Grants and Other Financial Assistance Programs: FY2007

In January of 2002, the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) became law. Title II, Part B, of this legislation authorizes the Mathematics and Science Partnerships (MSP) grant program. The intent of this program is to encourage institutions of higher education and school districts to collaborate in professional development activities that increase the subject matter knowledge and teaching skills of mathematics and science teachers. Professional development activities must be sustained, intensive, classroom focused, and aligned with state standards. These activities must result in a demonstrable improvement in student academic achievement in mathematics and/or science.

Core partners in these grants must include a high need school district and a science, technology, engineering, and/or mathematics (STEM) department from an institution of higher education, including community colleges. Additional partners may include other public school districts, public charter schools, businesses, and non-profit or for-profit organizations concerned with mathematics and science education.

Funds available for the MSP competitive grant program in 2006-2007 will be awarded by the Massachusetts Department of Education (Department). For FY2007, approximately $1,500,000 is available for MSP awards.

In addition, the Department has made funds available for one partnership that will agree to participate in a rigorous summative evaluation to be conducted collaboratively with the UMass Donahue Institute (UMDI), the state-level evaluation contractor for the Massachusetts Mathematics and Science Partnerships (MMSP) program. This partnership must plan to use an existing middle school mathematics professional development program consisting of a sequence of courses and must be willing to implement its program in such a way as to facilitate a randomized controlled trial or comparison group study.

The purpose of the MMSP program is to improve student achievement in mathematics, science, and technology/engineering through intensive, high-quality professional development activities that focus on deepening teachers' content knowledge.

The Department has established the following goals for the MMSP program.

Content Focus and Level

The MMSP program focuses on assisting middle school (4-8) mathematics, science, and technology/engineering teachers and/or high school science and technology/engineering teachers to obtain a Massachusetts educator license in one or more of the following areas:

• Elementary Mathematics (1-6);

• Middle School Mathematics (5-8);

• Middle School Mathematics/Science (5-8);

• Mathematics (8-12);

• General Science (5-8);

• Biology (5-8; 8-12);

• Chemistry (5-8; 8-12);

• Earth Science (5-8; 8-12);

• Physics (5-8; 8-12); and

• Technology/Engineering (5-8; 8-12)

Priority Points

1. Five (5) priority points will be awarded to high need school districts that have two or more schools identified for aggregate improvement in mathematics (indicated on the High Need School District List - see Additional Information for the link).

2. Ten (10) priority points will be awarded for projects that focus on Science and/or Technology/Engineering. Projects may include mathematics and science components integrated into one course or one course of study.

General Requirements

MMSP partnership activities must include the following:

1. high-quality, content-specific professional development for middle grade mathematics, science, and/or technology/engineering teachers or high school science and technology/ engineering teachers, including special education teachers and teachers of English language learners, that:

   1. relate directly to the curriculum and academic content areas in which the teachers provide instruction and focus only secondarily on pedagogy;

   2. align with the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks, the Massachusetts Licensure Regulations, and the test objectives for the Massachusetts Tests of Educator Licensure (MTEL);

   3. include at least 45 hours of direct instruction;

   4. include pre- and post-assessments of teacher knowledge specifically related to each course offered;

   5. include at least 20 hours of follow-up contact per course and/or institute to support the implementation of course content into the classroom in order to improve student achievement; and

   6. offer participants the option of graduate credit (may be at the participant's expense);

2. a formalized program evaluation and compliance with state and federal reporting requirements as described on pages 9 - 12 of this RFP; and

3. a web page for the partnership to communicate and disseminate partnership activities.

Rigorous Summative Evaluation

The Department has established a priority to support one partnership that will agree to participate in a rigorous summative evaluation. Reviewers will award:

• up to 15 bonus points for proposals that commit to participate in a randomized controlled trial; or

• up to 6 bonus points for proposals that commit to participate in a comparison group study.

Actual points will depend upon the extent to which the proposal demonstrates an ability to support the selected research design, including the ability to recruit and retain a sufficient number of study participants and ensure cooperation from the control/comparison group. Bonus points will carry weight only in determining which funded project is selected for the rigorous summative evaluation (i.e., bonus points are not treated as priority points, which factor into overall selection for funding).

In addition to the above listed requirements for all partnerships, those applying under this priority must:

1. be focused on professional development for teachers of middle school mathematics; and

2. plan to use an existing program of professional development consisting of a sequence of courses and follow-up activities lasting for at least two years.

MMSP proposals must be developed collaboratively by all partners.

Core Partners

Core partner organizations share responsibility and accountability for the MMSP project. Core partner organizations are required to provide evidence of their commitment to undergo the coordinated institutional change necessary to sustain the partnership effort beyond the funding period.

Core partner organizations in each partnership must include:

• a high need school district (See Additional Information for the 2007 High Need School District List.); and

• a STEM department from a Massachusetts institution of higher education, including community colleges.School districts may participate in only one proposal as a Core Partner.

Lead Partner

One of the core partner organizations serves as the lead partner and submits the MMSP proposal on behalf of the partnership. The lead partner accepts management and fiduciary responsibility for the projects. It is highly recommended that the high need district act as the lead partner.

Additional Partners

Additional partners from within or outside of Massachusetts may include:

• the STEM department or education department of another institute of higher education;

• mathematics, science, or engineering faculty from institutions of higher education;

• additional local educational agencies, public charter schools, public or non-public elementary schools or secondary schools, or a consortium of such schools (at least 50% of the participating teachers must be from schools that are listed as high need);

• business partners; and/or

• non-profit or for-profit organizations of demonstrated effectiveness in improving the quality of mathematics, science, and technology/engineering teachers.

Private schools are eligible to participate in a partnership and should be given equitable opportunity for participation.

Grants will be awarded for a period of up to three years based on yearly progress towards meeting the goals and objectives established for the program. For FY2007, approximately $1,500,000 is available for Mathematics and Science Partnership awards. The Department expects to fund approximately 5-10 MMSP programs awarding up to $200,000 per year for each program. Funding over $200,000 per year will be considered if a strong rationale is provided. Second and third year awards are contingent upon program funding by Congress. The number of proposals funded will be based on the quality of proposals submitted. The level of funding for grant awards will depend on the number of teacher participants and the number of students impacted. In order to be cost effective, the cost per teacher participant should be approximately $2,000 per course. (This is an estimate and may be lower or higher depending upon the proposed program activities.)

The partnership selected to participate in the rigorous summative evaluation will receive $25,000 in additional grant funds to support the costs of the more rigorous research design, including a contract with the state MMSP evaluator (UMDI) to carry out the study. Partnerships that apply to participate in the rigorous summative evaluation, but are not selected under that priority will automatically be considered for funding under the basic MMSP criteria.

Funds awarded shall be used to supplement, not supplant, state and/or local funds that would otherwise be used for proposed activities.

1. Funds may be used to support professional development programs and content course development in mathematics, science, and/or technology/engineering.

2. Funds may be used for administrative costs, stipends, substitutes, materials for professional development, program evaluation, program dissemination, travel to state and national Title II-B meetings, etc. Note: grant funds may not be allocated to pay for both a participant's tuition and to provide a stipend.

3. Funds may not be used for equipment, space rental, or food.

4. Indirect costs, if charged, must be at the Department of Education approved rate and may not exceed a rate of 10% for non-school districts.

5. Administrative costs and indirect costs combined may not exceed 20% of the total budget.

6. Consultant fees may not exceed $100 per hour, up to $750 per day.

All budgets and budget descriptions must be aligned with the program activities and reflect any coordinated uses of resources from other sources.

Monday, May 8, 2006

Competitive proposals must be received at the Department by 5:00 p.m. on the date due.

		Checklist for Submission
		FY2007 High Need School District List
		Scoring Rubric
		Definitions

• Massachusetts Mathematics Curriculum Framework

• Supplement to the Massachusetts Mathematics Curriculum Framework Grades 3, 5, and 7 Grade-Level Standards

• Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework

• Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering High School Standards; January 2006

• Massachusetts Licensure Regulations and Information

• Massachusetts Test for Educator Licensure (MTEL) Test Information Booklets including the Test Objectives

• NCLB Title II Part B Federal Regulations

Submission

Applicants must submit an original and five copies of the full proposal to the Massachusetts Department of Education. The original must include an original signature of the authorized institutional official of the lead agency. Fax and e-mail submissions are not acceptable. To be considered for funding, proposals must be received at the Department by 5:00 p.m. on Monday, May 8, 2006. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Proposals should be mailed or delivered to:

Katherine Richard
Title II-B Coordinator
Office for Mathematics, Science, and Technology/Engineering
Massachusetts Department of Education
350 Main Street
Malden, MA 02148-5023

Review Process

Proposals will be reviewed for completeness and compliance with the requirements set forth in Title II, Part B, of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 to determine applicant eligibility. If, in the judgment of the Department, a proposal is late, significantly incomplete, or an applicant cannot establish its eligibility, the proposal will be omitted from the competition. Applicants submitting proposals that are withdrawn due to incompleteness or ineligibility will be notified in writing.

An expert review panel will evaluate eligible applications based on the required application components and the established rubric and make recommendations to the Department. Proposals will be ranked according to the final score assigned by the review panel and selected for funding consideration based upon the following criteria:

• final score assigned each proposal by the review panel;

• a cost-effectiveness ratio determined by the relationship between the number of teachers served, the actual amount of teacher-faculty instructional contact time, and the total cost of the program; and

• geographic distribution.One proposal will be selected for the rigorous summative evaluation out of the pool of successful proposals that have indicated interest in this option.

Following the review, Department staff will contact eligible lead partners to discuss any modifications of the project plan that may be required. To maximize the effects of limited funds, applicants whose grants are recommended at less than the amount requested may be asked to revise the project budget and/or scope of work.