Please note: This program's frequently asked questions (FAQs) below is for historical information only. FAQs will be updated when a new competition is announced.

Arts in Education Model Development and Dissemination grants are designed to enable LEAs and other eligible entities, partners, etc., to further develop and create materials for the replication or adaptation of current comprehensive approaches for integrating a range of arts disciplines-such as music, dance, theater, media arts, and visual arts, including folk arts in these fields-into the elementary and middle school curricula.

Applicants may propose to:

• Further the development of programs designed to improve or expand the integration of arts education in elementary or middle school curricula;
• Develop materials designed to help replicate or adapt the program;
• Document and assess the program's results and benefits; and
• Develop products and services that can be used to replicate the program in other settings.

Uses of funds may include, but are not limited to:

• Field testing and evaluating model professional development programs;
• Ensuring comprehensive coverage of multiple arts disciplines;
• Developing partnerships among schools, arts organizations, and others with expertise in the arts;
• Creating materials documenting the implementation and achievement of the model program for other educators and agencies; and
• Obtaining the services of outside experts in the implementation and assessment of the model development.

Yes, the Department will only fund applications from eligible applicants that propose to enhance, expand, document, evaluate, and disseminate innovative cohesive models that are based on research and have demonstrated their effectiveness in (1) integrating standards-based arts education into the core elementary or middle school curriculum, (2) strengthening standards-based arts instruction in the elementary or middle school grades, and (3) improving the academic performance of students in elementary or middle school grades, including their skills in creating, performing, and responding to the arts.

In order to meet this priority, an applicant must demonstrate that the model project for which it seeks funding (1) serves only elementary school or middle school grades, or both and (2) is linked to state and national standards intended to enable all students to meet challenging expectations and to improver student and school performance.

Yes, there is one competitive preference priority.

Applicants proposing models that show how an applicant will address research-based evaluation may be awarded up to 20 additional points. The Federal Register Notice Inviting Applications for this program provides a full description of this competitive preference priority.

Yes, there are five invitational priorities. They are:

Invitational Priority 1—Applications that support activities to enable students to achieve proficiency or advanced proficiency in mathematics.

Invitational Priority 2—Applications that support activities to enable students to achieve proficiency or advanced proficiency in reading.

Invitational Priority 3—Applications that support activities to enable students attending schools in corrective action or restructuring under Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965, as amended (ESEA) to achieve proficiency or advanced proficiency in reading and mathematics.

Invitational Priority 4—Applications that focus on increasing access to arts education for students who attend rural schools, as defined by the National Center for Education Statistics.

Invitational Priority 5—Applications that provide for the development and dissemination of grant products and results through Open Educational Resources (OER). OER are teaching, learning, and research resources that reside in the public domain or have been released under an intellectual property license that permits their free use or repurposing by others. This invitational priority encourages applications that describe how the applicants will make their AEMDD grant products and resources freely available online, in an effort to share arts content, proven teaching strategies, and lessons learned in implementing AEMDD projects with the wider community of educators.

No. While we will not score applicants based on the invitational priorities, we encourage applicants to take advantage of the invitational priorities if their model allows them to do so.

Grant recipients will be required to submit an annual performance report that documents yearly progress towards meeting the expected programmatic outcomes. Grantees will also be required to submit a performance report, no later than 90 days after the end of the project period, in addition to any materials developed in the documentation, evaluation, and dissemination of the proposed products.

State or local non-profit or governmental arts organizations are required to partner with at least one LEA to be eligible. Applicants may provide verification as to the extent to which each partner in the proposed project is committed to the implementation and success of the project throughout the years proposed in the application.

There is a coordination requirement in that each entity funded under this program coordinates each project with appropriate activities of public or private cultural agencies, institutions, and organizations.