FY2025: Massachusetts 21^st Century Community Learning Centers — Exemplary Programs Grant Round 2

Fund Code: 0646

Purpose:

Supported with federal funds, the purpose of this competitive Exemplary Grant Program is to support a network of exemplary 21^st Century Community Learning Centers (21^st CCLC) that design and implement high quality academically enriching programs that contribute to deepening student learning.

Priorities:

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

• Creating a network of programs that demonstrate promising 21^st CCLC practices and serve as models, mentors, and resources on those practices.
• Supporting the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's (Department's or DESE's) new Educational Vision to advance equitable learning opportunities and re-envision learning experiences for students across the Commonwealth.
• Contributing to deepening student learning through engaging, academically enriching programming that is real world, relevant, and interactive.
• Contributing to the development of a library of grantee designed and implemented high quality project-based learning (HQPBL) units.
• Effectively engaging students who attend schools eligible for Title I, Part A of Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and their families, including students with identities and cultures that have been historically marginalized in educational settings. This includes but is not limited to students from families who are low income; students experiencing homelessness or who are in foster care; students who are Black, Indigenous, and People of Color (BIPOC); first generation students; emerging multilingual students; students with Individualized Education Programs (IEPs); and lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and questioning (LGBTQ+) students.
• Strengthening student learning during the school year (SY) and summer by developing a coherent and holistic range of programming that is responsive to the needs and interests of diverse learners so that all students can be successful in school, empowered to make informed choices in life, and prepared for college and careers.
• 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.
• Developing sustainable models for supporting additional quality learning time.
• Contributing to enhancing and advancing the work of the MA 21^st CCLC Program by sharing promising practices by serving as resources, models, and mentors to new and existing 21^st CCLC Programs.

Competitive priority will be given to districts and schools in chronically underperforming status.

Key Grant Requirements:

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.

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

Eligibility:

Applicants may apply for sites that received a Fiscal Year (FY) 2022 Fund Code (FC) 646 grant .

• Eligible sites are those that did not submit their application through the Superintendent/Executive Director by the June 21, 2024 deadline.
• All eligible sites must also have received corresponding continuation grants and have met all grant and eligibility requirements (detailed in Addendum A).

Funding Type:

Federal (CFDA 84.287C)

Federal grant funds must adhere to:

• UGG (2 CFR 200)
• EDGAR As Applicable
• EDGAR General Fiscal Administration 34 CFR Part 76

Funding:

A total of approximately $2,500,000 is projected to be available.

Applicants are eligible to apply for up to a maximum of 85% of their FY2024 grant award or $50,000 per site (whichever is more).

• Applicants may apply for up to an additional $8,000/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.
  • 21^st CCLC grant funds cannot be used to support the cost of transportation for students who have transportation as a related service in their Individualized Education Program (IEP). It is the responsibility of the district to support those costs.
• Additional Funding Opportunity — High Quality Project Based Learning (HQPBL) Training — Cohort V (see the District/Lead Applicant Required Program Information section in the grant application for additional details and requirements):
  • Applicants may apply for up to an additional $10,000/site to participate in a year-long HQPBL training. The additional funding may be used to stipend program staff for their participation in the training, planning, and development of an HQPBL Unit for piloting in summer of FY2025 and full implementation in SY 2026.

Note About Budgets: Applicants must submit a total budget for anticipated grant costs to support both the school year and summer program within the applicable total maximum allowable amounts noted above. Costs should be allocated based on the following timeframes for when the expenditures will occur:

• School Year (September – June): Include all anticipated SY program costs and any summer planning costs to be covered by the grant.
• Summer (July – August): Include all anticipated summer program costs to be covered by the grant.

Grant funds available for year one (1) Upon Approval (anticipated 09/01/2024 – 06/30/2025 will include Only the approved amount budgeted for costs anticipated to be incurred during the School Year (September – June), including summer planning costs.

Continuation grant amounts in years two (2) and three (3) are anticipated as follows:

• FY2026, FY2027 (Summer and School Year each year 07/01 – 06/30): up to the total amount awarded through the FY2025 competitive grant.
• FY2028 (Summer Only; July – August 2027): up to the total amount awarded through the FY2025 competitive grant less the actual amount spent in FY2025 (September 2024 – June 2025).

See the Project Duration section below for more details about anticipated continuation grant cycles.

Per federal requirements, the minimum grant award amount is $50,000.

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

This RFP is the governing document for these grant funds.

Fund Use:

Funds must be used solely to support, enhance, and/or provide related programming and activities that address the Purpose and Priorities 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/applicant/site. Any single purchase over $500 must be pre-approved.
• Budgets may not include any Indirect Costs

Project Duration:

Upon approval (No earlier than 09/01/2024) – 06/30/2025

Pending appropriation, awarded grantees may be eligible for continuation grant(s) in Fiscal Year(s) 2026 and 2027, and July – August 2027 (FY28). Eligibility for continued funding will be based on evidence that the program has met the key requirements, grant priorities (including maintenance of attendance levels for, 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:

Tuesday, July 9, 2024 at 5:00 p.m.

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 received 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.

Competitive grant applications are considered submitted when the Superintendent / Chief Executive approves the grant application in GEM$. In order to be considered for competitive funding, applicants must submit a grant application through the LEA Superintendent Approved stage by the due date listed in the RFP.

Additional Information:

Site visit as well as information gathered by the Department through data collection will account for approximately 30% of the overall score. Additionally, points will be deducted based on risk assessment data. Refer to Addendum G for risk assessment data points.

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

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.

Exemplary Grant Workshop Sessions: The Department will host two exemplary workgroup sessions at which applicants can ask questions regarding this funding opportunity:

• May 21^st — 10:00–11:00 RFP Overview
• June 11^th — 9:30–1:00 Writers Workshop

GEM$ Submission Instructions:

The FY25 FC 0646 Massachusetts 21st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC) Exemplary Programs 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$)

Competitive grant applications are considered submitted when the Superintendent / Chief Executive approves the grant application in GEM$. In order to be considered for competitive funding, applicants must submit a grant application by the due date listed in the RFP.

The Superintendent / Chief Executive Approved Step allows for the organization lead to review and approve the grant application. Removing the requirement for the Part I Standard Contract Form, this step signifies Superintendent /Chief Executive sign off. Any grant budget changes requiring signature, will re-execute this step when amended signifying the organization lead is approving these changes.

New Organizations: Please Note, Grant Submission requires applicants to have their organization established in GEM$. Entities that do not have an organization in GEM$ must contact the DESE Program Unit issuing this grant at a minimum 5 business days prior to the grant due date for temporary organization access.

Failure to provide DESE with GEM$ Temp Organization Access Request at least 5 business days prior to the due date may result in not meeting the submission due date listed above. DESE cannot accept or review applications after the due date.

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: July 3, 2024