FY2023: Massachusetts 21^st Century Community Learning Centers — Exemplary Programs Grant

Fund Code: 646

Purpose:

Supported with federal funds, the purpose of this competitive Exemplary Grant Program is to contribute to deepening student learning by enhancing a statewide network of high quality exemplary 21^st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC) programs that will serve as mentors and resources to new and existing programs.

Priorities:

Supporting eligible districts/organizations that are able to demonstrate how they meet/will meet the following priorities:

• Supporting the themes of Deeper Learning, Holistic Support & Enrichment, Innovation and Evidence Based Practices outlined in Commissioner Riley's Our Way Forward report.
• Effectively engaging students and families with identities and cultures that have been historically marginalized in educational settings - including but not limited to students who are economically disadvantaged; students who are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC); first generation students; emerging bilingual students; students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs), and LGBTQ students.
• Strengthening student learning by combining content knowledge with learning experiences that emphasize the skills necessary to apply that knowledge so that all students can be successful in school, empowered to make informed choices, and contributing to the development of skills and knowledge that support a career pathway for students.
• Implementing High Quality Project Based Learning
• Leveraging assessment data to design programming that is tailored to the needs and interests of students and demonstrates continuous program improvement efforts.
• Developing systems of support that engage students and families in ways that are culturally relevant, and leverage the knowledge, strengths, and assets of students, families, educators, and the community.
• Developing systems of support that engage students and families in schools that are in chronically underperforming status and the Strategic Transformation Region (to view school accountability data — select "district" or "school" and "2019" and then "view report"). Please note due to COVID 19 the Department did not issue school, district, or state accountability determinations in 2020 or 2021.
• Developing sustainable models for supporting additional quality learning time.

Key Grant Requirements:

Out-of-School Time [OST] Applicants must continue to offer at least 400 hours of comprehensive programming during the school year (SY) and summer. Enrolled students are not expected to attend all 400 hours; however, it is expected that students will attend the programming an average of a minimum of 80–100 hours per year.

Expanded Learning Time [ELT] applicants must continue to offer a minimum of 300 expanded learning program hours by:

• Providing a school schedule that has increased the total number of hours required for all students by at least 180 hours over the State mandated requirements;

And

• Providing a minimum of 120 hours of summer programming for a select population of students who could benefit from additional engaging opportunities during the summer. Please note the total hours for SY and summer MUST add up to at least 300 hours.

See Addendum A for additional requirements and priorities for all applicants.

Eligibility:

Applicants may apply for the following types of grants:

• Promising Site Grants — For sites that received a Fiscal Year (FY) 2020 Fund Code (FC) 647 grant.
• Practitioner and Demonstration Site Grants Site Grants — For sites that received an FY2020 FC 646.
• All eligible sites must also have received corresponding continuation grants and have met all grant and eligibility requirements (detailed in Addendum A).

Funding Type:

Competitive — Federal CFDA 84.287

Funding:

A total of approximately $3,500,000 is projected to be available.

Applicants are eligible to apply for up to a maximum of 85% of their FY2022 grant award or $50,000 per site (whichever is more).

• [OST] Applicants may apply for up to an additional $10,000/site to help support transportation costs. The additional transportation funds may only be used to support transporting students home during the school year (SY) program, and to and from the program during the summer. Applicants must be able to demonstrate the need for the additional transportation funds.
  • For students who have transportation in their Individualized Education Program (IEP) it is the responsibility of the district to support those costs.
• [ELT] Applicant sites may apply for up to an additional $20,000 to support the required 120-hour summer program. Please refer to the grant requirements section for more details. Note these funds are specific to the ELT school and cannot be used to support district wide summer programs.
• Additional Funding Available High Quality Project Based Learning (HQPBL) Training — Cohort III (see Part IIIA for additional details and requirements):
  • Applicants may apply for up to an additional $20,000/site to stipend educators to participate in a yearlong HQPBL training, team planning time, and to develop an HQPBL Module for implementation in the FY2024 SY.

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:

Funds must be used solely to support, enhance, and/or provide related programming and activities that address the Purpose, Priorities, and Key Requirements, detailed above, and may include salaries, stipends, contracts, instructional materials, and other expenses associated with implementing additional time.

These funds may not be used to supplant existing costs, which would otherwise be funded (in the absence of these grant funds) from other sources (e.g., current salary levels, current transportation costs, instructional materials already being used during the school day, etc.).

• No more than 10% may be used for program materials. Any single purchase over $500 must be pre-approved.
• Budgets may not include any Indirect Costs.
• [ELT] Funds for the longer school-day/year may not be used to supplant existing teacher salaries; however, funds may be used for stipends or salaries related to providing academically enriching programming and/or services that support the grant priorities.

Project Duration:

Upon Approval (No earlier than 09/01/2022) – 08/31/2023

Eligibility for continued funding in years two and three (FY2024 and FY2025) will be based on evidence that the program has met the key requirements, grant priorities (including maintenance of attendance levels for [OST]), and evidence that the grantee is working towards sustaining the program beyond the grant period.

Program Unit:

Office of Student and Family Support

Contact:

Karyl Resnick

Phone Number:

(781) 338-3515

Date Due:

Friday, June 24, 2022 by 6:00 PM

See the Submission Instructions section below for additional details.

Required Forms:

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

• Part II — Budget/budget narrative for school year and summer activities/expenditures

• Part IIIA/B — District/School/Site Specific Information

• Addendum B — Grant Assurances

• Addendum C — Federal and State Evaluation Requirements

• Addendum D — Partnership Agreement

Additional Information:

• Check List

• Addendum A — Additional Grant Requirements and Priorities

• Addendum E — Eligible Entities and Maximum Amounts

• Addendum F — Exemplary Programs Grant Requirements, Expectations/ & Elements

• Addendum G — Risk Factors Rubric

See the Addendum A for further details regarding field trip expenses.

Site visit as well as information gathered by the Department through data collection will account for approximately 20% of the overall score. Additionally, points will be deducted based on risk assessment data. Refer to Addendum G for risk assessment data points.

Additional Submission Details

• The narrative pages (Part IIIA/B) must be numbered with a one-inch margin. The font size should be no smaller than 10-point Arial type. It is in the best interest of the applicants to ensure that the proposal is easy to read, is developed logically in accordance with grant priorities, and addresses each question fully.

• Recipients will be required to utilize the Survey of Academic and Youth Outcomes (SAYO) for all students served by these funds.

• Guidance for completing Grant Budget Request — Section IIB of the Grants for Schools: Getting Them and Using Them, A Procedural Manual provides guidance for completing the required budget workbook.

• Grant award notification: The Department will provide notice to all applicants when grant awards are finalized and will post a list of funded grantees on the Department's Grant Awards webpage. All applicants not selected for funding will be provided with information about the process for requesting feedback about their application. See the Department's formal appeal process for more information.

Submission Instructions:

Email one complete application to cclc@doe.mass.edu

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

Last Updated: May 24, 2022