Grants and Other Financial Assistance Programs

FY2027: Appleseeds Materials and Professional Development Grant

Fund Code: 0208

Purpose:

In 2022, DESE released Appleseeds: Evidence-Based Foundational Skills for Massachusetts, a complete package of instructional materials for reading foundational skills in Kindergarten through Grade 2.

This targeted grant will support LEAs to implement the full suite of Appleseeds materials for reading foundational skills through purchase of consumable student materials necessary for implementation, and professional learning and support for educators, leaders, and literacy coaches from a DESE-approved Appleseeds PD provider.

Priorities:

DESE seeks to award Appleseeds Materials and Professional Development grants to entities that:

  • Are committed to prioritizing equity and excellence through commitment to evidence-based early literacy practices
  • Are actively invested in culturally and linguistically sustaining practices in literacy for all learners
  • Demonstrate favorable conditions and the resources, including time and commitment, necessary to make and sustain meaningful adoption and implementation, across multiple schools if applicable
Eligibility:

This targeted grant is intended for FY26 Appleseeds participants who indicated a desire for professional development support in FY27. The eligible districts include:

  • South Shore Charter Public School
  • Holyoke Community Charter School
  • Northshore Education Consortium
Funding Type:

State Line Item 7010-0033

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:

There is approximately $100,000 available for districts/schools, pending appropriation. 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 over the grant period.

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 targeted grant will provide funding for:

  • hands-on support from Appleseeds specialists for recipients to receive professional learning for teachers and leaders to support skillful, culturally and linguistically sustaining implementation of all Appleseeds materials.

Following the grant period, recipients are expected to continue implementing the materials and practices initiated by this grant. Eligible districts are able to apply for a certain amount based on size, populations served, and the phase of Appleseeds implementation. Please see the Appleseeds Budgeting Guide for details.

Project Duration:

Upon Approval* – June 30, 2027

* 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 DESE receiving and approving an application submission. Funds cannot exceed the project duration end date. The Grant Award Notice (GAN) issued in GEM$ is the official award notice for grant funds.

Program Unit:

Office of Literacy and Humanities
Teaching and Learning Unit

Contact:

Linda Sewnarine

Phone Number:

781-338-6242

Date Due:

Wednesday, July 29, 2026, at 5:00 p.m.

Proposals must be received at the Department by 5:00 p.m. Eastern on the date due.

Additional Information:

Curriculum Data Collection: To be eligible for this grant, districts must have completed Curriculum Data Collection for ELA/literacy, Mathematics, STE, and History/Social Science. The data should be viewable and up to date at: Curriculum Data. Directions about the expectations and how to provide the data can be found at: Curriculum Data Collection

Universal screening data sharing
LEAs receiving this award will be required to participate in research efforts, including providing student-level assessment data from the approved early literacy screening assessment that is administered in all schools during the award period. DESE will request that data be submitted by June 30 of each year awarded. DESE will analyze the data collected for research purposes, including evaluation of this program. Analyses will comply with state and federal confidentiality laws.

Submission Instructions:

The FY27 FC 0208 Appleseeds Materials and Professional Development Grants will be submitted in our new GEM$ system. GEM$ is a cloud-based fiscal and program management grant system that will eventually phase out the use of EdGrants. 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: June 25, 2026

Top