FY2020: Alternative ELE programs — All Levels

Fund Code: 187

Purpose:

This grant program is one of the multiple ways DESE is supporting all 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 1

Goal 1: Develop and/or implement an alternative bilingual ELE program for English learners including any of the programs listed below:

• Two-Way Immersion (TWI)
• Transitional Bilingual Education (TBE) as defined in M.G.L. c. 71A, § 2
• Other bilingual program types approved by the Department if the district is able to substantiate that the proposed program is based on sound educational theory.

Proposed programs must be based on best practices in the field, the linguistic and educational needs of ELs and the demographic characteristics of the EL population in the school district. Furthermore, a school district may join with other school districts to provide an English learner program.

The intended outcomes for Goal 1 are as follows:

• Develop a proposal for a new bilingual English learner education (ELE) program and successfully complete DESE's review process; Or
• Develop a proposal for improving an existing bilingual ELE program; And
• Implement culturally responsive teaching practices that promote equity and social justice;

Priorities will be given to:

• Proposals from districts with a minimum of 1,500 students identified as ELs and an Institution of Higher Education (IHE) that describe how the district will engage in ongoing collaboration to meet program outcomes.
• Proposals from consortia, including at least one district with a minimum of 1,500 ELs, a second district with a minimum of 400 ELs, and an Institution of Higher Education (IHE), that describe how the consortia will engage in ongoing collaboration to meet program outcomes.
• Proposals that include letters of commitment from community partners to collaborate on program development and implementation.
• Applicants that submit a comprehensive plan for the recruitment, professional development/training, and retention of their bilingual education educators through coursework or relevant professional development;
• Applicants that submit a plan that addresses the targeted services proposed for specific EL populations (e.g., newcomers)
• Applicants that describe a proposed bilingual education program likely to pass DESE's review process.
• Applicants that propose bilingual education programs that demonstrate equitable access to high quality instruction for ELs. For example:
  • The district provides sufficient and equitable access to high quality instructional materials, educational technology, libraries, laboratories and other relevant resources that support ELLs' English language development and grade-level, academic content learning in English and the native language.
  • High quality native language instructional materials and resources are available at each grade level and subject area to support literacy and academic content learning.
  • Instructional materials and resources reflect and value a wide diversity of cultural backgrounds and histories and are integrated throughout the general education curriculum for all students.


• Proposals that include plans that engage parents and families and the community in the design and implementation of a bilingual education program.

Priorities for Goal 2:

Goal 2: 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 2 are as follows:

• Increase the number of qualified bilingual education teachers in the district.
• Encourage and support bilingual students, parents, community members, paraprofessionals, and teachers to become teachers in bilingual education settings.
• 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 (see indicators in part 3 of the required forms for more information).

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

Eligibility:

This grant program is designed for districts that:

1. Commit to become bilingual education Hubs, and/or
2. Develop and/or implement alternative programs for English learners.

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.
• 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 $670,000.00 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: Approximately $520,000.00 will be awarded for this activity: Up to four 4 grant recipients will be awarded. Grant recipients will receive grants of $130,000.00 or less.

Goal 2: Approximately $150,000.00 will be awarded to one (1) Hub proposal.

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

Reporting:

If you are applying for a new alternative bilingual program, please complete the plan to get reviewed by the Department by November 15, 2020 and email it to zliti@doe.mass.edu.

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 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.

Note: These are the forms that districts will ultimately submit to the Department for approval of their new programs and are provided as reference documents in support of that intended outcome. They are not required to be submitted with the grant proposals.

Preliminary ELE Program Proposal

New English Learner Education (ELE) Program Complete Proposal

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 as Part I in EdGrants. Once selected, recipients will be 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