FY2023: English Learner Education Support

Fund Code: 181

Purpose:

This competitive grant program is one of the multiple ways DESE is supporting districts that have English learners and wish to implement new and innovative ELE programs and supports for innovative ELE programs, while also providing districts with an opportunity to create a more culturally and linguistically diverse workforce.

There are three goals for the grant. Districts may apply for funding to fulfill any one or more of the three goals:

• Goal 1: Develop and/or implement an alternative bilingual ELE program for English learners.

• Goal 2: Create (and cultivate) or continue a "grow your own" bilingual education hub that would support and encourage statewide initiative and collaboration, improve the Bilingual Education educator pipeline, share knowledge to accelerate the adoption of proven and recognized programmatic models for English learners, and develop successful models that can be replicated for years to come

• Goal 3: Develop high quality ESL and/or dual language curriculum or enrich the existing ESL and/or dual language curriculum, or align purchased curricular materials to WIDA Standards, MA Frameworks that prioritizes deeper learning and the linguistic and academic needs of multilingual learners.

Priorities:

Priorities for Goal 1

The intended outcomes for Goal 1 are as follows:

• Develop a proposal for a new bilingual English learner education (ELE) program and successfully complete DESE's review process; or
• Develop a proposal for improving an existing bilingual ELE program; or
• Within the existing ELE program the district is proposing to improve, develop a proposal to implement culturally responsive teaching practices that promote equity and social justice and that reflect the principles of the Vision for English Learner Education and Blueprint for EL Success

Applicants for Goal 1 must:

• Partner with an Institution of Higher Education that has an approved Bilingual Education Program in place.
• Ensure that all targeted groups listed in Part III of the required forms are included in the hub plan proposal

For more information please see the attached Part III Goal 1.

Priorities for Goal two (2):

The intended outcomes for Goal 2 are as follows:

• Increase the number of qualified bilingual education teachers in the district.
• Encourage and support bilingual students, parents, community members, paraprofessionals, and teachers to become teachers in bilingual education settings.
• Build systems to implement effective bilingual education programs.

For more information please see the attached Part III Goal 2.

Priorities for Goal three (3):

The intended outcomes of Goal 3 are as follows:

• Increase the achievement of multilingual learners in meeting their linguistic and academic goals by developing high quality curricula with a learner-centered approach.
• Provide multilingual learners with access to ESL and DL curricula that promote deeper learning by focusing on mastery of language and academic standards, support students' cultural and racial heritage by elevating student identity and include tasks and content that lead to student creativity.
• Provide the teachers of multilingual learners with high quality curricula that will support high-quality instruction with a clear scope and sequence and standard-based learning goals, referencing the ESL Toolkit for ESL curriculum and CAL's Guiding Principles for DL curriculum.

For more information please see the attached Part III Goal 3.

Note: Competitive priority will be given to districts and schools in chronically underperforming status and the Strategic Transformation Region.

Eligibility:

This competitive grant program is designed for districts, charter schools, regional schools and collaboratives that commit to:

1. Develop and/or implement an alternative bilingual ELE program for English learners.
2. Create (and cultivate) or continue a "grow your own" bilingual education hub that would support and encourage statewide initiative and collaboration, improve the Bilingual Education educator pipeline, share knowledge to accelerate the adoption of proven and recognized programmatic models for English learners, and develop successful models that can be replicated for years to come
3. Develop high quality ESL and/or dual language curriculum or enrich the existing ESL and/or dual language curriculum, or align purchased curricular materials to WIDA Standards, MA Frameworks that prioritizes deeper learning and the linguistic and academic needs of multilingual learners.

Applicants must:

• Commit to submitting program progress and outcomes to DESE, using templates DESE will provide.
• Commit to presenting and/or sharing grant funded work upon request from DESE.
• Participate in program evaluation determined by DESE to assess the grant program's effectiveness and gauge grant impact, including the effectiveness of the partnerships with Institutions of Higher Education.

Funding Type:

State

Funding:

Approximately $2,500,000 is available.

Approximately $1,000,000 of this funding is reserved for eligible applicants in in the commonwealth's 26 Gateway Municipalities as defined by Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 23a, Section 3a and have 100 or more ELs.

Funding is contingent upon availability. All dollar amounts listed are estimated/approximate and are subject to change. If more funding becomes available, it will be distributed under the same guidelines that appear in this RFP document.

Fund Use:

Fund use must be consistent with the priorities described above and the requirements associated with Massachusetts ESE's Strategic Plan . The focus of this grant is to support the implementation of new bilingual education programs for English learners in the Commonwealth.

Project Duration:

School Year: FY2023: Upon approval through 6/30/2023
Summer: FY2024: 7/1/2023 – 8/31/2023

Program Unit:

Center for School and District Partnership

Contact:

Diana Gentile

Phone Number:

(781) 338-3584

Date Due:

Friday, September 30, 2022

Proposals must be received at the Department by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, September 30, 2022.

Required Forms:

• School Year: FY2023 — Part I — General — Program Unit Signature Page — (Standard Contract Form and Application for Program Grants)

• Summer: FY2024 — Part I — General — Program Unit Signature Page — (Standard Contract Form and Application for Program Grants)

• School Year: FY2023 Part II — Budget Details

• Summer: FY2024 Part II — Budget Details

• Part III Goal 1 — Required Program Information — Grant Narrative Form

• Part III Goal 2 — Required Program Information — Grant Narrative Form

• Part III Goal 3 — Required Program Information — Grant Narrative Form

• Part IV — District Assurance

Instructions for the Budget and Narrative
Applicants must submit Budget Details using the Part II templates provided with proposed expenditures for FY23 (School Year) and FY24 (Summer), as well as a detailed Budget Narrative template provided that connects all expenditures to the intended outcomes of the goals they're applying for.

• Please Note Budget Detail Documents Have a Tab for Each Goal.

Additional Information:

Please see the attached FC181 Additional Information .

Districts submitting a budget with an Indirect Cost Rate must use Indirect Cost District Rate 2023 to confirm the maximum FY2022 approved indirect cost rate allowed and must fill out Indirect Cost Rate Calculation Worksheet .

Submission Instructions:

Complete proposals must be submitted by email to diana.gentile@mass.gov by 5:00 PM on Friday, September 30, 2022.

Applicants will receive a confirmation when the materials are received. Early submission is strongly encouraged to ensure the complete application is received and confirmed by 5:00 pm on the due date.

Awarded Recipients: Upon award, recipients will be required to enter the approved budget — in EdGrants and upload required documents. Once selected, recipients will be contacted with further instructions on the process.

Last Updated: August 19, 2022