FY2023: Emergency License Educator Preparation Partnership Grant

Fund Code: 162

Purpose:

The purpose of this competitive grant program is to support the implementation and/or expansion of licensure pathway/pipeline programs that are designed to support Emergency licensed educators to advance to a Provisional or Initial license. Through this work, we seek to create the conditions that support the preparation, development, and retention of a diverse and effective educator workforce so that all our students thrive.

Priorities:

DESE seeks to fund licensure pathways/pipeline programs that are designed to support Emergency licensed educators to advance to a Provisional or Initial license through the following indicators.

• Partnerships with districts currently employing over 50 Emergency licensed educators, e.g. Boston, Brockton, Chelsea, Fall River, Holyoke, Lawrence, Lynn, New Bedford, Springfield, Worcester
• Partnerships with a non-profit organization(s) that currently work with and support paraprofessionals, Emergency licensed educators, and/or educators working on a waiver
• Partnerships with districts/organizations where Emergency licensed educators would have access to one or more of the following programmatic components:
  • Community-based pipeline development (e.g. grow-your-own initiatives)
  • Cohort-based pathways or program models
  • Residency-based models
  • Wrap-around supports for participating educators (e.g. MTEL support, coaching, differentiated induction and mentoring to support the unique needs of emergency license holders)
  • Approved post-baccalaureate initial licensure programs
• Organizations that demonstrate capacity to sustain and/or extend proposed programming beyond the duration of the grant program, to encompass/support paraprofessionals and/or educators on waivers

Competitive Priorities

• Pathways or programs associated with one or more of the following licensure areas: Moderate Disabilities, English as a Second Language, Mathematics
• Organizations or organizations with partnerships that provide tuition supports or other cost reduction measures for eligible candidates
• Educator Preparation programs who support a high number of employees from Southbridge, Holyoke and Lawrence school districts

Eligibility:

This competitive grant opportunity is open to educator preparation sponsoring organizations (SOs) with approved preparation programs that offer pathways or programming for licensure candidates advancing to a Provisional and Initial license, and meet the following criteria:

1. The SO has full or conditional state approval
2. An explicit focus on supporting educators of color
3. An explicit partnership with one or more LEAs
4. Existing alignment with at least one of the aforementioned priorities

Funding Type:

Trust

Funding:

Approximately $1.3 million in funding is available for expenditure in FY23 (upon approval (no earlier than 7/1/2022) through June 30, 2023). The maximum individual award is $125,000. Award amounts will depend on the size of the organization and the scope and scale of activities proposed and the number of educators that will be supported. A detailed FY2023 budget will be required, with non-binding estimates.

The total grant award will be determined by financial needs articulated by eligible organizations and may be modified by the Department. The requested amount should be appropriate and reasonable for the size and scope of the proposal.

Funding is contingent upon availability. All dollar amounts listed are estimated/approximate and 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 applicable state and federal requirements. All expenditures must closely align with the submitted proposals.

Funds may be used towards:

• Personnel — Staff stipends and/or salaries to support the program (e.g. staff working directly with licensure candidates, the partner district, etc.)
• Program Coursework Design and/or Implementation
• Wrap-Around Support for Candidates (e.g. MTEL prep, licensure support, coursework, etc.)

Funds may not be used towards:

• Contract buyouts
• Capital expenses (e.g. infrastructure upgrades or maintenance)
• Purchase of technology, computer software or hardware, unless a compelling case can be made for how these materials are necessary to fully implement the proposal
• Food or travel expenses, hotel accommodations, mileage reimbursement

All expenditures will be closely reviewed as they relate to the priorities of this grant opportunity.

Project Duration:

FY2023: Upon approval (no earlier than 7/1/2022) – 6/30/2023

FY2024: Upon approval (no earlier than 7/1/2023) – 8/31/2023

*Important Note: While school year awards will be from FY2023 state budget and are programmatically under FY2023, the summer portion will be entered into EdGrants under FY2024. See Submission Instructions section for more details. All grant-funded goods and/or services must be provided and/or received by June 30, 2023. A report on grant funded activities and outcomes will be required. Additional details will be provided to grant-funded organizations.

Program Unit:

Office of Educator Effectiveness

Contact:

Liz Losee: emergencyeducatorlicense@mass.gov

Date Due:

Tuesday, June 21, 2022

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

Required Forms:

• FY23 Part I — General — Program Unit Signature Page — (Standard Contract Form and Application for Program Grants)

• FY24 Part I — General — Program Unit Signature Page — (Standard Contract Form and Application for Program Grants)

• FY23/FY24 Part II — Budget Details

• Part III — Required Program Information

Additional Information:

There will be a separate evaluation of the grant implementation and as a result there will be additional reporting and data required of grant recipients. All efforts will be made to keep data collection to a minimum. Once the evaluator is selected, grant recipients will be notified of these requirements.

• E2P2 Questions and Responses

Submission Instructions:

Please submit questions to: emergencyeducatorlicense@mass.gov by 5:00pm on Wednesday, 6/8. Responses to questions will be posted on this page on Friday, 6/10. Questions and Responses have been added to Additional Information.

Email all required forms in their original Word or Excel formats (e.g., not converted to a PDF; with the exception of the signed Part I documents which should be converted to PDF), to: emergencyeducatorlicense@mass.gov
Note: Electronic signatures are required on the emailed versions.

Applicants will receive a confirmation within two business days when the materials are received. Early submission is strongly encouraged to ensure the complete application is received and confirmed by 5pm on the due date.

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

Last Updated: November 29, 2022