Colorado School Transformation Network Grant

The Colorado School Transformation Network is an offered service of the Colorado Department of Education designed to increase student engagement and accelerate student achievement in select low-performing schools. The program is a collaborative and accountable partnership among participating schools, their Local Education Agencies, and CDE. Participating schools receive diagnostic and planning support, personalized professional learning with peer schools, on-site performance management support, regular Network events, and supplemental grant funding. The program's improvement framework addresses Leadership, Talent Management, Instructional Transformation, and Culture and Climate Shift. Each participating school is assigned a CDE School Transformation Specialist, and each LEA must designate a senior-level district partner who supports the school and participates in Network activities. Eligibility is limited to schools meeting specified federal or state school-improvement criteria. Eligible schools are those identified for improvement under ESSA as Comprehensive Support, Targeted Support, or Additional Targeted Support and/or schools with a state School Performance Framework plan type of Priority Improvement, Turnaround, or On Watch. If all qualifying EASI proposals cannot be funded, proposals meeting grant expectations are prioritized according to the EASI school-level prioritization list, with schools having the highest number of prioritization points funded first. CDE may also consider service capacity, including staffing, active sites from prior cohorts, site needs, geographic distribution, and the concentration of participating schools within a district or region. The program is identified as a good fit for schools with systemic challenges, strong LEA support and buy-in, and school leadership demonstrating a learning and growth mindset. It is not considered a good fit for schools currently participating in or recently completing Connect for Success, or schools undergoing a principal transition without a permanent school leader selected by the application deadline. Applicants may request up to $60,000 per school in Year 1, up to $60,000 per school in Year 2, and up to $60,000 per school in Year 3, for a maximum stated three-year funding opportunity of $180,000 per school. Funded support covers 2.5 years from 2025-26 through 2027-28, followed by an additional year of Transformation Network support in 2028-29 without additional grant funding. Funds may support evidence-based strategies aligned with the CDE diagnostic review and major improvement strategies, including professional development and related travel, additional teacher planning time or substitutes, parent and family engagement, marketing and branding supporting the school's mission and values, curricular and intervention resources, assessment platforms, visits to exemplar schools, and FTE when the applicant provides a sustainability and capacity-building rationale. The initial application budget should use $60,000 placeholders for each of the three funded years because the final plan and budget are jointly developed with CDE after the diagnostic review. Indirect costs may be included using the district's restricted indirect cost rate, but indirect costs plus all other budget lines may not exceed the maximum allowable award. Indirect costs are allowed only on federal awards and must be removed during post-award revision if the grantee receives a state award. Funds must supplement rather than supplant existing federal, state, and local funding. Post-award revisions must be approved before expenses are incurred and must be approved by June 30. Federal funds must be obligated by September 30 and requested by November 1 of the applicable fiscal year, while state funds must be obligated by June 30 of the final grant-cycle year. Carryforward is permitted only in accordance with funding-source restrictions and with CDE approval. No cost-share or matching requirement is stated in the supplied program materials. The program schedule identifies September through December for discussions with a CDE School Transformation Specialist about interest in applying and development of a proposed budget, with the application due in December and award notifications occurring in January. The source does not provide an exact calendar day for the December application deadline or an explicit application opening date. Following award notification, CDE conducts a half-day school diagnostic review during March through May. During May and June, the school, LEA, and CDE collaborate on initial planning, goal setting, budget development, and optional professional learning. The supplied materials describe the 2025-26 through 2028-29 program sequence but do not explicitly state that the opportunity recurs annually or provide a future application deadline. Grantees must participate in Transformation Network performance-management routines, protocols, and documentation and use an online Performance Management tool to enter, manage, and share Unified Improvement Plan action steps and interim data. Tracked information includes implementation of the school improvement plan, daily attendance, chronic absenteeism, suspension data, and student achievement and growth on local interim assessments. Schools are also expected to track improvement indicators frequently, participate in Network-wide surveys, and submit a Final Expenditure Report in GAINS each fiscal year by September 30. The materials additionally require school and district leadership participation in convenings, professional learning, performance-management sessions, observations and feedback systems, data teams, assessments, progress monitoring, and alignment of Network spending with high-leverage evidence-based improvement strategies. Program success is associated with dramatic increases in student achievement against ambitious and specific goals, progress toward school goals through implementation of prioritized strategies, active collaboration among participating parties, and sustained commitment by schools and LEAs to urgent improvement. CDE may terminate an award on thirty days' notice if the applicant fails to fulfill funded-program requirements or produces less than satisfactory results, and future-year award amounts remain contingent on state and federal allocations to CDE. The named program contact is Jennifer Hinkle, Director of Intensive Supports, School and District Transformation, at Hinkle_Jennifer@cde.state.co.us and (720) 576-2247. The official webpage also provides ESSAquestions@cde.state.co.us as the Federal Programs and Supports Unit contact.

Demonstrate strong LEA support and buy-in and school leadership with a learning and growth mindset. Ensure the school has systemic challenges appropriate for Transformation Network support. Align proposed spending with evidence-based strategies, Major Improvement Strategies, and findings that will emerge from the CDE diagnostic review. Consider EASI prioritization points because higher-point qualifying schools are funded first when all proposals cannot be supported, while CDE service capacity may also affect awards.