The purpose of this competitive grant is to provide funding support for schools to conduct and use an arts program review based on the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE)'s Arts & Cultural Vitality (ACV) Index and model. The grant will support stipends and necessary grant-related materials for the members of school/district Arts & Cultural Vitality ACV teams. Participating schools will receive guidance about using the Arts & Cultural Vitality ACV Index tools and resources, funding to compensate a team within the school/district to do this work, and support from the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education DESE Arts specialist for:
Department of Elementary and Secondary Education DESE seeks to fund schools who wish to use the Arts & Cultural Vitality ACV Index to support equity and access within school arts programs. The goal is to ensure high-quality, culturally responsive, and equitable arts education programs in the Commonwealth. In doing so, students experience a powerful and empowering sense of agency to celebrate their own and other cultures in and through their arts education.
Competitive priority will be given to new applicants for the Supporting Arts & Cultural Vitality Teams grant.
Priority will be given to districts and schools in the strategic transformation region.
All Massachusetts public school districts, charter schools, and collaboratives are eligible to apply. Local Education Agencies (LEAs) can have a single school or group of schools participate.
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 General Laws G.L. c. 40A, § 3A, the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority MBTA Communities Act. Compliance with the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority MBTA Communities Act is determined by the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities.
Approximately $80,000 is available. Total amount of awards will be determined based on quality of proposals received.
This Request for Proposal (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 Request for Proposal RFP document.
Grant recipients can use funds to support the cost of stipends for team members and grant-related administrative costs (i.e., supplies) associated with conducting the review, action planning, or implementation/monitoring (as applicable).
Grant recipients may select a range of team members made up of staff members to receive up to a $1,000 stipend each (in accordance with district policy and contract language) as compensation for approximately 8–10 hours of work outside the regular school hours on the Arts & Cultural Vitality ACV Index Team. If stipend positions are precedented in district policy for an amount smaller than $1,000 for 8–10 hours of work, the remaining grant stipend fund can be applied to compensate additional team members as deemed appropriate by the Superintendent / Chief Executive.
If schools are conducting individual, separate reviews:
If conducting a review at the district level:
*For the purposes of this grant, full-time indicates that a team member is present for all grant-related activities as designated by the grant facilitator in alignment with the grant compensation structure outlined in this document.
Applicants may additionally request up to $225 for grant-related administrative costs such as materials.
Funds may not be used to purchase technology (e.g., iPads, headphones), data systems, or instructional resources (e.g., instructional materials and student activity materials). Funding may not be used to cover the costs associated with the hiring and on-boarding process of a new position or the process of conducting a procurement for a contractor. Grant awards may not be used to fund existing staff positions.
Applicants must indicate which one of the four possible tracks the funds will support. All grant recipients will be required to have at least one grant facilitator participate in the online sessions of a Professional Learning Community hosted by Department of Elementary and Secondary Education DESE. Additional information about the FY27 Professional Learning Communities (PLC) is listed on the following webpage: Arts & Cultural Vitality Index - Center for Instructional Support.
Professional Learning Community Dates and Times
It is required of grant recipients to send at least one representative to the Professional Learning Communities PLC sessions. Typically, this is the grant facilitator's role.
All Tracks: Launch Meeting: Monday, November 09, 2026, 4:00–5:30 pm We highly encourage all applicants to save-this-date. Selected awardees may receive short notice of acceptance just prior to the launch, so the grant "facilitator" should anticipate this required attendance in advance.
Track 1:
Professional Learning Communities PLC:
Tracks 2, 3a, and 3b:
(Track 1) New recipients of the Grant:
(Track 2) Returning recipients of the Grant, previous completers of Track 1:
(Track 3a, previously called Track 3) Returning recipients of the Grant, previous completers of Track 1 and Track 2:
(Track 3b) Returning recipients of the Grant, previous completers of Track 1, Track 2, and Track 3:
Upon Approval – 6/30/2027*Summer FY28 7/1/2027 – 8/31/2027
*To allow access for summer FY28 spending, grantees must reduce their School Year grants in the spring of 2027 to free up funding which will be rolled into FY28. There will be a separate funding application to submit for the FY28 summer portion.
Teaching and Learning Unit
Dawn.M.Benski@mass.gov
Tuesday, October 13, 2026; 5:00 p.m. Eastern* Proposals must be received at the Department by 5:00 p.m Eastern on the date due.
Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 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 "Local Education Agency LEA Superintendent / Chief Executive Approved" step in the Grants for Education Management System (GEM$). In order to be considered for competitive funding, applicants must submit a grant application through the Local Education Agency LEA Superintendent Approved stage by the due date and time listed in the Request for Proposal RFP.
All responses must be submitted through 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.
Completion of the Grants for Education Management System GEM$ application for FC 0718 for FY27, including response to the Application Questions and the Superintendent Agreement.
Department of Elementary and Secondary Education DESE will work with schools/districts to observe one or more review meetings in-person in a non-evaluative way to collect feedback and understanding of how review teams engage with the Index [required].
Grant recipients will be required to have a grant facilitator attend a virtual launch meeting, four virtual Professional Learning Communities PLC meetings, and a virtual exit interview. To learn more about the Arts & Cultural Vitality Index, the Grant Launch, and Professional Learning Communities PLC dates/times, visit Department of Elementary and Secondary Education DESE's arts webpage: Arts & Cultural Vitality Index - Center for Instructional Support.
Large districts are encouraged to review multiple schools individually using the Arts & Cultural Vitality ACV Index instead of a district-wide review. Review Team members should represent diverse voices and roles within the school community. A school or district administrator outside of the arts is required to serve as a member of the review team. Applicants are encouraged to include a student as a member of the review team.
Interested applicants can register below to attend one of the two optional upcoming sessions detailing the resource and grant. Information shared will be posted to this website: Arts & Cultural Vitality Index - Center for Instructional Support after the events:
Register for an information session.
Questions and Answers — Any grant-related questions must be emailed to dawn.m.benski@mass.gov by September 21. Responses will not be sent directly to the questioner. Responses will be posted to this website: Arts & Cultural Vitality Index - Center for Instructional Support by September 25. Here applicants can find all the questions asked regarding this funding opportunity and Department of Elementary and Secondary Education DESE's response.
The FY27 0718 Supporting Arts & Cultural Vitality Teams Grant will be submitted in our Grants for Education Management System GEM$ system.
Grants for Education Management System (GEM$)
New organizations that do not have an established Local Education Agency LEA with Department of Elementary and Secondary Education DESE skip to Step 3.
Step 1: Establish and assign proper roles before the grant due date/time. Grant Submission at the Local Education Agency LEA level requires roles to be established for Grant writer for the specific fund code, Local Education Agency LEA fiscal for financial review/approval, and Superintendent / Chief Executive sign off.
All roles should be established prior to the grant due date and all appropriate forms should be either uploaded to Grants for Education Management System GEM$, maintained at the Local Education Agency LEA level or sent in to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education DESE Request for Proposal RFP contact as described on the individual forms. The user guidance documents and forms are found on the Grants for Education Management System GEM$ homepage under Department of Elementary and Secondary Education DESE Resources. These forms can be accessed without logging in to the system.
Step 2: Submit the grant through all Local Education Agency LEA steps in Grants for Education Management System GEM$. There are three Local Education Agency LEA steps a competitive grant must be submitted through by the due date and time to be considered for funding:
Competitive grant applications are considered submitted once the grant application is submitted by the Superintendent or their designee through the "LEA Superintendent / Chief Executive Approved" step in Grants for Education Management System GEM$. In order to be considered for competitive funding, applicants must submit a grant application through the Local Education Agency LEA Superintendent Approved stage by the due date and time listed in the Request for Proposal 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 Local Education Agency LEA in Grants for Education Management System GEM$. Entities that do not have an organization established in Grants for Education Management System GEM$ must contact the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 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 Department of Elementary and Secondary Education DESE before you can then assign the proper roles and submit the grant as outlined in Steps 1 and 2.
Failure to provide Department of Elementary and Secondary Education DESE with Grants for Education Management System 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. Department of Elementary and Secondary Education DESE cannot accept or review applications after the due date.
Last Updated: September 1, 2026