OESE, Migrant Education High School Equivalency Program (HEP)

Overview

<p><span>The purposes of HEP are to help migrant and seasonal farmworkers and members of their immediate family: (1) Obtain a general education diploma that meets the guidelines for high school equivalency (HSE) established by the State in which the HEP project is conducted; and (2) gain employment or be placed in an institution of higher education (IHE) or other postsecondary education or training. Competitive Preference Priority is: Prior Experience of Service Delivery. For applicants with an expiring HEP project, the Secretary will consider the applicant’s prior experience in implementing its expiring HEP project, based on information contained in documents previously provided to the Department, such as annual performance reports, project evaluation reports, site visit reports, and the previously approved HEP application. Invitational Priorities include Priority 1—Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics Education (STEM) Projects that are designed to address one or more of the following priority areas: (a) Providing students with increased access to rigorous and engaging coursework in STEM. (b) Increasing the opportunities for high-quality preparation of, or professional development for, teachers or other educators of STEM subjects. Note: Applicants could, for example, consider activities to better prepare program participants to transition into postsecondary education, such as preparing students to pass the sections of college entrance examinations in STEM-related subjects or providing mentoring, counseling, and tutoring services designed to motivate participants to pursue postsecondary education in STEM-related fields. Similarly, for the professional development priority area, applicants could propose activities to increase the opportunities for high-quality professional development for HSE instructors of STEMrelated subjects that include, for example, training in intensive science teaching techniques presented by a professionally credentialed expert in science education. <br>Invitational Priority 2—Faith-Based and Community Organizations Applications that propose to engage faith-based and community organizations in the delivery of services under this program.</span></p>