Early Childhood Applied Research Solutions™

For Your Review and Consideration

April 27, 2009

Hello,

Susan Gunnewig, M.Ed. And Dale McManis, Ph.D. have joined to offer a

strong research solution for your review and consideration. The purpose of

this joint effort is to assist our early childhood friends with new demands that

they may be facing with the ARRA funding opportunities and requirements. Dale and Susan worked closely as colleagues at the Children’s Learning

Institute and the Texas State Center for Early Childhood Development at the

University of Texas Health Science Center. Since our departure, we have

collaborated on various projects and most recently have carefully studied

each piece of the early childhood stimulus package from the U.S.

Department of Education and U.S. Health and Human Services.

In the attachment provided you will see our solution is tri-fold. Area 1

supports efforts for Grant Writing. Area 2’s purpose is to support Program

Improvement and lastly, Area 3 is designed to aid in Professional

Development support. You will find suggested services under each area.

However, we are very open to other services in which groups may have an

interest.

We are sending our first notification to you to make you aware of our

services during this exciting and challenging time. You and your contacts

and colleagues might appreciate knowing there are services available that

are knowledge and research-based, reliable, and come with a commitment

to bringing high quality assistance.

We look forward to hearing from you soon!

Sincerely yours.

Early Childhood

Applied Research

Solutions™

Bringing You Expert Support

In:

Welcome to Early Childhood

Applied Research Solutions™!

Our Services Include:

•Grant Writing Support (Area I)

In-Depth Analyses of RFAs and Summaries of Key

Components

Grant Application Proposals Review

Grant-Ready Documents

Program Improvement Support (Area II)

•Needs Assessment Tools and Support

•Individualized Improvement Plans

•On-going Monitoring and Evaluation Tools and Support

Professional Development Support (Area III)

•Key Topics for the Early Childhood Community (e.g.,

Research on

Best Practice, Early Learning Content Standards, Quality

Rating

Systems, Mentoring)

•On-line Professional Development Learning Communities

(Book

Clubs, Webinars)

•Information for Newsletters with Current and Best Research

•Parent Volunteer Training and On-Line Support

We are also available to work with you on customized

services.

Contact Information:

Susan Gunnewig can be reached by phone at 713-876-5492 and

by email at susangunnewig.ecars@yahoo.com

Dale McManis can be reached by phone at 713-647-1247 and by

email at dalemcmanis.ecars@yahoo.com

Details on Area I: Grant Writing Support

An independent proposal review by an experienced team can make

the difference between a project that gets funded and an

application that a granting agency will not consider. We specialize

in early childhood grants. This means that you work with a team

that truly understands the world of early childhood programs and

early childhood grants. We know that many times you are under

multiple demands that make it difficult to prepare the best grant

proposal possible. That is where we come in. We offer quick turn-

around, professional feedback, and on-going communication. In

order to increase your chances of being considered and funded,

we offer a series of support services.

In-Depth Analyses of RFA and Summaries of Key Components

Once you have identified a grant (or multiple grants) that you are

interested in, we systematically and comprehensively review the

RFA and prepare a summary of the key components, including:

•Deadlines and details of submission (e.g., LOIs, pre-application,

full application deadlines);

•Method of submission (e.g., on-line, hard copies mailed, number

of copies);

•An outline of the parts of the application and their related scoring

criteria and points (e.g., abstract, narrative, budget, letters of

support, personnel, human subjects, assurances);

•Level of outside support needed (e.g., training, evaluation); and

•The “Degree of Complexity”. Based on the above information, we

calculate for you if the amount of time and expertise needed to

prepare the grant is a 1 (fairly simple grant with relatively small

amount of time and outside expertise needed); a 2 (moderately

complex grant with relatively medium amount of time and outside

expertise needed); or a 3 (complex grant with substantial time and

outside expertise needed). Usually as well, the larger the amount

of funds being provided by the grant, the more complex the grant

application will be. Each rating comes with a specific rationale for

why a 1, 2, or 3 has been assigned to the grant opportunity.

Grant Proposal Review

Once you have prepared a LOI, a pre-application proposal, and/or a

full application proposal, we review your documents to strengthen

them. Whether you are completely new or experienced in grant

writing, it is common to not view your proposal as objectively as a

grant reviewer will. We have experience both in writing grants and in

reviewing grants, which gives us valuable insight into both sides.

Your feedback comes to you in track changes with detailed

comments so that you can see exactly where and what needs

additional attention. Our service also comes with telephone and

email support so that we can work most effectively with you through

the process.

We provide the following key feedback:

•The degree to which the required information from the RFA is

present in the proposal; and in relation to the points awarded in the

scoring criteria.

•The level of overall organization, clarity of ideas, and flow of ideas

in a logical manner through the proposal.

•Weaknesses in research. You may choose to find the research on

the identified gaps yourself; or have us conduct a specific and/or

customized literature search for you.

•Weaknesses in the design or implementation of the proposed

project. These are noted for you with specific suggestions in areas

common in educational grants, such as training and professional

development, curriculum implementation, progress monitoring

and/or standardized assessment, evaluation, parent involvement,

agency/community support, and any others specific to a particular

grant.

•Comments and suggestions on areas such as grammar,

punctuation, sentence structure, and correct method of citing

research.

•Suggestions on getting the proposal within the space restrictions.

•Overall analyses and recommendations.

Grant-Ready Documents

We offer a wide range of documents with summaries, examples,

and references that come ready to place within your proposal. You

may elect to choose and use the pieces as presented or we can

customize them for your grant, and even suggest exactly where to

place them in your proposal.

Examples of Grant Ready Documents include:

•Effective Early Childhood Education Program Models

•Scientifically-based Reading Research

•Scientifically-based Mathematics Research

•Scientifically-based Social-Emotional Research

•Scientifically-based ELL Research

•Scientifically-based Special Needs Learners Research

•Research on Professional Development Approaches

•Curricula Evaluation

•Individualized Searches

Details on Area II: Program Improvement Support

In all you do, but especially in the context of grants, we know the

main goal is to improve your program. To be able to show this

growth and its effectiveness requires a well thought out plan and

the tools to capture how the plan is being implemented and its

results. Knowing your starting point, how and the extent to which

the objectives are being met along the way, and the final outcomes

are all essential elements of solid program improvement. Further,

without the right tools that fit your program and situation, you may

spend the life of the initiative you are implementing worrying about

the final outcomes. To support you in this area, we have a series of

services and tools from which you may choose.

Needs Assessment Tools and Development

Whether you need an informal or a highly prescribed needs

assessment, or feel your usual needs assessment information is a

bit stale, we look at this task with fresh eyes. We can provide you

with standard needs assessment tools to guide you in gathering the

information you desire, or we can customize a tool that fits your

particular project and situation. If your needs assessment involves

gathering information and data from sources outside your

organization or time availability, we provide this service as well.

Individualized Improvement Plans

Setting targeted and realistic goals with measurable outcomes

based on your needs assessment findings is at the heart of program

improvement. We are able to review and offer feedback on plans

that you have written, or we take the information and develop a plan

for you and work with you in a collaborative manner until you are

satisfied with the Program Improvement Plan. Our expertise is in

linking research on best practices with program goals to have a

solid blueprint for you to follow as you implement initiatives.

On-going Monitoring and Evaluation Tools

Often misunderstood and given cursory attention, monitoring and

evaluation can mean the difference between success and appearing

to have failed. Done well monitoring will help you self-correct along

the way and with a strong evaluation component be much better

assured of having the data to show your successes at the end of

your project. We can help you with monitoring and evaluation plans,

help carry out the plans, and help you interpret and report the

findings. If you need high-stakes evaluation (e.g., large federal

grants), we have a broad and deep network of university contacts

and can put you in touch with people and groups who are well

situated for this work.

Details on Area III: Professional Development Support

Now more than ever, recognition of the power of effective

professional development is at the forefront in the early childhood

education field. However, the resources and support available have

not kept up with the call for attention in this area. Having developed

professional development programs for all types of early childhood

settings (i.e., Head Start, State Pre-K, and Child Care), trained

thousands of teachers, and participated in rigorous research on

professional development, we are well positioned to offer services

in this area.

Professional Development for the Early Childhood Community

We are able to assist you in developing a professional

development plan that includes helping you in determining and/or

developing any or all of the following:

The topics,

The goals and objectives,

The method of delivery,

The materials and presentations,

The trainers

Scientifically-Based Research on Best Practices

The following represents a sampling of the key topics that we offer

that have been identified as critical in early childhood:

•Classroom management

•Language

•Literacy

•Mathematics

•Science and Social Studies

•Social-emotional

•Customized

Early Learning Content Standards

Many programs have found they need to better understand and

implement early learning content standards. We are able to

provide outstanding professional development tools, materials,

and support for the following:

•Specific state standards

•Head Start Outcomes

•NAEYC standards

•National standards

•Linking standards to K-3

Additional Topic Areas Offered for Professional Development

•Quality Rating Systems

•Child Progress Monitoring and Assessment

•Differentiated Learning

•ELL

•Special Needs

•Mentoring

•Working with Parents

Using Technology in Professional Development

We are excited to offer some creative and unique opportunities

for your program using technology to bring professional

development experiences to you and your staff. Below is a list of

the areas we offer. We are also very open to working with you to

provide other opportunities that you would like.

•On-line Professional Development Learning Communities (Book

Clubs, Webinars)

•On-line Newsletters with current and best research

•Parent Volunteer Training and On-Line Support

Fees

We offer a variety of fee structures to give you maximum flexibility.

Our Pricing Options include:

•By-the-Page. When you choose this option, our fee is based on the

number of pages you indicate you would like reviewed. You may

choose for us to review the entire document(s) or selected sections.

This option lets you know exactly what the fee will be before we

begin. Our By-the-Page Fee is $20.

•By-the-Hour. When you choose this option, we provide a free one-

hour analysis of your request in order to give you a solid and accurate

quote of the estimated number of hours your project will take. As with

the By-the-Page option, you may choose for us to review the entire

document(s) or selected sections. Our By-the-Hour Fee is $40.

•By-the-Project. When you choose this option, we review all relevant

documents related to the application and proposal and we charge a

flat fee based on the “Degree of Complexity” (1-low, 2-moderate, or 3-

high: please see above for a full explanation). Here you also have the

option of a full or selected review. This option gives you the comfort of

knowing that we will work with you based on this fee until the proposal

is successfully submitted. Our By-the-Project Fees are negotiated

with you but are based on our By-the-Hour fee of $40.

Note: When you choose only the RFA review we do analyze the

entire RFA because this is necessary for us to give you the correct

feedback. For LOIs, we also review the entire document as these are

usually one to two pages. These two services are charged at your

choice, either By-the-Page or By-the-Hour.

•All of our options come with up to three hours of phone support and

up to 10 email exchanges that are complementary. If more time is

needed, we charge a small fee per phone call (based on minutes) and

per email exchanged (based on number).

•Our turn-around time is based on the size of the request. We know

that with grant application deadlines, there is usually very little room

for “waiting” for feedback and therefore our turn-around time is

offered in terms of days not weeks. When you work with us, you will

receive feedback every 1-2 days until the project is complete.

Our Team

Putting your proposal in the hands of a grant reviewing service is

not always easy. You need to know that the people you are

working with have the expertise and integrity to give you and your

project unparalleled attention.

Who We Are

Susan B. Gunnewig, M.Ed.: Susan is a renowned expert in the

field of early childhood and the Director of Product Development at

Hatch. She served for many years on the faculty of the University

of Texas-Houston in the Children’s Learning Institute, is a coauthor

of the CIRCLE and Head Start STEP 2002 training, as well as co-

creator of the Texas Early Education Model (TEEM), which has

been demonstrated to prepare at-risk preschool children for

kindergarten. Susan also has over 20 years experience in one of

the largest school districts in the country-Houston ISD, where

many of the children are ELL. She has presented at approximately

100 conferences and conventions across the United States and

has coauthored many early childhood research articles. Over the

past 35 years, Susan has been involved in writing and reviewing

hundreds of grant applications in her career as an educator and

researcher.

Lilla D. McManis, M.Ed., Ph.D.: Dale has been an educator,

evaluator, and researcher for the 25 years. She has worked in

numerous school settings, held senior level positions at state level

departments of education and public health, and served on the

faculty at the University of Texas-Houston in the Children’s

Learning Institute. Dale holds degrees in child development,

special education, and educational psychology. She has taught

special education in a variety of settings, taught prospective

teachers at the university level, conducted large evaluations, and

overseen the fielding of many large research studies. She consults

on numerous projects, most recently on infusing research into the

development of products for early childhood education programs.

She has written many RFAs and served as a frequent grant

reviewer.

Contacting Us

We welcome your calls or emails to hear about the grant opportunities

that you are considering or have already begun working on. We can

take your call or respond to your email any day and any time that is

convenient for you.

Susan Gunnewig can be reached by phone at 713-876-5492 and by

email at susangunnewig.ecars@yahoo.com

Dale McManis can be reached by phone at 713-647-1247 and by email

at dalemcmanis.ecars@yahoo.com

Our physical address is: 4606 FM 1960W, Suite 433, Houston, Texas

77069

We are ready to support you with the following current opportunities and any others with which you have needs!

American Recovery and Reinvestment ActEarly Childhood Fund Allocations

The Act will help low-income parents obtain the child care they need to get and keep jobs and help children get the early learning they need to succeed by providing:•$2 billion for the Child Care and Development Block Grant, with the entire amount available upon enactment. Of this total, $255.2 million is reserved for quality improvement activities, of which $93.587 million is targeted to improve infant and toddler care.Allocation Agency: Department of Health and Human ServicesAllocation Update: http://www.os.dhhs.gov/recovery/•$1 billion for Head Start, allocated according to the current statutory formula, and $1.1 billion for Early Head Start, to be awarded on a competitive basis.Allocation Agency: Department of Health and Human ServicesAllocation Update: http://www.os.dhhs.gov/recovery/•$2.33 billion for Department of Defense facilities, including quality of life and family-friendly military improvement projects such as family housing, hospitals, and child care centers.Allocation Agency: Department of Health and Human ServicesAllocation Update: http://www.os.dhhs.gov/recovery/•$13 billion for Title I grants for education programs for disadvantaged children, including early childhood programs and activities.Allocation Agency: Local Education Agency (LEA) (School Districts)•$11.7 billion to local education agencies for Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) programs for children ages 3 to 21, including $400 million for preschool grants (section 619) programs.Allocation Agency: Local Education Agency (LEA) (School Districts)•$500 million for formula grants under IDEA Part C to help states serve children with disabilities and special needs age 2 and younger.Allocation Agency: Local Education Agency (LEA) (School Districts)