Questions and Answers Regarding the School Counselor Residency Implementation Grant Request for Applications (RFA)

December 20, 2024

  1. Question: (1) As a county office of education applying as the lead applicant of a consortium application, do we complete the top portion of Appendix E, or is that the responsibility of the partnering school district? (2) If we (as the COE) fill out the top section, does that mean the school district signs the bottom section, even though the language is specific to IHEs? (3) Also, are we required to collect individual Appendix E documents from each of the school districts we partner with? (4) Finally, should the superintendent of each district be the one to sign, or can another authorized representative sign on their behalf?

    Answer: (1) Yes, as a county office of education (COE) applying as the lead applicant of a consortium, you complete the top portion of an Appendix E Partnership Agreement, and the applicant’s partner IHE completes the bottom portion. (2) Partner LEAs (e.g., school districts) can sign the top portion of a separate Appendix E form, and as a consortium, the lead LEA can combine all signature blocks into a single, merged PDF before submitting the appendix as part of the grant application. (3) In addition to the lead LEA’s Appendix E form, all individual districts, charter schools, or any other LEA named in the application must sign an Appendix E Partnership Agreement. This allows for one signature box from each partner (LEA and/or IHE) to show. (4) Finally, yes, the superintendent of each school district should be the individual signing the Appendix E form.

  2. Question: We have a question regarding the field work – do residents have to be a single placement for the residency? It’s our understanding that for school counselors, they need experience at two different levels according to accreditation standards. Would this suggest that this requirement would need to be fulfilled prior to the “residency year”?

    Answer: Authorizing legislation requires school counselor residents to work “at least one-half time alongside a school counselor of record, who is designated as the mentor school counselor, for at least one full school year while engaging in initial preparation coursework.” Thus, at least 50% of each week across the full academic year must be in one residency placement with one mentor.
    For PPS preparation programs specializing in school counseling, candidates must complete fieldwork hours in two of three school levels (e.g., elementary, middle, high), with a minimum of two hundred (200) hours at each of these two levels. Outside of a candidate’s residency placement, the program has flexibility to determine a secondary placement at another school level to ensure that the candidate meets the fieldwork requirement in the PPS program standards.

September 20, 2024

  1. Question: We would like clarification on what qualifies as a “consortium” in relation to the RFA. Our understanding is that for a consortium, multiple LEAs would need to jointly submit the application on behalf of all named LEAs. However, if a single LEA is applying and simply partnering with districts to place residency program completers into available positions, would that also be considered a consortium?
    Answer: A consortium consists of two or more local education agencies (i.e., school districts, county offices of education, charter schools, regional occupation centers or programs operated by a joint powers authority or county office of education) that are working together to operate a School Counselor Residency Program in partnership with a Commission-approved pupil personnel services preparation program specializing in school counseling (PPS-SC) offered by a regionally accredited institution of higher education (IHE).

    Whether or not the application is for a consortium, there is always one LEA that is the lead applicant and fiscal agent. For a consortium, the lead LEA submits the application. If awarded, the lead LEA is the grantee and responsible for ensuring that the program is implemented as described in the funded application. LEAs partnering with the lead LEA applicant must be named in the application and each LEA partner must have a signed Appendix E included in the application.

  2. Question: As a capacity grantee, are we required to apply for the implementation grant?
    Answer: No. Though applying for an implementation grant is one of the expected outcomes, SCR Capacity grantees are not required to apply for an implementation grant, especially if during the capacity building process, it is determined that implementing a school counselor residency program is not viable for the LEA-IHE partnership.

  3. Question: Will the implementation grant be posted again for applications next year?
    Answer: Commission staff anticipate releasing another round of Request for Applications (RFAs) for the School Counselor Residency Implementation Grant Program in the 2025-2026 fiscal year.

  4. Question: Since many pupil personnel services credential programs specializing in school counseling (PPS-SC) are two years, are we able to provide school counseling residents with an annual stipend (e.g., $35,000 each year) to help offset the costs?
    Answer: Per authorizing legislation, each resident can be supported with a maximum of $40,000 in grant funding. A minimum of $20,000 in grant funding must be allocated to a salary/stipend for residents. Nothing precludes an LEA from allocating an annual stipend over the two-year program to offset costs, and/or including the full $40,000 in grant funding to the “salary/stipend for resident” budget category. LEAs can also contribute matching funds to create a more robust resident salary/stipend.

December 1, 2023

  1. Question: We see that the capacity grant for the School Counselor Residency is due either in December or February, and the Implementation is due in January. Can we apply for both the implementation grant in January and the capacity grant in February?
    Answer: Yes. This is a local decision. Eligible applicants are free to apply to RFAs when they are prepared to do so. Funding from multiple School Counselor Residency Grant funded programs may be spent concurrently.
Updated December 20, 2024