Teacher Exchange Program

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The Office of Global Educational Programs of the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), U.S. Department of State, announces an open competition for three assistance awards to administer components of the Office's Teacher Exchange Program in Fiscal Year 2012. Public and private non-profit organizations or consortia or other combinations of eligible organizations meeting the provisions described in Internal Revenue Code section 501(c)(3) may submit proposals to cooperate with the Bureau in the administration of the teacher exchange programs as categorized below. To facilitate effective communication between ECA's Teacher Exchange Branch (ECA/A/S/X) and the organization(s) cooperating on these programs, applicant organizations should have offices and staffs located in Washington, D.C. at the time of application. In recent years, the Bureau has revised and diversified its programming for teachers consistent with the Bureau's emphasis on reaching younger and underserved, non-elite populations, given the influence teachers can have on these populations in classrooms in the U.S. and around the world. This Request for Grant Proposals is part of an effort to reinforce the Bureau's engagement with primary and secondary school educators and to present a range of teacher program opportunities to potential applicant organizations, which may submit proposals to administer and implement one, two, or all three clusters of the following FY 2012 Teacher Exchange Programs as outlined below (organizations must submit a separate proposal for each cluster for which they apply): Cluster A: the Fulbright Classroom Teacher Exchanges and the Distinguished Fulbright Awards in Teaching; Cluster B: Professional Development Programs for International and U.S. Teachers; and/or Cluster C: the Educational Seminars, the Intensive Summer Language Institutes, and the Teachers of Critical Languages Program. Details about these program components are provided under the Funding Opportunity Description section of this document and in the Project Objectives, Goals, and Implementation (POGI) document associated with this solicitation. Proposals should reflect a vision for the program, interpreting the goals of the Fulbright-Hays Act and the Teacher Exchange Program with creativity, as well as providing innovative ideas and recommendations. The cooperating organization(s) for each cluster will have responsibility for program administration, which includes the following broad categories: program planning and management; participant placement; orientation and preparation of participants and host/mentor educators; enrichment activities; participant supervision and support services; fiscal management and budgeting; program reporting and evaluation (including ad hoc program and financial reports as requested by the Teacher Exchange Branch); and alumni programming and follow-on activities. Proposals should include schedules and timelines for notifying ECA, overseas partners, and participants of recruitment cycles, placements, travel arrangements and cross-cultural and program information in a timely manner. Programs must comply with J-1 visa regulations. Teacher exchange participants in the U.S. and abroad should be identified through open, merit-based competitions. Although the amount that will be available to support these programs in FY 2012 has not yet been determined, for planning purposes the total amount of funding that may be available to cover administrative and program costs of these programs will be up to $14,800,000. The amounts listed for each program are provided below to enable applicant organizations to prepare budgets for planning purposes and are subject to change. More specific information for each program is provided below and in the Project Objectives, Goals, and Implementation (POGI) document. All awards are pending availability of FY 2012 funds.

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