In order to meet one of the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001, Section 1116(e)(1), any school district in its second year of School Improvement (schools that have not made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) for three or more years) or in corrective action must provide Supplemental Educational Services (SES) to eligible children in the school. These services must be from a provider with a demonstrated record of effectiveness, selected by the parents of eligible children, and approved for that purpose by the State Education Agency.
The Arkansas Department of Education (ADE), each year, places on its website a request for proposals for applicants desiring to become Supplemental Educational Service providers in the state of Arkansas. In response to recent monitoring and guidance by the federal government, this year’s request for proposals has significant changes, including extensive information on reporting student attendance, communication with schools and parents, and data gathering responsibilities of providers and local education agencies (schools and school districts). Individuals may access the website containing the most recent Non-Regulatory Guidance for Supplemental Educational Support programs at http://www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/suppsvcsguid.doc This information may also be accessed at the ADE website http://arkansased.org by clicking on the No Child Left Behind icon at the bottom of the webpage.
Because of the significant changes to the request for proposals, all entities desiring to provide supplemental educational services, even those entities previously approved for service provision, are required to apply under the request for proposals attached to this Commissioner’s Memo.
A conference for SES provider applicants will be held on August 22, 2006, from 9:00 a.m. until noon at the Jacksonville Community Center at 5 Municipal Drive, Jacksonville, Arkansas. While there is no charge for the conference, attendees must register by calling Polly Davis at 501-683-5425 or emailing Ms. Davis at polly.davis@arkansas.gov. All persons and entities interested in becoming SES Providers are strongly encouraged to attend the conference.
Mail or deliver all proposals to the ADE on or before the close of business (4:30 p.m., Central Standard Time) on Thursday, September 7, 2006. Fax copies or electronic copies will not be accepted. A postmark of September 7, 2006, for later delivery is not acceptable.
Questions should be directed to Polly Davis, ACSIP Federal Programs/ School Improvement unit, 501-683-5425 or by email to pdavis@arkedu.k12.ar.us