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Grants and Other Financial Assistance Programs

FY2027: Countdown to Launch

Fund Code: 0588

Purpose:

The purpose of this competitive grant program is to fund schools to strengthen their early literacy practices and their capacity to support teacher candidates seeking licensure in Early Childhood PK–2, Elementary 1–6, or Moderate Disabilities PK–2/PK–8. Throughout the 2026-2027 school year, schools with successful Countdown to Launch grant applications will receive funding for initiatives that build capacity to support teacher candidates' development of evidence-based early literacy instruction. Schools will also receive compensation for their participation in DESE walkthroughs, touchpoint meetings, and data collection to support their evaluation as a Launchpad School at the conclusion of the school year. The Countdown to Launch grant is intended to function as a one-time seed grant to establish the Countdown to Launch program such that it can be self-sustaining moving forward.

The Launchpad Schools initiative will identify and elevate the supervising practitioners (i.e. mentor teachers), classrooms, and schools that are well-suited to serve as sites for practicum placements so that future teachers are able to observe and learn evidence-based early literacy practices aligned to the 2024 Early Literacy Program Approval Criteria . Designation as a Launchpad School signals effective and coherent systems, materials, and staff that advance evidence-based early literacy practices across the building, as well as a commitment to partnering with educator preparation programs on the shared goal of supporting teacher candidates' development of evidence-based early literacy. The designation of Launchpad School will include incentives for schools such as deeper partnerships with education preparation programs, access to additional teacher candidates to support students, and a stronger hiring pipeline. Supervising practitioners in Launchpad Schools may also be eligible to receive a stipend for hosting teacher candidates, contingent on future funding.

Priorities:

DESE seeks to award Countdown to Launch grants to public schools that:

  • Are committed to prioritizing early literacy equity and excellence through partnerships with education preparation programs
  • Demonstrate evidence-based early literacy practices aligned with Mass Literacy
  • Demonstrate the commitment necessary to provide teacher candidates with models of evidence-based early literacy instruction and to integrate teacher candidates into the school community
  • Have systems and structures in place to run a Multi-Tiered System of Support (MTSS) to ensure equitable early literacy instruction

Competitive priority will be given to:

  • Schools that have hosted teacher candidates seeking Early Childhood PK–2, Elementary 1–6, and/or Moderate Disabilities PK–2/PK–8 licenses in the last three years
  • Schools in the bottom 25% of proficiency rates on the ELA MCAS
Eligibility:

This competitive grant is open to public schools serving students in one or more of the following grades: PK, K, 1, 2, 3. Schools already receiving other grant funding are eligible to participate in this grant program.

Participation is limited to schools that have implemented or will be implementing high-quality instructional materials for early literacy instruction in the 2026-2027 school year

  • Limited to early literacy curricular materials that meet the Department's definition of high quality as defined by CURATE at the time of application. Additionally, if the school's core instructional materials do not include a foundational skills component but do meet the criterion listed above, evidence-based foundational skills curricular materials must be in use as well.

To be eligible, applicants must be committed to:

  • Establishing and/or strengthening a partnership with an education preparation program (EPP) in order to host teacher candidates
  • Maintaining and strengthening evidence-based early literacy practices in order to support teacher candidates in successfully implementing these practices. This may include grant activities such as:
    • A virtual Community of Practice (with at least 8 meetings from January through June of 2027)
    • Professional learning around early literacy and/or mentoring (throughout the 2026-2027 school year)
    • School representation at an Early Literacy in Educator Preparation Conference in June 2027
    • School representation at Literacy Launch Institutes
    • Conducting activities, such as meetings or mutually beneficial needs assessments, that establish and/or strengthen partnerships with EPPs throughout the year
  • Hosting DESE staff for walk-throughs and touchpoint meetings at least three times throughout the duration of the grant
  • Establishing that within the school, there are eligible supervising practitioners (educators with three full years of experience under an Initial or Professional license in either Early Childhood PK–2, Elementary 1–6, or Moderate Disabilities PK–2/PK–8 who have received an evaluation rating of proficient or higher) willing to host teacher candidates for pre-practicum and/or practicum placements
  • Ensuring that school leadership (ex: principal, assistant/vice principal) will participate in grant activities, including attending a virtual Community of Practice, professional learning, and DESE touchpoint meetings
  • Participating in DESE data collection, including:
    • Participation in surveys about the efficacy of the grant program
    • Participation in classroom observations and educator interviews
    • Participation in the Launchpad Schools Application Process in June 2027
Funding Source:

State Line Item 1596-2437

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:

A total of approximately $100,000 is projected to be available across FY27 (upon approval through 6/30/2027). Schools will be awarded up to $10,000.

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:

Fund use must be associated with activities aligned to the 2024 Early Literacy Program Approval Criteria. Fund use is limited to the following options:

  • Compensation for time that teachers spend on grant activities outside of contract hours, such as virtual attendance at Community of Practice meetings for schools participating in the grant, participation in early literacy training, and/or participation in supervising practitioner training
  • Compensation for time that school leaders spend on grant activities outside of contract hours, including participation in early literacy training, attendance at Community of Practice for schools participating in the grant, check-in meetings with DESE staff throughout the grant
  • Compensation for time that teachers and school leaders spend preparing for and/or debriefing DESE walk-throughs outside of school hours
  • Early literacy initiatives that strengthen early literacy outcomes for the school and/or teacher candidate integration into the school community (e.g., literacy professional development for staff; additional copies of high-quality instructional materials for teacher candidates' use; the development of a resource library to support both current staff and teacher candidates in their understanding of culturally and linguistically sustaining early literacy instruction)
  • Initiatives that establish and/or deepen partnerships with Educator Preparation Programs (e.g., establishing/attending partnership meetings with an EPP; completing a literacy needs assessment with an EPP; potential supervising practitioner completion of Early Literacy Observation Form training)
  • Materials purchased to support professional learning and implementation of evidence-based early literacy instruction for both in-service and pre-service teachers

Unallowable Expenditures:

Out-of-State travel, food, current transportation costs or other currently funded costs, or any expenditures not directly related to grant activities.

Project Duration:

Upon approval – 6/30/2027

Important Notes:

  • All FY27 grant funded goods and/or services must be provided and/or received by 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 Grants receiving and approving an application submission. Funds cannot exceed the project duration end date.

Pending successful completion of grant activities in the 2026-2027 school year and DESE approval, grantees will be designated as Launchpad Schools in June of 2027. This designation will include incentives for schools such as deeper partnerships with education preparation programs, access to additional teacher candidates to support students, and a stronger hiring pipeline. Contingent on funding, supervising practitioners in Launchpad Schools will also receive a stipend for hosting teacher candidates. Launchpad Schools will be responsible for establishing and/or deepening partnerships with Educator Preparation Programs in the 2027-2028 school year.

Program Unit:

Office of Educator Effectiveness, Teaching and Learning Unit

Contact:

Sarah Falvey

Phone Number:

(781) 338-3234

Date Due:

Monday, October 26th, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time

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

DESE Competitive Grant Submission Policy

Competitive grant applications are considered submitted when the grant application is submitted by the Superintendent or their designee through the "LEA Superintendent / Chief Executive Approved" step in GEM$. In order to be considered for competitive funding, applicants must submit a grant application through the LEA Superintendent Approved stage by the due date and time listed in the RFP.

All responses must be submitted through the proper steps and received by the due date/time 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.

Additional Information:

Please submit questions to Sarah.Falvey@mass.gov by September 25, 2026. Responses will not be sent directly to the questioner. Responses will be posted to the Early Literacy in Educator Preparation: Resource Hub website by 5:00 p.m. on October 2, 2026.

DESE Information Sessions on this RFP will be held via Zoom:

DESE 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.

Questions and Answers — Applicants can find all the questions asked regarding this funding opportunity and DESE's response at the Early Literacy in Educator Preparation: Resource Hub webpage.

Submission Instructions:

The FY27 0588 Countdown to Launch grant application must be submitted in GEM$.

Grants for Education Management System (GEM$)

New organizations that do not have an established LEA with DESE skip to Step 3.

Step 1: Establish and assign proper roles before the grant due date/time. 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.

Step 2: Submit the grant through all LEA steps in GEM$. There are three LEA steps a competitive grant must be submitted through by the due date and time to be considered for funding:

  • Grantwriter Submitted
  • LEA Fiscal Representative Approved
  • LEA Superintendent / Chief Executive Approved

Competitive grant applications are considered submitted once the grant application is submitted by the Superintendent or their designee through the "LEA Superintendent / Chief Executive Approved" step in GEM$. In order to be considered for competitive funding, applicants must submit a grant application through the LEA Superintendent Approved stage by the due date and time listed in the RFP. Please plan accordingly.

The Superintendent / Chief Executive Approved Step allows for the organization lead to review and approve the grant application. Removing the requirement for the Part I Standard Contract Form, this step signifies Superintendent /Chief Executive sign off. Any grant budget changes requiring signature, will re-execute this step when amended signifying the organization lead is approving these changes.

Step 3: (If applicable) New organizations request temporary organization access. New organizations are entities that have not been established as an LEA in GEM$. Entities that do not have an organization in GEM$ must contact the DESE Program Unit issuing this grant at a minimum 5 business days prior to the grant due date for temporary organization access.

Temporary Access will need to be created by DESE before you can then assign the proper roles and submit the grant as outlined in Steps 1 and 2.

Failure to provide DESE with GEM$ Temp Organization Access Request at least 5 business days prior to the due date may result in not meeting the submission due date listed above. DESE cannot accept or review applications after the due date.

Last Updated: September 21, 2026

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