FY2025: Virtual School Start-Up Grant

Fund Code: 0214

Purpose:

The purpose of the Commonwealth Virtual School Start-Up Grant is to support Felix Commonwealth Virtual School in preparing for school operations in 2025-2026.

Eligibility:

Targeted: Felix Commonwealth Virtual School

Funding Type:

State Line Item 7061-9408

Funding:

Approximately $500,000 is available.

This RFP is the governing document for these grant funds.

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.

This grant funding will not continue to be available throughout the fiscal year if the Board of Elementary and Secondary Education determines that the school does not meet conditions set by the board.

Fund Use:

Funding is intended to support the organization in meeting the conditions for opening imposed by the Massachusetts Board of Elementary and Secondary Education. This funding may be used to hire a school leader/s, recruit staff and students, and prepare for initiatives intended to support student success in the 2025-2026 school year. Compensation for full or part-time staff or consultants is allowable. Funding activities may include, but are not limited to the following:

• Develop instructional expectations and strategies for effective and differentiated online instruction, align curriculum to MA curriculum frameworks
• Develop program plans and policies and procedures for the education of English language learners and students with disabilities sufficient to meet all applicable federal and state requirements
• Develop professional development content and trajectories for staff aligned with instructional expectations and best practices in virtual learning
• Acquiring supplies, training, equipment (including technology), and educational materials (including developing and acquiring instructional materials)
• Community engagement activities, which may include paying the cost of student and staff recruitment
• Providing for other appropriate, non-sustained costs related to preparation for opening

Unallowable costs include the following:

• Construction
• Indirect costs

Project Duration:

Upon Approval (No Earlier than 7/1/2024)* – 06/30/2025

* Grant start date cannot be prior to DESE receiving a substantially approvable Application Submission as directed in this RFP's Submission Instructions. Goods and Services cannot be procured prior to Grants receiving and approving an application submission. Funds cannot exceed the project duration end date.

Program Unit:

Office of Strategic Transformation

Contact:

Breanna Higgins

Phone Number:

(781) 338-3568

Date Due:

Friday, June 21, 2024

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.

Submission Instructions:

The 0214 Commonwealth Virtual School Start-up Grant will be submitted in our new GEM$ system. GEM$ is a cloud-based fiscal and program management grant system that will eventually phase out the use of EdGrants.

Grants for Education Management System (GEM$)

Please Note: Grant Submission at the LEA level requires roles to be established for Grant writer for the specific fund code, LEA fiscal for financial review/approval, and Superintendent/Chief Executive sign off. All these roles should be established prior to the grant due date and all appropriate forms should be either uploaded to GEM$, maintained at the LEA level or sent in to the DESE RFP contact as described on the individual forms. The user guidance documents and forms are found on the GEM$ homepage under DESE Resources. These form can be accessed without logging in to the system.

Last Updated: August 29, 2024