2005-2006 Professional Development Schools Grant Program
PDS Standard 5: Structures, Resources, and Roles – Partnership institutions garner and
allocate resources to support PDS work. As part of their institutional commitment to the PDS
partnership, the partner institutions provide participants with specific resources, including time,
space, incentives, professional expertise, leadership, vision, technology, public relations, and
access to community partners to advance the PDS work (NCATE PDS Standard 5, 2001).
Program Principles
1. In great appreciation and thanks to the Professional Development School partners for their
long-standing resource sharing with Minnesota State University, Mankato, PDS grant
dollars have been made available for the 2005-2006 academic year, through the generous
contribution by Minnesota State University, Mankato’s Academic Affairs and College of
Education. These reciprocal acts of resource-sharing allow our PDS to achieve “at
standard” designation by NCATE for Standard 5: Structures, Resources, and Roles.
2. All seven (7) PDS partner districts are eligible to submit proposals for grant funding.
3. Two (2) projects will receive automatic funding from the MSU/COE/CSUP grant program to
support their total PDS-wide initiatives per discretion of CSUP.
a. 2005-2006 PDS Learning Communities: Early Childhood/School
Readiness, English Language Learners, and Family-SchoolCommunity Connections.
b. 2006 Minnesota Kindergarten Conference – PDS Partner Conference
Advisory Board/Design Team.
4. Grant dollars available for 2005-2006: $17,400. Projects listed in Principle 3 will be
awarded $1200/project with a net $15,000 available to PDS partners.
5. Grant evaluators will be nominated from each of the seven (7) PDS districts to evaluate,
score, rank, and determine final award allocations.
6. “Project summaries” will be required from participants receiving awards.
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7. An emphasis on partnership “collaboration” with Minnesota State University, Mankato will
be an underscoring theme for awarding grants.
2005-2006 Program Overview
1. Faribault, LeSueur-Henderson, Owatonna, Sibley East, St. Peter, and Waseca will be
eligible for 1 award per district. Mankato will be eligible for 2 awards.
2. Applications may be retrieved online at http://ed.mnsu.edu/csup/
3. Applications must be submitted electronically to csup@mnsu.edu
4. For the 2005-2006 academic year, one grant proposal submission deadline will be offered:
January 15, 2006. Proposals will be reviewed between January 15th and January 31st.
Awarded proposals will be announced on February 1st. Grant dollars will be accessible to
awardees between February 1st and May 31st (2005-2006 fiscal year). Grant dollars are
unable to be carried over to the next fiscal year.
5. Proposals will first be evaluated by using a scoring rubric directly matched to the
application questions. Secondly, proposals must meet the “minimum score” on the rubric
for awarding consideration (93/100points). Finally, those proposals that have achieved the
“minimum score” will be ranked against proposals submitted from the same district. The
proposal achieving the highest score will be awarded. In case of a tie, the proposal
achieving a higher aggregate score for “joint school-university collaboration” (Criteria 6) on
the scoring rubric will be awarded.
If all proposals submitted from the same district do not meet the expected minimum
scoring criterion for award-eligibility, proposal submitters have the right to resubmit their
proposals for further consideration by no later than February 15th. Grant dollars that are
unallocated will return to the PDS for PDS-related professional development activities.
6. A grant evaluator is ineligible to evaluate, score, or rank proposals submitted from the
district of their employ.
7. Awards may not exceed $1,875 per proposal.
STRATEGIES FOR SUCCESSFUL GRANTSEEKING
1. Do your research to determine whether the PDS partnership goals and objectives for
grantmaking are consistent with your type of grant request.
2. Include a cover letter with each proposal that introduces your organization and your
proposal, and makes a strategic link between your proposal and the PDS’s mission and
grantmaking interests.
3. Type and single-space all proposals.
4. Answer all the questions in the order listed.
5. Do not include any materials other than those specifically requested at this time.
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