Support for High Quality History and Civics K-5* Education- 

Educating for American Democracy (EAD) Opportunity for Your Community 

Rebuilding trust in our constitutional democracy must begin at the earliest levels of education with a focus on supporting all learners. The Educating for American Democracy (EAD) Initiative is pleased to announce a request for proposals to support high quality history and civic education for students in grades K-5. This funding opportunity will allow successful applicants to implement a high-quality EAD-aligned project focused on K-5 students as part of their formal K-5 educational program during regular school hours, especially in underserved communities (communities where income is at or below the state median; this may includ urban, rural, tribal communities, etc.). Throughout the project period, the EAD Initiative will provide support to grantees, and an evaluator will collect information on pilot implementation in order to share portraits of high-quality EAD-aligned teaching and learning.  Grants awarded by the EAD Implementation Consortium will be subawards of National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) Federal Award number GA-291279-23 awarded to iCivics, Inc., which will issue the funds to successful applicants.

*Organizations that serve students in preK as well as students in one or more of the K-5 grades are welcome to apply and include preK as part of their proposal.

¹ Rebell, M. (2018). Flunking Democracy; Schools, Courts, and Civic Participation. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

² National Council for the Social Studies. (2017). Powerful, Purposeful Pedagogy in Elementary School Social Studies. https://www.socialstudies.org/position-statements/powerful-purposeful-pedagogy-elementary-school-social-studies 

³ Atwell, M.N, Bridgeland, J., and Levine, P. (2017). Civic Deserts: America’s Civic Health Challenge. Washington D.C.: National Conference on Citizenship.

⁴ Tyner, A. & Kabourek, S. (2021). How Social Studies Improves Elementary Literacy. Social Education 85(1), 32–39.

Project Period/Timeline: Tentatively July 17, 2023 – December 31, 2024

• July 2023 - Initial (50%) funds distributed once contract is complete with iCivics 
• August 2023 -July 2024- Pilot project implementation (including collection of evaluative data)
• January 2024 - remaining (50%) funds distributed upon completion of interim report
• July 2024 – End pilot project implementation and evaluative data collection
• August 2024 – Nov 2024- Pilot findings compiled and report written
• December 2024 - Report disseminated
• Financial reports will be due 90 days after the grant ends

Application Dates:

• April 3, 2023: Application available  
• April 14, 2023: RFP Information Webinar 
  • 2:00-3:00 pm ET- Please register here: 
  • https://harvard.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_9r4BotczSIO7xWABnTkxEA
• April 19, 2023: RFP Information Webinar 
  • 4:00-5:00 pm ET- Please register here: 
  • https://harvard.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_xd5TPAb_S2KKYHMqB69GPg
• May 31, 2023: 11:59 pm ET- Application due
• June 29, 2023: Applicants notified

Background: Reduction in social studies activities in education has been shown to lead to decreased engagement in civic life.¹ Not only have the greatest losses in civic education been seen at the elementary grade levels, they have resulted in the greatest impact on “failing schools”. ² The impact of the lack of social studies education in all grade levels falls most heavily on economically disadvantaged communities.³ The National Center for Educational Statistics (2007) reports that instructional focus on social studies has seen significant decline in comparison to other content areas (ELA specifically) in grades 1-4.⁴ In their 2017 position statement, Powerful, Purposeful Pedagogy in Elementary School Social Studies, the National Council for the Social Studies asserted that early instruction in the knowledge, skills, and dispositions of civic life is a necessary safeguard for our democratic principles and institutions. 

EAD was initially funded by the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the US Department of Education to provide guidance so that all learners have opportunities to understand the value of American democracy and are equipped with knowledge, skills, and capacities to participate in a healthy constitutional democracy. In 2021, the EAD created a Roadmap to Educating for American Democracy for integrating civics and history education in K-12 classrooms. The framework is inquiry-based and organized by seven major themes and questions, supported by five design challenges. Since its launch, the Roadmap has reached tens of thousands of educators and created a network of almost 200 cultural and educational organizations committed to advancing the goals of civic education. The NEH has now committed additional funds over the next two years, including a total of $600,000 for pilots focused on elementary education, to build the foundations for widespread adoption of EAD-based K–12 civics and history education. During this next phase, the K-5 Site Support Committee will direct the selection and implementation of 3-5 pilot projects in the elementary grades, particularly in underserved communities (defined as income at or below the state median). 

The EAD Initiative’s research during the discovery phases of the project, and experience with the first year of implementation and the curation of extant educator resources, revealed K-5 to be the least equipped, yet arguably most crucial, grade band. Civics and history education in the primary grades requires special expertise, materials, and professional development. At the elementary level, social studies content and skills are often braided with SEL, ELA and STEAM curricula and incorporate student development research to a greater extent than secondary classrooms typically demand.

Funding Opportunity Overview: The EAD Implementation Consortium seeks to identify and support pilot projects that address gaps in materials, approaches, and educator development for K-5 students, especially in underserved communities. The pilot projects could cover a large range of work: lessons, curricular units and/or curriculum development; professional development (in-service and pre-service); school strategies; district policies; assessments or other student evaluation; or state standards documents or other state policies. This project should enable applicants to either build on existing EAD efforts and/or launch new efforts.

I. Request for Proposals

Important Information

Purpose: The Educating for American Democracy (EAD) Implementation Consortium is offering this request for proposals from providers with expertise in elementary education to implement EAD-aligned pilot projects.

Eligibility: Awards must be made to organizations/institutions, not individuals. Only U.S.-based entities serving students in the U.S. or in military schools will be considered. Nonprofit and public/government entities are eligible to apply. If the applying entity is not an educational institution serving K-5 students, then the proposed project must include such a partner in the planning and implementation of the proposed project. Proposed project activities must focus on K-5 students as part of their formal education program during regular school hours. The educational institution partner must be represented in the project team list and their participation, as well as evidence of an established partnership, must be clearly described in the Proposed Project Team/Organizational Capacity section. If you have questions about eligibility, please contact EAD@iCivics.org.

Questions about submitting proposals: Interested applicants are encouraged to participate in one of two webinars regarding this opportunity that will be held in April. The first webinar will be on April 14th from 2:00-3:00 pm ET and the second webinar on April 19th at 4:00-5:00 pm ET. Please join the April 14th webinar by registering here. Please join the April 19th webinar by registering here. Please plan to allow several minutes to ensure the technology works on your computer when joining either webinar. Please see the FAQs here. If you have questions about this opportunity, please email EAD@iCivics.org with the subject line ‘EAD K-5 Pilot Opportunity’.

Available funding: The size of each project’s individual award will vary with the scope of the proposed project. The total available funds available for all projects are $600,000, which will be allocated across the selected projects according to budgetary needs. Proposal budget requests should be within $20,000 - $200,000 and not exceed $200,000 total (including an indirect rate of 10% unless your entity already has a negotiated indirect rate set with the National Endowment for the Humanities, in which case that rate should be used). Each project will receive half of its allocated total funds in July 2023 (upon completion of the contract) and half in January 2024. Successful grantees must have a Unique Entity ID from Sam.gov set up prior to receiving funds.

Estimated period of performance and final report date: The project period is mid-July, 2023 through December 31, 2024. We anticipate pilot activities to take place between August/September 2023 and July 2024, with findings from implementation compiled and a report written between August 2024-November 2024. The final report will be disseminated to the field in December 2024.

Disclaimer Notice: This request for proposals is not binding on the EAD Implementation Consortium nor does it constitute a contractual offer. Without limiting the foregoing, the EAD Implementation Consortium reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to reject any or all proposals; to modify, supplement or cancel the RFP; to waive any deviation from the RFP; to negotiate regarding any proposal; and to negotiate final terms and conditions that may differ from those stated in the RFP. Under no circumstances shall the EAD Implementation Consortium be liable for any costs incurred by any person in connection with the preparation and submission of a response to this RFP.

II. Required Proposal Content and Selection Criteria  

Required components include:

A. By submitting an application, applicants agree to adhere to all project requirements and deliverables within the stated project timeframes. Applicants must:

1. Complete the project application.
2. If the applying entity is not an educational institution serving K-5 students, then the proposed project must include such a partner in the planning and implementation of the proposed project. Proposed project activities must focus on K-5 students as part of their formal education program during regular school hours. the educational institution partner must be represented in the project team list and their participation, as well as evidence of an established partnership, must be clearly described in the Proposed Project Team/Organizational Capacity section.
3. Submit a budget and a budget justification for all project activities and for staff.
4. Submit a proposed timeline of project activities. 
5. Have the capacity to complete grant reporting requirements, host a site visit with the evaluation team for this project, and participate in the evaluation activities (still in development).
6. Be able to comply with the EAD Implementation Consortium contract requirements and execute a contract with iCivics within 30 days upon notice of selection. Requirements include:
7. 
   
   1. Per 2CFR25, all subrecipient organizations must obtain a Unique Entity ID from Sam.gov as a universal identifier for federal financial assistance.
   2. All materials publicizing or resulting from NEH-funded activities must contain an acknowledgment of NEH support. Consult the Acknowledgment and Publicity Requirements for NEH Awards and Publicizing Your Project pages on the NEH website (acknowledgement language)for guidance on acknowledging NEH support and promotion.  
   3. All project activities must be conducted in accordance with the Code of Ethics Related to Native Americans (available at https://www.neh.gov/grants/manage/code-ethics-related-native-americans).
   4. Subrecipients must ensure they have not been debarred or suspended by any federal department or agency and are prohibited from doing business with any organization or person (as a subrecipient, contractor, key employee, consultant, fellow or seminar/workshop participant) if they have been debarred or suspended by any federal department or agency,  local, county, state or tribal departments or agencies.
   5. Projects that receive NEH funds cannot include material that is obscene, libelous, offensive, or defamatory (including hate speech, personal attacks, or material constituting harassment). 
   6. All travel costs must be documented and clearly and directly benefit the award to which they are charged. Any travel arrangements made on a non-refundable basis are at the risk of the recipient, if the services must be canceled for any reason.

B. Applications will be reviewed and sites will be selected based on the considerations outlined in the rubric here.

A PDF version of this RFP and the application components/questions is here.