Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs Request for Grant Proposals: NIS Secondary School Partnership Program

The Office of Citizen Exchanges, Youth Programs Division, of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs announces an open competition for the NIS Secondary School Partnership Program. Public and private non-profit organizations meeting the provisions described in IRS regulation 26 CFR 1.501(c) may submit proposals to either enhance or expand existing partnerships or develop new school partnership programs with Russia or Ukraine. All proposals must have a thematic focus and feature on-going joint project activity between the schools, a student exchange component, and an educator (teacher/ administrator) exchange component. The maximum grant award will be $150,000. Program Information: The Secondary School Partnership Program is funded under the Freedom Support Act to assist young people in building an open society and developing democratic processes and institutions in the New Independent States (NIS). This program provides grants to link schools in the three countries noted above with schools in the United States. The U.S. recipient of the grant is responsible for recruiting, selecting, and organizing a U.S. network of a minimum of two secondary schools; strengthening an existing working relationship with an organization or agency of government in the NIS responsible for a network of at least two schools there; and linking the two networks in one-to-one school partnerships through thematic projects and substantive exchange activities. Overview: The short-term goal of the school partnership program is to provide partial funding for linkages between U.S. and NIS schools featuring collaborative substantive projects and reciprocal student and educator exchanges with strong academic content. The long-term goals are to: (1) Develop lasting, sustainable institutional ties between U.S. and NIS schools and communities; (2) support democracy and educational reform in the NIS; (3) advance mutual understanding between the youth and teachers of the U.S. and the NIS; and (4) promote partnerships developed through governmental, educational, and not-for- profit sector cooperation that serve the needs and interests of the schools. The program has several defining features to help the participating schools develop their partnership: --Each partnership has a project theme and the students and teachers in the two paired schools work on a joint project throughout the school year related to this theme; --The two schools develop a relationship over the course of an academic year, through the planning process and the work on their joint project, which is highlighted by exchanges from three weeks to ten months in duration. Exchanges take place while the host school is in session. --The student and teacher exchanges must be reciprocal. --The program includes educators (teachers and/or administrators) in order to involve them in all aspects of the partnership and to provide them access to resources for curriculum development and educational training. --During the exchange, participants attend class, are involved in school-based activities, work on their joint project, perform community service, visit educational and cultural sites, and reside with host families.