Title I, Part A of the federal Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) provides supplemental resources to local school districts to help provide all children significant opportunity to receive a fair, equitable, and high-quality education, and to close educational achievement gaps.
Title I, Part A is one of four principal programs that are available to districts through formula grants under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the current reauthorization of ESEA. The other programs are Title II, Part A; Title III, Part A; and Title IV, Part A.
The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education is guided by its educational vision where:
All students in Massachusetts, particularly students from historically underserved groups and communities, will have equitable opportunities to excel in all content areas across all grades.
Culturally and linguistically sustaining classroom and school practices will support students to thrive by creating affirming environments where students have a sense of belonging, engage in deeper learning, and are held to high expectations with targeted support.
DESE partners with districts, schools, and programs to:
Cultivate systems to support the whole student and foster joyful, healthy, and supportive learning environments so that all students feel valued, connected, nourished, and ready to learn. Strategic Objective 1 — "Whole Student"
Promote deeper learning so that all students engage in grade-level work that is real-world, relevant, and interactive. Strategic Objective 2 — "Deeper Learning"
Develop and sustain a workforce that is diverse, culturally responsive, well-prepared, and committed to continuous improvement, so that all students have equitable access to effective educators. Strategic Objective 3 — "Diverse and Effective Workforce"
Applicants for this grant opportunity should be intentional in the use of grant funds to support at least one of these strategic objectives.
The priorities of Title I, Part A are to:
Strengthen the core program in schools and provide academic and/or support services to low-achieving students at the preschool, elementary, middle, and high school levels;
Provide evidence-basedi programs that enable participating students to achieve the learning standards of the state curriculum frameworks;
Elevate the quality of instruction by providing eligible staff with substantial opportunities for professional development; and,
Involve parents/guardians of participating public and private school children as active partners in their children's education at school through open, meaningful communication, training, and, as appropriate, inclusion in decision-making processes.
A district is eligible to receive funds based on criteria established by the United States Department of Education (USED). Grants are awarded to local school districts after the state reviews and approves a district's grant application.
Federal CFDA: 84.010
Federal grant funds must adhere to:
FY25 Fund Code 0305 Title I, Parts A & D District AllocationsWhen allocations become available, the RFP will be updated and districts will be notified.
FY25 Title I, Parts A & D Detailed Allocation Spreadsheet
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 for allocations, it will be distributed under the same guidelines that appear in this RFP document.
Funds may be used to provide academic, instructional, and support services for eligible students, professional development activities for staff, support for parent involvement activities, and the purchase of appropriate supplies and materials.
Upon Approval (No earlier than 7/1/2024) * through 6/30/2025 (Year 1)
The period of availability for this grant award can be extended 15 months beyond Year 1. The extended period is as follows: 7/1/2025 – 6/30/2026 (Year 2); 7/1/2026 – 9/30/2026 (Year 3). Note: No more than 15% of the Title I award may be carried beyond 9/30/25, without a waiver of this statutory limit.
*The grant start date cannot be prior to DESE receiving a substantially approvable application submission as directed in this RFPs Submission Instructions. Funds cannot exceed the project duration end date.
Resource Allocation Strategy and Planning
Federal Grant Programs
(781) 338-6230
Monday, September 9, 2024
FY25 Federal Grant Assurances — The FY25 Federal Grant Assurances Signature Page (Page 1 only) completed and signed by the Superintendent/Executive Director and uploaded in GEM$ in the LEA Document Library under Assurances, in folder Federal Entitlement Grant Assurances. We cannot approve any federal entitlement grant without a signed, properly dated and uploaded Federal Grant Assurance signature page.
Title I Schoolwide Program Justification, Assurances, and Waiver Request (required for districts with new Schoolwide school programs and for existing Schoolwide school programs that have fallen below the required 40% poverty threshold.) If applicable, upload instructions may be found on the School Ranking Instructions and Waiver Uploads page in GEM$.
Title I, Part A Quick Reference Guide on allowable and unallowable costs
How Funds are Allocated to States, Districts, and Schools
Selecting Title I Schools and Allocating Funds
ESSA Family Engagement Resources
Guidance on Private School Equitable Services under ESSA
Massachusetts Acceleration Roadmap
The FY2025 Fund Code 0305 Title I, Part A: Improving Basic Programs Operated by Local School Districts grant will be completed and submitted in the Grants for Education Management System (GEM$). GEM$ is a cloud-based fiscal and program management grant system that will eventually phase out the use of EdGrants.
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 forms can be accessed without logging in to the system.
i ESEA encourages, and in select cases requires, states and districts to implement "evidence-based" practices, activities, strategies, and interventions with demonstrated evidence of effectiveness. Evidence-based practices refer to interventions for which there is evidence of significant positive impact that can be found in published research papers, literature reviews, or ESE research briefs. Alternately, evaluations of local practices that a district or state may be used to identify evidence-based practices with statistically significant positive impacts or other high quality research findings that indicate a strong likelihood that the interventions will have a positive impact on student outcomes. For more information on ESSA's evidence-based tiers, see the US Department of Education's Guidance . For more information on using, building, and sharing evidence to improve student outcomes, see information on DESE's "The How Do We Know Initiative."
Last Updated: June 7, 2024
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education 135 Santilli Highway, Everett, MA 02149
Voice: (781) 338-3000 TTY: (800) 439-2370
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