FY2024 and FY2025: Growing Literacy Equity Across Massachusetts (GLEAM) Cohort 2 Preschool Continuation

Fund Code: 508 A,B,C

Purpose:

The Growing Literacy Equity Across Massachusetts (GLEAM) preschool grant is a collaboration between the Department of Early Education and Care (EEC) and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE). This grant will support recipients to increase local access to high quality preschool, through preschool classrooms run by public school districts and EEC-licensed early education programs, enabling the preschool system to better serve all children, especially historically underserved students; and ensuring that all children can reach their potential in language and literacy development.

This grant is a continuation for FC508 GLEAM Cohort 2 FY23 recipients.

GLEAM Preschool grants will support entities committed to improving local access to high quality preschool classrooms in public school districts and EEC-licensed early education programs through the following activities:

• Adoption of high-quality literacy curriculum and associated instructional materials
• Adoption of a valid and reliable early language and literacy screener assessment as part of a larger screening protocol that includes developmental screening
• Professional development and support for teachers, principals, community-based program leadership and literacy coaches
• Customized support from expert early learning and literacy consultants individualized to meet the needs of the community
• Systemic attention to building local preschool quality and addressing barriers to access, particularly for children who have been historically underserved.

Priorities:

DESE seeks to award continuation to eligible entities that can demonstrate:

• Understanding of, and commitment to, the activities required to align and build the quality of preschool instruction;
• A plan to implement high quality preschool curricular materials in order to improve literacy experiences for all preschool children, particularly those who have been historically underserved;
• Involvement of a range of stakeholders in developing and committing to the activities articulated in the grant proposal, including leadership from EEC-licensed programs participating in grant activities; and
• Capacity at the district level to coordinate and implement grant activities and administer funds through a multi-year initiative across multiple early education classrooms in the district and community partners

Eligibility:

Public school districts, charters, or collaboratives that were awarded FC508 FY23 GLEAM Preschool Grants

FC508 Eligible Districts:

• Hoosac Valley Regional School District
• Lowell Public Schools
• Westfield Public Schools

Funding Type:

Federal CFDA 84.371
Federal grant funds must adhere to:

• UGG (2 CFR 200)
• EDGAR As Applicable
• EDGAR General Fiscal Administration 34 CFR Part 76

Funding:

Approximately $570,000 is available for FY24.

Recipients will need to provide detailed cost information to DESE to demonstrate compliance with grant priorities and approved fund uses in order to draw down funds.

This RFP is the governing document for these grant funds.

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:

This grant will provide funding as well as hands-on support from DESE and EEC Department specialists for recipients to accomplish the following grant activities for a maximum of 25 classrooms:

• Evaluating, selecting, and implementing preschool literacy curricular materials
• Purchase of a high-quality literacy screening assessment designed to inform instruction, and professional development to utilize the assessment
• Professional development and stipends for teachers and administrators to support skillful and culturally responsive implementation of the new curricular materials
• Professional development and stipends for teachers and administrators to support preschool screening assessments and data-based decision-making
• Customized support from expert early learning and literacy consultants individualized to meet the needs of the community
• Stipends for a "GLEAM Leadership Team." This team will work together to coordinate and enact the multi-year work of this initiative, across schools if applicable

Following the GLEAM grant period, recipients are expected to continue implementing the materials and practices initiated by this grant and will have access to ongoing assistance from DESE and EEC specialists as needed.

For more details about Fund Use, please see the Fund Use Details attachment .

Project Duration:

FY24 Upon Approval * [no earlier than October 1, 2023] – June 30, 2024

FY25 Upon approval * [no earlier than July 1, 2024] – September 30, 2024

A continuation will be available for funding in FY25 and FY26 (October 1, 2024 – June 30, 2025 and July 1, 2025 – September 30, 2025) to enact the full multi-year GLEAM program.

Note that grant funds will only be approved to fund the sequence of activities listed in the Fund Use Details attachment. The annual budget should reflect those activities in this sequence. Additional funds will be awarded based upon availability and recipient performance.

* Grant start date cannot be prior to DESE receiving a substantially approvable Application Submission as directed in this RFP's Submission Instructions. Goods and Services cannot be procured prior to Grants receiving and approving an application submission. Funds cannot exceed the project duration end date.

Program Unit:

Office of Literacy and Humanities
Center for Instructional Support (CIS)

Contact:

Allison Pickens, GLEAM@mass.gov

Date Due:

August 15, 2023

Required Forms:

• Part I — General — Program Unit Signature Page — (Standard Contract Form and Application for Program Grants).
  • FY24 Part I Upon Approval – June 30, 2024
  • FY25 Part I Upon Approval – September 30, 2024
  
  

• Part II — Budget Details: Please use the "Calculations" tab of the provided template to calculate an estimated budget for FY2024 and FY2025. Applicants should fill in the yellow cell and follow the instructions as stated. Final FY24 budget must be entered directly in EdGrants.

• Part III — Required Program Information

• Part IV — Schools Assurance

• Part V — District Assurance

Additional Information:

The Department is expanding grant support for ELA/Literacy over the next 3 years. Using federal CLSD funding, the Department expects to award $19 million in grants to support improvements in ELA/Literacy teaching and learning in preK–12 between FY22–FY25, under the program name GLEAM (Growing Literacy Equity Across Massachusetts).

GLEAM recipients will be required to prepare and provide data requested by the Department in order to evaluate the effectiveness of grant funds and activities. In the first year, this data will be primarily focused on inputs, such as numbers of teachers trained or materials purchased. In future years, this data will focus on outcomes, such as student performance on assessments. In addition, a national evaluation of this federally-funded program is being conducted; recipients will have the option to opt in to this national evaluation and to access additional related funding through the evaluator.

Any questions about GLEAM grants must be emailed to GLEAM@mass.gov . Q+A will be posted to Growing Literacy Equity Across Massachusetts (GLEAM) Grant Program.

Assistance for applicants will be offered. Please check Growing Literacy Equity Across Massachusetts (GLEAM) Grant Program for details.

Submission Instructions:

Submit all required grant materials through EdGrants. In EdGrants, districts are required to create and name the project. Please use the following naming convention for your "Applicant Project Name" in EdGrants:

• FY24 FC508 Cohort 2 GLEAM Grant Continuation.

All items listed under the required forms sections of this RFP should be uploaded/attached in the Attachments List formlet of the Application Submission in EdGrants. This includes a signed/scanned PDF of Part I. The final budget the applicant is requesting will be entered directly into EdGrants as part of the application process.

For Guidance Documents regarding EdGrants, visit EdGrants: User Guides, Information and Trainings.

Please note: It is up to the district to determine who they want to add as EdGrants Front Office users in order to submit this grant application as well as payment request information. Please review the EdGrants: User Security Controls to make informed decisions regarding assigning your district level users.

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

Last Updated: April 24, 2024