FY2026: Early College Capacity Grant

Fund Code: 0470

Purpose:

The primary purpose of this continuation grant is to provide 3 years of funding to expand staffing to promote Early College access and recruitment and/or to provide professional development to strengthen an institution's capacity to reimagine the high school experience so that all students are engaged and prepared for post-secondary success by improving high-quality MA Designated Early College Programs. These resources are intended to advance educational opportunities for underrepresented students in higher education to achieve their academic and career aspirations.

Priorities:

This grant is aimed at focusing on, but not limited to, the following priorities in building institutional capacity in early college programming:

• Expanding staff to promote Early College Access/Recruitment:
  Increase the reach of our Early College Programs to serve a larger and more diverse group of high school students, especially students underrepresented in higher education.

• Professional Development:
  Provide training and support for high school educators and college instructors involved in the program to ensure high-quality instruction that seeks to target the following areas:

  • Supporting Enhance Curriculum: Providing professional development for faculty and staff to develop and enhance the curriculum to ensure alignment with college readiness standards and industry demands.

  • Student Support Services: Strengthen academic advising, mentoring, and support services to help students succeed in college-level coursework.

  • Evaluation and Assessment: Implement robust assessment mechanisms to measure the impact and effectiveness of our Early College Programs.

  • Partnerships and Collaboration: Provide resources that invest in supporting partnerships between High Schools and Colleges, that allow capacity building between designated partners.

Eligibility:

These funds are available to Early College designated partners who were previous recipients of the FY24 Capacity Grant FC 0470.

Grantees will be required to send a minimum of five early college staff to a series of professional development training offered by DESE over the course of the FY2025 and/or FY2027.

Funding Type:

State Line Item 7009-6600

The receipt of grant funds is contingent upon the grantee being able to certify that it will comply with the Massachusetts General Laws, including G.L. c. 40A, § 3A, the MBTA Communities Act. Compliance with the MBTA Communities Act is determined by the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities.

Funding:

Approximately $540,000 is available through the FY26 grant. Grantees are eligible for approximately up to $30,000.

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.

This RFP is the governing document for these grant funds.

Fund Use:

This grant cannot be applied toward capital expenses or MTRS.

Project Duration:

Upon Approval* – 6/30/2026

Summer FY27: 7/1/2026 – 8/31/2026

To allow access for summer FY27 spending, grantees must reduce their School Year grants in the spring of 2026 to free up funding which will be rolled into FY27. There will be a separate funding application to submit for the FY27 summer portion.

* 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:

The Office of Early College

Contact:

Cashay Grant-Woods , Fiscal Manager

Phone Number:

(781) 338-3947

Date Due:

Thursday, July 31, 2025

Submissions must be received at the Department via GEMS by 5 p.m. Eastern on the date due.

Additional Information:

Interdepartmental Service Agreements (ISAs)

Interdepartmental Service Agreements (ISAs) are contract documents required when Commonwealth Department awards grant funding to another Commonwealth Department (Community Colleges and County Sherriff Departments and MA state agencies).

To ensure allowable fund use, the grantee must obtain approval by the program office. All grants must be submitted in GEMS including proposed budget line items. The Grants Management office will process the ISA once submission is approved before grant funds are released. In GEM$, this grant includes an ISA tab as apart of the application.

Any revisions that impact the object classes would trigger a revised ISA based on the new budget. Once completed, ISAs are signed by the applicant and by DESE and the grant will be processed through the DESE fiscal approved step. Keep this workflow in mind and please always respond timely with signed ISAs so we can process your grant and/or revision.

Submission Instructions:

The FY26 FC0470 Early College Capacity Grant will be submitted in our new GEM$ system. Grants for Education Management System (GEM$)

Grant Submission at the LEA level requires roles to be established for Grant writer for the specific fund code, LEA fiscal for financial review/approval, and Superintendent/Chief Executive sign off. All roles should be established prior to the grant due date and all appropriate forms should be either uploaded to GEM$, maintained at the LEA level or sent in to the DESE RFP contact as described on the individual forms.

The user guidance documents and forms are found on the GEM$ homepage under DESE Resources. These forms can be accessed without logging in to the system.

Last Updated: July 9, 2025