The U.S. Department has provided application information for schools that qualify for the rural and small school grant program as authorized under the No Child Left Behind Authorization. Applications under this program are to be submitted electronically directly to the U.S. Department of Education. The following message describes the process.
Attached is the final list of LEAs eligible for the REAP Small, Rural School Achievement Program and Rural Low-Income School Program for Arkansas. This file is an Excel workbook with 3 different tabs. The one with the state name is the spreadsheet submitted by the Arkansas Department of Education. The tab marked SRSA shows the list of LEAs eligible for the Small, Rural School Achievement Program, and the tab marked RLISP shows the list of LEAs eligible for the Rural Low-Income School Program. Districts that qualify are encouraged to apply as soon as possible. The U.S. Department of Education will establish a closing date for this application within the next week or so, but LEAs may apply now.
Here are the instructions to access the application:
Using an internet browser application (such as Explorer or Netscape), go to http://e-grants.ed.gov
Click on the tab marked "e-application", and read the contents of this page
Register with the website, and then proceed to login to the system
Click on "Apply"
Click on Application for Small, Rural School Achievement Program (REAP), CFDA# 84.358A
Any questions or problems regarding access to the electronic application (such as problems loging in) should be referred to the e-grants HelpDesk at 1-888-336-8930. Hours of operation are 8am-6pm Washington DC time Monday-Friday. Questions regarding the content of the REAP program should be sent to REAP@edgov. Please ask your districts to fully exploit these resources and our web page before calling us with REAP questions -- we estimate that nearly 4,300 districts are eligible for the small rural schools program, and we will not be able to answer everyone's questions personally.
The application form is very short, and asks mostly for identifying information. Districts will need to have the following information on hand to complete the application:
An LEA D-U-N-S number. (If the LEA does not have a D-U-N-S Number, it can obtain a number by calling 1-800-333-0505 or by completing a D-U-N-S Number Request Form. The form can be obtained via the Internet at the following URL: http://www.dnb.com.)
An LEA Tax Identification Number (T-I-N).
An LEA Identification Number in the National Center for Education Statistics' (NCES) Common Core of Data (known as the NCES LEA ID). This number was included in the State eligibility spreadsheet found in the attachment.
Dr. Charles D. Watson is managing the REAP initiative in Arkansas. He is available to respond to questions about the program and the application process. 501-682-4474.