For many Head Start grantees and Head Start applicants, this is not only the week before Thanksgiving but also the week before the due date of the third round of recompetition grants.

Next Monday, November 24th, applicants for those grants that are in the Designation Renewal System will submit their final applications. This is no small feat, and we applaud all the organizations, both old and new, that committed much time and energy over the last couple of months to write plans to teach and care for the most vulnerable of our young children and families.

In mid-October, we hosted a webinar to share resources on grant writing and implementation planning for the CLASS system, detailing ways to include the CLASS tool to ensure highly effective interactions prevail in every Head Start classroom.

We circle back now to share an excellent resource from Heartland Grant Solutions: the DRS Tip Sheet: Writing about CLASS in your Recompetition Proposal.

The tip sheet includes detailed information about the four sections of the application where scoring criteria relate to the CLASS tool and offers suggestions on how to include it in your application.

Take some time to explore the entire Heartland website. You will find many resources and much expertise in how to promote your organization’s focus on providing high quality early childhood education. We are grateful for Heartland’s focus on the CLASS and look forward to continuing to partner with them to support grant applications for all early childhood programming.

Please let us know if you need any help with including the CLASS tool in your Head Start recompetition applications during this final week.


Understand the CLASS Tool and Gain Strategies for Improving Teacher-Child Interactions