Grants and Other Financial Assistance Programs

FY2023: Teacher Diversification Pilot Program

Fund Codes: 216/253

Purpose:

The competitive Teacher Diversification Pilot Program is designed to support local school and district efforts to strengthen and diversify existing teacher recruitment and retention programs. Participating schools and districts will engage in thoughtful, high-impact approaches intended to increase the number of effective and diverse teachers in their schools.

Strategies must be informed by a review of the school's or district's qualitative and quantitative data related to teacher recruitment and retention efforts. In addition, identified strategies must be aligned to the school's or district's strategic plan.

In an effort to increase effective teacher recruitment and retention, participating schools and districts will be required to review school and district policies and procedures and identify the cultural proficiency training needs for hiring managers, teachers, and principals. Schools and districts will also be required to develop cultural proficiency training implementation plans. Additionally, grant recipients will be required to participate in a professional learning community hosted by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. This virtual 1-year commitment will be held through the 2022-2023 school year to support schools and districts as they seek to develop or enhance talent diversification strategies. Additional details regarding the professional development series will be provided to grant recipients, including school and district team composition for the professional development series and session dates.

All individuals supported by Options B (financial incentives) and C (financial support)of this grant must commit to teaching in the school or district for a minimum of 4 years and demonstrate a commitment to supporting students from racially and ethnically diverse backgrounds.

Applicants may propose to use grant funds to strengthen existing teacher recruitment and retention programs in one or more of the following ways.

Option A: High School Education Pathway
The Department continues to support high quality and high-impact, grow your own strategies such as high school education pathways. High school education pathways can be a key strategy to support the development of a racially diverse and culturally responsive teacher workforce. These pathways have the unique ability to elevate the teaching profession for students who may not have considered teaching and/or need support to enter the profession. As such, high school education pathways are critical levers to support the recruitment and development of perspective teachers by implementing a model that is tailored to address the needs of the school or district. The proposed pathway must clearly articulate how students from traditionally underrepresented sub-groups will be provided access and opportunity to engage in the pathway.

While high school education pathways funded through this grant program do not have to adhere to a specific model, proposed models should include the following effective components:

Programming: The model should be grounded in racial equity should be culturally responsive and relevant for the high school students it seeks to support.
Coursework: The model should include a series of courses and/or coursework for students to engage with that supports their entry into the profession.
Partnerships: The model should articulate how the pathway will be supported by partners such as institutes of higher education and/or community partners. Ideally, schools and districts will collaborate with partners that have experience with developing high school education pipelines.
Internships: The model should articulate how students participating in the pathway will receive opportunities to gain classroom experience.

Funding Range: Up to $20,000 per pathway per high school

Option B: Financial Incentives: Paraprofessionals, School/District Graduate or Other College Graduates, Provisionally Licensed Teachers
Schools or districts may propose to use grant funds to support the recruitment of prospective diverse teachers. Financial incentives that can be supported by this grant include:

Loan Payment Reimbursement: Schools or districts may provide loan payment reimbursement to school/district graduates who return to teach and/or college graduates.
Relocation Assistance: Schools/districts may provide relocation assistance for costs associated with moving to Massachusetts for newly hired out-of-state classroom teachers.
Signing Bonuses: Schools/districts may provide signing bonuses to newly hired classroom teachers.

Funding Range: Up to $25,000 per financial incentive

Option C: Financial Assistance: Paraprofessionals, School/District Graduate or Other College Graduates, Provisionally Licensed Teachers

Schools or districts will identify paraprofessionals with a bachelor's degree, provisionally licensed teachers, school/district graduates or other college graduates and provide tuition assistance to support enrollment into, and completion of, an approved educator preparation program to advance their role as a classroom teacher. In addition, LEAs will provide these individuals with Massachusetts Tests for Educator Licensure (MTEL) preparation support through an approved Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (Department) provider and pay for associated MTEL examination fees. LEAs will distribute Department-provided MTEL preparation vouchers from PrepForward, subject to availability and at no cost to LEAs, to teacher candidates.

Funding Range: Up to $12,000 per individual (see eligibility list above) for each enrolled year.

Priorities:

Competitive priorities for this grant will be given to:

Schools or districts with established teacher recruitment and retention programs, which include, but are not limited to: paraprofessional-to-teacher programs.
Development or enhancement of high quality, education-specific pathway programs for high school students.
Schools or districts in chronically underperforming status and the Strategic Transformation Region.

Eligibility:

This grant is open to all school districts, charter, career vocational technical education schools, and education collaboratives.

Funding Type:

Fund Code 216: State
Fund Code 253: Trust

Funding:

Approximately $3,000,000 will be awarded to schools and school districts with the possibility of additional funding in subsequent years.

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.

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

Fund Use:

Funds must be used to support local school or district efforts to strengthen and diversify existing teacher recruitment and retention efforts. Activities must be reasonable, appropriate, and consistent with all applicable state and federal requirements.

Options A through C: Grant funded activities must conclude by project duration end date June 30, 2023

Option A and Option C (as applicable): Applicants may provide stipends to current classroom teachers to support pathway planning and implementation.

Project Duration:

Upon approval – 6/30/2023

All grant-funded activities must be paid by project duration end date June 30, 2023. All grant recipients will be expected to provide an annual summary report on grant funded activities and outcomes once the grant is completed. Additional details will be provided to grant-funded schools and districts in the spring of 2023.

Program Unit:

Center for Strategic Initiatives

Contact:

CSI@mass.gov

Date Due:

Wednesday, September 21, 2022

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

Required Forms:

Copies of school or district teacher recruitment and retention plans and accompanying documents.

Submission Instructions:

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 document which should be converted to PDF), to CSI@mass.gov . Note: Electronic signatures are required on the emailed versions. Grant applicants will receive a confirmation message within 2–3 days via email upon receiving the submission.

Upon award, recipients will be required to enter the approved budget in EdGrants and upload required documents. Grant recipients will be contacted with further instructions on the process.

Last Updated: November 29, 2022