FY2025: Safe and Supportive Schools Continuation Grant

Fund Code: 0337

Purpose:

The goals of this state funded safe and supportive schools continuation grant program are to:

• help support implementation of school-wide action plans created by Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 Fund Code (FC) 335 Option 1 — Action Planning grantees in the prior year; and
• continue, expand, or extend the implementation and mentor/support efforts by FY2024 FC 335 Option 2 — Implementation and Mentor/Support grantees.

Priorities:

The main priorities for this grant program are to ensure that each school creates a safe, positive, healthy, culturally responsive, equitable, and inclusive whole-school learning environment, and makes effective use of a system for integrating services and aligning initiatives that promote students' behavioral health and wellness.

These efforts are supported through school-based implementation of action plans that were created after completing the Safe and Supportive Schools Self-Reflection Tool (Tool).

An additional priority for Option 2 — Implementation and Mentor/Support grantees is to provide mentoring and support in a variety of ways related to using the Tool, writing and implementing action plans, and other areas as appropriate.

Eligibility:

Massachusetts school districts that received FY2024 Fund Code (FC) 335 Safe and Supportive Schools are eligible to apply for this continuation funding opportunity to support implementation of action plans created by school and school district teams, based on all six elements of the Safe and Supportive Schools Framework (Framework)/Tool (all grantees), and mentor/support activities (former Option 2 grantees only).

Applicants must propose to focus this work in one or more schools where the FY2024 FC 335 grant supported a team of school and district stakeholders to create school and district action plans (FY2024 Option 1 grantees), or where the grant supported implementation activities and mentor/support activities (FY2024 Option 2 grantees).

Eligible Districts and Maximum Funding Amounts (Option 2 grantees are indicated with an asterisk):

Arlington Public Schools*	$10,000
Assabet Valley Regional Technical Vocational School District (Marlborough)	10,000
Bristol County Agricultural High School (Dighton)	10,000
Christa McAuliffe Charter School (Framingham)	10,000
Clarksburg Public Schools	9,500
Freetown-Lakeville Regional School District (Lakeville)	10,000
Frontier Regional and Union 38 School District* (South Deerfield)	10,000
Global Learning Charter Public Schools* (New Bedford)	10,000
Granby Public Schools	7,568
Haverhill Public Schools	10,000
Hilltown Cooperative Charter School (Easthampton)	10,000
Hoosac Valley Regional School District (Adams)	10,000
Lowell Public Schools	10,000
Martha's Vineyard Public Schools (Vineyard Haven)	10,000
Milton Public Schools	10,000
North Brookfield Public Schools	10,000
Reading Public Schools	10,000
Southbridge Public Schools	10,000
Springfield Public Schools	10,000
Sutton Public Schools	10,000
Tantasqua Regional School District Union 61 (Fiskdale)	10,000

Funding Type:

State Line Item 7061-9612

Funding:

Approximately $207,068 is available to support these grants.

Applicants are eligible for up to the amounts listed in the Eligibility section above.

Notes about funding:

• Funding is contingent upon availability.
• All dollar amounts listed are estimated/approximate and are subject to change.
• Districts are eligible for up to the amount they received for FY2024 FC 335.
• Should additional funds become available as a result of unclaimed or returned grant awards, the Department may redistribute those funds in an equitable manner among other awarded grantees in alignment with the guidelines in the initial RFP.

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.

Fund Use:

Grant funds may be used for school and district-based implementation coordinator(s), consultants, substitutes, evidence-based programs/initiatives, and materials to be used in the implementation of district action plans and school action plans for proposed schools. Funds cannot be used for electronics (such as iPads, computers, tablets, etc.) or construction.

These funds must be used to implement action plans that incorporate all six elements of the Framework, as submitted with the FY2025 application (or as part of the FY2024 FC 335 grant).

All applicants may consider partnering with Educational Collaboratives or other consultants to help facilitate the implementation process.

Option 2 grantees may also use funds for mentor/support activities.

Project Duration:

Upon Approval (no earlier than 9/1/2024)* – 6/30/2025

*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:

Student and Family Support

Contact:

Emily Taylor

Phone Number:

(781) 338-3010

Date Due:

Friday, August 30, 2024

Proposals will be reviewed on a rolling basis and may be submitted prior to the due date. Extensions, if needed, may also be requested by the due date.

Note: The start date will be based on when an approvable grant is entered in GEM$.

Additional Information:

School and District Action Plans
Action plans must be received by the Department for all schools included for funding under FY2025 FC 0337. Option 1 grantee action plans should have been submitted during the FY2024 FC 335 grant cycle but should be resubmitted in the GEM$ application. Option 2 grantees are required to submit an action plan with this application with any changes or updates since the action plan was originally submitted. Missing action plans will result in a delay in the grant award and start date.

Program Evaluation and Professional Development
Grantees shall participate in professional development (e.g., conferences, webinars, and/or regional events, etc.) to be held by the Department, as well as in an evaluation of this grant program. In addition, the Department and Safe and Supportive Schools Commission will use feedback from grantees to inform continuous updates and improvements to the Framework and Tool. Details will be provided to all grantees once information is confirmed.

GEM$ Submission Instructions:

GEM$ Submission Requirements:

1. The FY2025 Fund Code 0337 Safe and Supportive Schools Continuation grant will be submitted in our new Grants for Education Management System (GEM$) system. See below for submission instructions. The following will be required to be submitted or uploaded directly into GEM$:

   • Required Program Narrative (entered into GEM$ form)
   • Assurance Statement (uploaded)
   • Budget: FY2025 — School Year budget (entered into the GEM$ Budget Form.
   • Action Plan — Attach a previously completed Safe and Supportive Schools action plan aligned with the implementation activities proposed in Program Narrative.
   
   

2. This Application Planning Template contains the questions asked in the Program Narrative. While it may be used as a planning and organizing tool, responses to the questions in the Program Narrative must be submitted through GEM$ in order to be reviewed.

GEM$ Submission Instructions:

The FC 0337 Safe and Supportive Schools Continuation grant will be submitted in our new 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 form can be accessed without logging in to the system.

Continuation grant applications are considered submitted when the LEA Fiscal Representative approves the grant application in GEM$. The DESE Program Reviewer will then review the application. Once DESE Program Review is complete the grant will be ready for the LEA Superintendent / Chief Executive review and approval.

Last Updated: September 3, 2024