FY2023: Growing Literacy Equity Across Massachusetts (GLEAM), PreK–12

Fund Codes: 509/510

Purpose:

Growing Literacy Equity Across Massachusetts (GLEAM) PreK–12 grants will support deep and lasting improvements to schools' multitiered system of support for Literacy, enabling schools to better serve all students, especially historically underserved students; and ensuring that all students can reach their literacy potential. Fund Code 509 is for grades preK–5. Fund code 510 is for grades 6–12.

GLEAM grants will support schools to implement components of a multi-tiered system of support for ELA/Literacy in grades PreK–12, which have been shown to promote equity of access and achievement for diverse students. This grant will focus on supporting:

• Adoption and implementation of high-quality core curricular materials and intervention materials for ELA/Literacy
• Onsite customized support responsive to districts' and schools' strengths, needs, challenges, and opportunities
• Professional development and support for teachers, principals, and literacy coaches to support skillful and culturally responsive tiered instruction and high-quality early childhood educational experiences

Priorities:

DESE seeks to award GLEAM grants to entities that:

• Are committed to prioritizing literacy equity and excellence, and want to collaborate with other districts statewide to make this a reality
• Demonstrate favorable conditions and the resources, including time and commitment, necessary to make and sustain meaningful Literacy program improvements, across multiple schools if applicable
• Bring together a diverse coalition of stakeholders committed to the activities articulated in the grant proposal, including families, diverse staff members, administrators, school committee, and students where appropriate
• Are actively investing in equity, inclusion, and cultural responsiveness in literacy for all learners

Competitive Priorities:

1. Competitive priority will be given to entities with at least one school:
   1. identified as requiring assistance in the state accountability system based upon 2019 data and/or
   2. with an overall accountability percentile of 20 or below based upon 2019 data.
2. Additional competitive priority will be given to entities whose total students population is comprised of 10% or more students identified as English Learners.
3. Additional competitive priority will be given to applications in which over 50% of schools named to participate in GLEAM serve a population of students of which over 50% are identified as low income (or 40% for high schools).
4. Additional competitive priority will be given to districts and schools in chronically underperforming status and the Strategic Transformation Region

Eligibility:

Public school districts and charter schools meeting the following criteria are eligible to apply:

• With at least one school in which the percentage of students identified as low income is 50% or greater; and/or
• With at least one high school in which the percentage of students identified as low income is 40% or greater

• The list of eligible LEAs is available in the attached spreadsheet.

A group of eligible LEAs (public school districts and/or charter schools) may apply as a consortium convened by a lead fiscal agent, which may be a collaborative.

LEAs in the Strategic Transformation Region may be awarded multiple awards to account for alternative governance structures (e.g., Springfield Empowerment Zone Partnership).

Applicants must identify which grade band will participate in the GLEAM activities. It is expected that all schools within the selected grade band will participate in GLEAM activities. For large districts, funding limitations will be put in place (see the Fund Use Details document for more information).

Due to the structure of this federal funding, applicants may only apply for one grade band, either PreK–5 or 6–12. For those districts electing to include PreK, specific participating preschool classrooms must be identified.

Applicants may be asked to interview with DESE specialists during the grant scoring process.

Funding Type:

Federal CFDA 84.371

Funding:

There is approximately $600,000 available for FC509 (grades preK-5), depending on the addition of preschool classrooms, and $800,000 available for FC510 (grades 6–12) in FY23. Approximately 10% is available for schools and districts in chronically underperforming status. Recipients will need to provide detailed cost information to DESE to demonstrate compliance with grant priorities and approved fund uses in order to draw down funds over the grant period.

Recipients may be eligible for continuations for up to two additional years in the GLEAM program. Over the course of the program (FY2023 – FY2025), funding will be based upon enrollment, needs, and performance. Up to approximately $7,750,000 total may be available for this cohort of recipients. Continuation funding is not guaranteed.

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:

This grant will provide funding as well as hands-on support from Department specialists for up to three years for recipients to accomplish the activities listed under either Track 1 or Track 2. Following the grant period, recipients are expected to continue implementing the materials and practices initiated by this grant and will have access to ongoing customized assistance from DESE specialists as needed. Districts intending to include PreK in their grade band should make a track selection based on their K–5 curricular materials. Please see the Fund Use Details for more information on the delineation between PreK and K–5 of both tracks within the PreK–5 grade bands.

Track 1: This track strengthens the Tier 1 core Literacy learning experience offered to all students. Applicants focused on the PreK–5 grade band or 6–12 grade band, and without high-quality core curricular materials in place, may apply for this Track and will receive funding to support:	Track 2: This track strengthens Literacy support for students across all three Tiers. Applicants focused on the PreK–5 grade band or 6–12 grade band, and with high-quality core curricular materials in place, may apply for this Track and will receive funding to support:
A process of evaluating and selecting high quality core curricular materials for ELA/literacy; Purchase of the selected curricular materials. This grant will fund 50% (not to exceed $400,000 per district) of procurement of ELA/Literacy curricular materials, with the other half paid by the applicant; Professional development to support skillful and culturally responsive implementation of the new curricular materials	A comprehensive literacy-specific needs assessment Purchase of instructional materials for use in Tier 2/3 interventions. This grant will fund 50% (not to exceed $50,000 per district) of procurement of instructional materials, with the other half paid by the applicant. Professional development for teachers and administrators to support skillful and culturally responsive implementation of interventions, assessments, or materials for any selected tier(s) of focus [Preschool only] Purchase of the selected curricular materials. This grant will fund half the cost of procurement of ELA/Literacy curricular materials, with the other half paid by the applicant
Both Tracks will receive funding to support:
A comprehensive systems analysis to identify the strengths and areas for growth for sustainable and impactful literacy improvement [PreK–5 only] Purchase of screening assessments designed to inform instruction in ELA/literacy and professional development to utilize them; Professional development for Literacy Coaches or similar building-based Literacy Leaders in a collaborative support network; Customized support from an expert Literacy consultant onsite

For full details about the GLEAM program and how funds may be used, please see the Fund Use Details attachment .

For both tracks, the entity will be required to maintain a "GLEAM Leadership Team." This team will work together to coordinate and enact the multi-year work of this initiative, across schools if applicable, and will also attend DESE-run conferences for GLEAM recipients. Stipends are available for GLEAM Leadership Team members.

Project Duration:

Upon Approval – August 31, 2023

Continuations for recipients may be available for additional funding in FY24 (Upon Approval (Anticipated October 1, 2023) – August 31, 2024) and FY25 (Upon Approval (Anticipated October 1, 2024) – August 31, 2025) to enact the GLEAM program. Continuation funding is not guaranteed.

Note that grant funds will only be approved to fund the specific activities listed in the Fund Use Details attachment. Initial awards will be partial, to cover the costs of initial GLEAM activities, and additional funds will be awarded based upon availability and recipient performance over the multi-year program period.

Program Unit:

Office of Literacy and Humanities
Center for Instructional Support (CIS)

Contact:

Allison Pickens

Date Due:

Monday, December 12, 2022 *

Complete grant proposals must be received at the Department by 5:00 p.m. Eastern on the date due.

*All responses must be received by the due date listed above. Failure to do so will result in disqualification. Responses not submitted 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.

Required Forms:

If applying for grades PreK–5, please use fund code 509 forms.
If applying for grades 6–12, please use fund code 510 forms.

Forms for Fund Code 509 (for grades PreK–5 applicants)

• Part I — General — Program Unit Signature Page

• Part II — Budget Details. Please use the "CALCULATIONS" tab of the provided template to calculate an estimated budget for FY23, FY24 and FY25.
  • FC509 Part II Track 1 PreK to 5
  • FC509 Part II Track 2 PreK to 5
  
  

• Part III — Required Program Information

• Part IV — Schools Assurance

• Part V — District Assurance

Forms for Fund Code 510 (for grades 6–12 applicants)

• Part I — General — Program Unit Signature Page

• Part II — Budget Details. Please use the "CALCULATIONS" tab of the provided template to calculate an estimated budget for FY23, FY24 and FY25.
  • FC510 Part II Track 1 6 to 12
  • FC510 Part II Track 2 6 to 12
  
  

• Part III — Required Program Information

• Part IV — Schools Assurance

• Part V — District Assurance

Note on Budget Details.
Please use the provided Budget template to calculate each annual budget. This budget will allow us to determine the number of grants that may be awarded. This does not necessarily represent your final award amount. Costs for some items, like materials purchases, cannot be accurately budgeted until the actual product to be purchased is identified. In those cases, the Budget template provides estimates to be used in the application. Recipients will be able to seek budget amendments after award to reflect accurate costs. If your district needs to cover Indirect Costs, please use this FY23 Indirect Cost Calculator to do so.

Additional Information:

Using federal Comprehensive Literacy State Development (CLSD) funding, the Department expects to award $19 million in grants to support improvements in ELA/Literacy teaching and learning in preK–12 between FY21–FY25, under the program name GLEAM (Growing Literacy Equity Across Massachusetts).

The Department may seek additional information from applicants through follow-up interviews, as needed.

GLEAM recipients will be required to prepare and provide data requested by the Department in order to evaluate the effectiveness of grant funds and activities. In the first year this data will be primarily focused on inputs, such as number of teachers trained or materials selected. In future years this data will include outcomes, such as student performance on assessments and surveys of participating teachers. In addition, a national evaluation of this federally-funded program is being conducted; recipients will have the option to opt in to this national evaluation and to access additional related funding through the evaluator.

Any questions about GLEAM grants must be emailed to GLEAM@mass.gov . Q+A will be posted to Growing Literacy Equity Across Massachusetts (GLEAM) Grant Program.

Informational office hours about GLEAM grants and assistance for applicants are available. Please register here.

Submission Instructions:

Please email the required forms as listed above, attached to a single email, to GLEAM@mass.gov . Please use the subject line:

• GLEAM Proposal from [Entity Name] Fund Code 509 (for grades PreK–5 applicants)
• GLEAM Proposal from [Entity Name] Fund Code 510 (for grades 6–12 applicants)

Please use the provided filetypes (word and excel). Please do not send jpgs or other filetypes. Signature pages must be sent as pdf documents.

Applicants will receive a confirmation when the materials are received. Early submission is strongly encouraged to ensure the complete application is received and confirmed by 5pm Eastern on the due date. Late and/or incomplete applications cannot be accepted.

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

Last Updated: October 25, 2022