and Complexity Framework, CLD resources and Computer Science resources, and participation in state conferences. Final funding amounts per school and AU will be decided based on number of total sites participating. 

Submit Application

• Save this document with the rural AU’s information, narrative, and signatures.
• Submit application to MCE.IREECCH@du.edu by October 26, 2020 at 11:59 pm.

Participant Eligibility

• AU consisting of rural and small rural school districts as designated by the Colorado Department of Education (CDE).
• AU with percentages of disaggregated gifted identification for English Language Learners (ELL), Latino and Hispanic, Native American, and students eligible for free and reduced lunch (FRL) that are less than the percentage of gifted students identified in the state of Colorado which is 7.3% (CDE, 2019-2020).
• AU with demonstrated need, demonstrated commitment to the work of the project, and leadership commitment to implementation and continuous improvement by leadership including the BOCES director, superintendents, school board members, gifted education directors, and all participating elementary schools’ building leadership teams.

Informational Webinars

Before submitting your application, we strongly recommend emailing MCE.IREECCH@du.edu as soon as possible to schedule a webinar with our team. At that meeting, we can answer questions and discuss more details of the I-REECCH Grant.

Selection Criteria

• Rural Leadership Support
• Demonstration of Need
• Capacity to Engage Successfully
• Commitment to Process (Budgets, Reports, Evaluations, etc.)

Finalists

Grant finalists will be notified by November 2^nd and asked to submit additional assurances, data, and signatures to I-REECCH by November 9^th. Additional signatures of commitment and support will be required from:

• All participating elementary principals
• All participating gifted education directors and coordinators
• Members of building leadership teams, as applicable
• Two school board members per district (staggered terms recommended)