FY2020: Gateway City Grants for High Quality, Intensive English Language Learning Programs — All Levels

Fund Code: 181

Purpose:

This grant program is one of the multiple ways DESE is supporting Gateway districts that have English learners and wish to implement a new and innovative ELE program, while also providing districts with an opportunity to create a more culturally and linguistically diverse workforce.

Priorities:

Priorities for Goal one (1):

Goal 1: Create (and cultivate) a "grow your own" bilingual education hub that would support and encourage statewide initiative and collaboration, improve the Bilingual Education educator pipeline, share knowledge to accelerate the adoption of proven and recognized programmatic models for English learners, and develop successful models that can be replicated for years to come.

The intended outcomes for Goal 1 are as follows:

1. Increase the number of qualified bilingual education teachers in the district.
2. Encourage and support bilingual students, parents, community members, paraprofessionals, and teachers to become teachers in bilingual education settings.
3. Build systems to implement effective bilingual education programs.

Priorities will be given to:

• Applicants that were prior grant recipients of Fund Code 181, 187, 181A, and 187A and executed grant requirements on time, with efficiency, and high performance.
• Applicants that submit a comprehensive plan to become a "grow your own" bilingual education Hub as defined above.
• Applicants that demonstrate an immediate need for bilingual education teachers. (for example: priority will be given to districts that have designed a new bilingual education program and the program is in its first stages of implementation)
• Applicants that submit the anticipated impact of a comprehensive Hub program impact (see indicators in part 3 of the required forms for more information).

Priorities for Goal two (2):

Goal 2: Develop and Implement High School Academies (during winter, spring, and/or summer vacation) that would challenge high school English learners (grades 9–12) to improve academic achievement with an emphasis on English language learning skills and, if applicable, primary language learning skills for bilingual academies, both of which are 21^st century skills.

The intended outcomes of Goal 2 are as follows:

1. Measurable increases in students' English language fluency, comprehension, and reading and writing abilities;
2. Increased student confidence to participate successfully in and complete all academic classes; and

Longer-term improvements in academic achievement as measured by statewide assessments and achievement in academic courses, quicker exit rates from English learner status, lower retention/dropout rates and higher graduation rates.

Priorities will be given to:

• Applicants that submit a comprehensive proposal for a high school academy that would challenge the English learners to greater achievements placing emphasis on linguistic skills they already have as an asset and improving those language learning skills.
• Applicants that demonstrate that they will serve a minimum of 100 students and that have a strong plan to retain students throughout the Academy.
• Applicants that demonstrate the capacity to continue the Academy beyond summer 2020.
• Applicants that propose alternative High School Academy programs such as Transitional Bilingual Education (TBE) for their newcomer high school students and have longer program duration (e.g. winter, spring, and summer vacation).

Competitive priority will be given to districts that have been identified in need of focused/targeted support by the DESE.

Eligibility:

This competitive grant program is open only to eligible applicants in the commonwealth's 26 Gateway Municipalities as defined by Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 23a, Section 3a and have 100 or more ELs. Eligible applicants are non-profit organizations such as public Local Education Agencies (districts), and charter schools.

This grant program is designed for districts that:

1. Commit to become bilingual education Hubs, and/or
2. Develop and implement English learner Education academies for high school students (during winter, spring, and/or summer vacation).

Districts applying for Goal 1 and/or Goal 2 must:

• Partner with an Institution of Higher Education that has an approved Bilingual Education Program in place. (Note: Goal 1 applicants only)
• Ensure that all targeted groups listed in Part III of the required forms are included in the HUB plan proposal (Note: Goal 1 applicants only)
• Submit monthly progress reports to DESE
• Host visits by DESE staff to observe implementation of the grant program.
• Commit to submitting program outcomes to DESE.
• Commit to presenting their grant funded work at a DESE network meeting or conference.
• Participate in a post-grant survey to assess the grant program's effectiveness and gauge grant impact including the effectiveness of the partnerships with Institutions of Higher Education.

Funding Type:

State

Funding:

Approximately $1,000,000.00 is available. Funding is contingent upon availability. All dollar amounts listed are estimated/approximate and are subject to change. If more funding is to become available it will be distributed under the same guideline as listed in the initial RFP document.

Goal 1: Four applicants will be awarded up to $150,000 (total of $600,000) to become Bilingual Education Hubs.

Goal 2: Four applicants will be awarded up to $100,000each (total of $400,000) to develop and implement high school academies (during winter, spring, and/or summer vacation).

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 consistent with the priorities described above and the requirements associated with Massachusetts ESE's Strategic Plan . The focus of this grant is to support the implementation of new bilingual education programs for English learners in the Commonwealth.

Project Duration:

School Year: Upon Approval to June 30, 2020
Summer: July 1, 2020 to August 31, 2020

Program Unit:

Center for Instructional Support

Contact:

Zhaneta Liti

Phone Number:

(781) 338- 3572

Date Due:

Letter of Intent: All districts intending to apply for the Gateway City Grants for high quality, intensive English language learning programs — All levels (goals) must submit a Letter of Intent indicating that they will be applying for funds by Friday, November 15, 2019 and which goal(s) they will be applying for.

Complete proposals are due by Friday, November 22, 2019. Applicants may submit proposals before the deadline.

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

Required Forms:

School Year: Part I — General — Program Unit Signature Page — (Standard Contract Form and Application for Program Grants) — Submit as a PDF with the original signature of the Superintendent.

Summer: Part I — General — Program Unit Signature Page — (Standard Contract Form and Application for Program Grants) — Submit as a PDF with the original signature of the Superintendent.

School Year: Part II — Budget Detail Pages workbook (Include both pages)

Summer: Part II — Budget Detail Pages workbook (Include both pages)

Part III Goal 1 — Required Program Information — Grant Narrative Form

Part III Goal 2 — Required Program Information — Grant Narrative Form

Part IV — District Assurance

The Language Opportunity for Our Kids (LOOK) Act of 2017 is designed to improve the education of English learners (ELs). It creates an opportunity for districts to consider the programmatic needs of English Learners (ELs) in a variety of ways, including the annual opportunity to submit proposals to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) to implement new alternative English learner education (ELE) programs for ELs (603 CMR 14.04(4)) such as bilingual education.

DESE recognizes three ELE program types as sound under prong one of the Castañeda test:

• Two-Way Immersion (TWI)
• Transitional Bilingual Education (TBE) as defined in M.G.L. c. 71A, § 2
• Sheltered English Immersion (SEI)

Note: Other bilingual program types may be approved by the Department if the district is able to substantiate that the proposed program is based on sound educational theory.

At present, one of the challenges facing districts wishing to implement a new bilingual (TWI or TBE) program is that there is an insufficient number of qualified bilingual endorsed teachers in the state to staff any potential increase in bilingual education programs

Additional Information:

What is a Bilingual Education Hub?

• A partnership between one or more public school districts and an institute of higher education (IHE) to create an innovative program so as to increase the number of qualified bilingual education teachers in Massachusetts.

• Hubs will create rich learning environments to attract candidates with great potential to become bilingual education teachers and support them to earn the bilingual education endorsement.

• Candidates will include students, parents, community members, paraprofessionals, teachers, and school administrators who are bilingual.

• Hubs will surround candidates with necessary supports, including experts in bilingual education, no-cost access to coursework delivered locally and at times convenient for working professionals, and direct information about available job opportunities.

There is no 'one size fits all' model for bilingual education hubs, as local conditions, priorities and rationales vary from district to district. Applicants considering applying for this grant should describe precisely how they wish to construct their hub and DESE will evaluate the description.

DESE will provide periodic virtual meetings for all hubs to come together to calibrate on key topics related to bilingual education and to share progress.

Submission Instructions:

Email the Budget Detail Pages workbook, required program information, and related document to zliti@doe.mass.edu.

Awarded Recipients: Upon award, recipients will be required to enter the approved budget and upload the Part I and required documents in EdGrants. Once selected, recipients will contacted with further instructions on the process.

All documents submitted electronically must be web accessible. For more information, visit: Preparing an MS OFFICE document for the Web.

Last Updated: November 7, 2019