The purpose of this competitive grant program is to fund the development, launch, and continuation of partnerships between eligible Sponsoring Organizations and PK–12 districts to promote improved teacher preparation and development in evidence-based early literacy instruction and improved early literacy outcomes for PK–3 students. All students deserve access to high quality instruction, and it will take collaborative and innovative efforts on the part of both districts and institutes of higher education to ensure that PK–3 educators have the pre-service training as well as the ongoing professional development needed to well-serve Massachusetts students.
The goal of this grant program is for both districts and Sponsoring Organizations to benefit from collaboration through multi-year consortium developed to impact early literacy teaching and learning through preparation of candidates and ultimately hiring and employment of effective Elementary, Early Childhood, and Moderate Disabilities PK–8 teachers.
This grant is intended to support the advancement of evidence-based early literacy in both teacher preparation and PK12 classrooms through regional consortia comprised of multiple Sponsoring Organizations and PK–12 districts who want to collectively design, launch, and advance opportunities for developing teacher candidates' early literacy instructional skills in authentic ways. Grant funding will support consortia that bring educators together (including pre-service educators, in-service educators, school administrators, and higher education faculty) for the purpose of programmatically advancing early literacy teaching and learning. Through specific teaching and learning programs that advance early literacy, PK–12 districts and Sponsoring Organizations will have the opportunity to share effective practices, learn from each other, and better prepare effective educators in evidence-based early literacy, resulting in elevated early literacy instruction at the school, district, and higher education level.
For the purposes of this grant, an "applicant" is defined as the organization (Local Education Organization or Sponsoring Organization ,) who is applying for the grant on behalf of a "consortium," defined as a group of organizations working together to improve early literacy teaching and learning.
Category 1 — Districts or Sponsoring Organizations in the Visioning Stage of Launching a ConsortiumApplicants in this category are at the very beginning stages of planning and have not firmly established multiple partnerships. To be eligible, an applicant must represent a consortium that includes:
And be committed to:
Category 2 — Newly Established Consortia in the Planning Stage of Launching Early Literacy ProgrammingApplicants in this category have an established partnership with multiple Sponsoring Organizations and public school districts (four or more organizations in total) in their region and are designing and planning to implement programming that will advance effective early literacy instruction. To be eligible, an applicant must represent a consortium that includes:
Category 3 — Established Consortia Implementing Early Literacy ProgrammingApplicants in this category represent an established partnership with multiple SOs and school districts with a clear, strategic plan for the consortium's work. To be eligible, an applicant must represent a consortium that includes:
And be able to provide:
A total of approximately $300,000 is projected to be available across FY24 (Upon approval through 6/30/2024) and Summer FY25 (upon approval no earlier than 7/1/2024 and through 8/31/2024) based on the number of quality proposals submitted and the total cost of the grant activities.
Category 1 applicants may apply for up to $25,000 total.
Category 2 applicants may apply for up to $75,000 total.
Category 3 applicants may apply for up to $150,000 total.
Funding will be awarded based on the proposed grant activities and budget presented in the application.
Pending appropriation, funding for grant may continue in Fiscal Years 2025, 2026, 2027, and 2028 for FC726.
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.
State Line Item 7010-0033
Funding will be distributed across three categories (applicants developing a consortium, applicants launching a consortium, and applicants continuing a consortium), and eligibility requirements are set accordingly. Some grant funds will go toward development of consortia, and therefore may be awarded to single organizations (e.g., a PK–12 district, Sponsoring Organization, or other legal entity) committed to networking and establishing partnerships with other organizations in service of improved early literacy teaching and learning. Some grant funds will be awarded to established consortia committed to launching early literacy initiatives across partnering districts and Sponsoring Organizations. Other grant funds will be awarded to established consortia committed to continuing early literacy initiatives across partnering districts and Sponsoring Organizations. The intent is for this to be multi-year grant program designed to support consortia at various stages of development. Additional grant funding will be available as consortia expand and deepen their partnerships and programming.
Funds must be used to support the costs of grant activities including staff salaries, stipends, staff planning time as it relates to the grant, contracts, high quality instructional materials, costs related to professional development and training activities, and other expenses associated with implementing grant funded programming.
Grant activities may include but are not limited to:
Strategic Planning Activities (e.g. conventions that bring together PK–12 educators with higher education faculty to discuss early literacy, committee meetings to collaboratively determine mission, etc.)
Professional Development Activities (e.g. professional development or professional learning communities for supervising practitioners, program supervisors, higher education faculty, and district instructional leaders to improve the quality of teacher candidates' preparation in early literacy instruction)
Early Literacy Initiatives (e.g., high-dosage early literacy tutoring program for PK–3 students; the development of a resource library to support teacher candidates' understanding of evidence-based, culturally and linguistically sustaining early literacy instruction; an Early Literacy Task Force focused on building systems to support innovative staffing models; implementation of the Early Literacy Observation Tool)
Other (a model proposed by the applicant for collaboration that meets the needs of districts and Sponsoring Organizations)
Unallowable Expenditures:Out-of-State travel, food, current transportation costs or other currently funded costs, or any expenditures not directly related to grant activities.
School Year: FY2024: Upon approval through 6/30/2024Summer (if applicable): FY2025: Upon Approval (no earlier than 7/1/2024 – 8/31/2024) — summer portion of grant award may require submitting application in GEM$
Important Note: all FY24 grant funded goods and/or services must be provided and/or received by June 30, 2024.
* 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.
Office of Educator Effectiveness, Center for Instructional Support
Siobhan Allen
Friday, March 15, 2024**
Complete proposals must be received at the Department by 5:00 p.m. on the date due. Confirmation of receipt will be sent.
**All responses must be received by the due date listed above. Failure to do so will result in disqualification. Responses not received on time will not be reviewed. Applicants applying after the due date may be notified their application was received late and will not be reviewed. Applications must be submitted as directed in the Submissions Instructions below. Failure to do so may result in disqualification. If you need assistance with submitting your application, please reach out to the contact person listed on this funding opportunity.
Part III — Required Program Information and Narrative Responses
Important: Vendor Scope of Work — If your proposal includes funds used for services from an external PD provider, please submit a scope of work that includes that organization's planned activities and costs, on that organization's letterhead. Those costs should correspond to the budget submitted (Part II).
Note on Budget Details.Please use the provided Budget template to calculate each budget. This budget will allow us to determine the number of grants that may be awarded. This does not necessarily represent your final award amount. Recipients will be able to seek budget amendments after award to reflect accurate costs.
Required forms for Colleges/State Agencies Only:
In addition to the above documents, Required in EdGrants:
FY2024: ISA Crosswalk Federal & State — State Colleges and Universities
State Agencies with ISAs: Waiver filed with ANF to reduce the amount of indirect charged to these grant funds in MMARS. It is the responsibility of the applying entity that is a state agency to file an indirect waiver request with ANF and send a copy of the approved request to CTR. DESE cannot request indirect waivers on behalf of state agencies. (See Fund Use section for more info; See Additional Information for Colleges/State Agencies section for the ANF Waiver Request Form)
Additional Information for Colleges/State Agencies:The information below is intended for state entities that require ISAs as part of their grant award process. Not intended for Private or Community Based Organizations.
Please submit questions to siobhan.m.allen@mass.gov by February 23, 2024. Responses will be posted to this website by February 26, 2024.
Information Session on this RFP will be held via Zoom:
Curriculum Data Collection: In order to be eligible for this grant, districts must have completed their LEA's Curriculum Data Collection. The data should be viewable and up to date here: Curriculum Data. Directions about the expectations and how to provide the data can be found here: Curriculum Data Collection.
Early Literacy Universal Screening: LEAs receiving this award for ELA/Literacy will be required to participate in future research efforts related to early literacy assessment, including providing student-level assessment data from any approved early literacy screening assessment that is administered in the recipient schools during the award period. DESE will request that data be submitted by June 30 of each year awarded. DESE will analyze the statewide data collected for research purposes. Analyses will only be reported in the aggregate (e.g., by grade-level, region, etc.) in order to meet state and federal confidentiality laws. The identities of districts and schools will not be reported. All reporting will protect the identities of students, educators, schools, and districts.
Please email the required documents as listed above, attached to a single email, to CISgrants@mass.gov using the subject line FY24 FC726 Early Literacy Consortium Grant Application - [Organization Name]. Please use the provided filetypes (word and excel). Signature pages should be sent pdf documents.
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 5pm on the due date.
Awarded Recipients: Upon award, recipients will be required to enter the approved budget, Part I and required documents into EdGrants. Once selected, recipients will be contacted with further instructions on the process.
Last Updated: February 21, 2024
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