FY2022: Acceleration Academies Grant

Fund Codes: 224/322

Purpose:

The purpose of this targeted grant is to support district and school implementation of Acceleration Academies. The Acceleration Academies are an evidence-based intervention with a history of positive academic results for students.

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Districts that receive Acceleration Academies Grant funds must implement the Acceleration Academy model with fidelity, ensuring the program adheres to the following key program components:

• Acceleration Academies take place during the February school vacation week, during the April school vacation week, or both
• Instruction is provided in-person
• Students can only be assigned to one subject area during an Acceleration Academy week
• Students receive 4+ hours of in-person core content instruction each day within a given week or a total of 20+ hours of core content instruction in a week
• Class sizes are small (10–12 students/core content teacher)
• Students are taught by the same core content teacher for the duration of an Acceleration Academy
• Elementary and Middle school students attend at least 1 specials/enrichment class each day
• Classes are taught by highly effective educators who are hired through a selective application process
• Teachers selected/hired to teach in the Acceleration Academies receive a $3,500 stipend for each Acceleration Academy they are selected/hired to teach in

This grant supports Massachusetts' priority focus areas under its plan for implementing the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA):

• Early grades literacy
• Middle grades math
• Supporting historically disadvantaged students

Eligibility:

Districts that fall into at least one of the categories listed below are eligible to apply for this grant.

Category 1:
Chronically underperforming districts within the Strategic Transformation Region that have been identified under DESE's District and School Accountability System are eligible to apply.

Category 2:
Districts that received Acceleration Academy grant funding through a Target Assistance Grant (TAG) in FY20 are eligible to apply.

Districts that meet the eligibility criteria are:

• Holyoke Public Schools
• Lawrence Public Schools
• Chelsea Public Schools
• New Bedford Public Schools
• Springfield Public Schools for SEZP

Funding Type:

FC 224 — State
FC 322 — Federal CFDA 84.010

Funding:

Approximately $875,000 will be awarded to school districts with the possibility of additional funding in subsequent years.

Eligible districts may apply for the following amount of funds:

Eligible District	Allocation	Fund Code
Chelsea	$155,000	224 (state funds)
Holyoke	$155,000	322 (federal funds)
Lawrence	$205,000	224 (state funds)
New Bedford	$205,000	224 (state funds)
Springfield for SEZP	$155,000	322 (federal funds)

In all cases, 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.

Fund Use:

As outlined in the Purpose section, funds must be used to implement the Acceleration Academy model with fidelity and funds must be used for in-person Acceleration Academy programming.

Funds may not be used to purchase incentives or specific curricula.

Project Duration:

FC 224: Upon Approval – 6/30/2022
FC 322: Upon Approval – 6/30/2022

Program Unit:

Center for Strategic Initiatives

Contact:

Thomas Zorich
Email address: thomas.zorich@mass.gov
Phone: (781) 338-3528

Date Due:

Proposals must be submitted in EdGrants by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, December 17, 2021.

Required Forms:

• Part I — General — Program Unit Signature Page

• Part II — Budget (This is a budget template for the applicant to utilize while preparing their budget request. This is not the final budget. The final budget the applicant is requesting must be entered directly into EdGrants as part of the application submission process.)

• Part III — Required Program Information

• Part IV — Grant Assurances

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 "Application Project Name" in EdGrants:

FY22 [insert fund code] Acceleration Academies Grant — [insert district name]

All required forms should be uploaded / attached in the Attachments List formlet of the Application Submission. All Part I — General — Program Unit Signature Page documents must be wet-signed, scanned, and converted to PDF before being uploaded.

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

Last Updated: December 1, 2021