Grants and Other Financial Assistance Programs: FY2008

Through this state grant program, the Department of Education (Department), in collaboration with the Department of Early Education and Care (EEC), seeks to provide students in grades K-12 with high quality after-school and out-of-school time programs and services. The purpose of this program is to increase comprehensive after-school and out-of-school time programming that supports children's and youth's academic, social, and emotional development outside of the regular school day, for public and non-public school age students during the school year and over the summer months. Activities provided include but are not limited to:

1. academic tutoring and homework centers where content is linked to and based on the Department of Education's Curriculum Frameworks;

2. programs that improve the health of students, including physical activities, athletics, nutrition and health education, and exercise;

3. art, theater, and music programs developed in collaboration with the Massachusetts Cultural Council, local cultural councils, or cultural organizations in the Commonwealth funded by the Massachusetts Cultural Council;

4. enrichment activities not otherwise provided during the school day;

5. advanced study for the gifted and talented;

6. community service programs; and

7. other activities, such as student and family outreach and involvement.

Priorities for 2007-2008 competitive funding are to provide services in high need communities as evidenced by low income level and need for academic improvement by:

1. Supporting programs that demonstrate strong and innovative implementation of the Quality Enhancements described in Attachment A. Proposed services and activities (See list in Purpose section above.) under this priority can focus on enhancing one or more of the quality criteria listed in Attachment A: Guidelines for Quality Enhancements in After-School and Out-of-School Time Programs. The goal of these criteria is to support high quality ASOST programs that provide a balanced focus on and link to supporting children's and youth's academic success as well as their overall development, including healthy social emotional development.

2. Addressing barriers to student participation. Applicants may apply for funding to address programmatic issues related to preventing student participation, including but not limited to: lack of or limited transportation; need for effective student outreach activities; and/or lack of program services for particular age groups, K-12.

3. Increasing comprehensive after-school and out-of-school time programming to children and youth during the school year and summer, including through 21^st Century Community Learning Centers (CCLC) Programs. Activities under this priority may include but not be limited to extending a program's before- and/or after-school hours; adding additional days; extending a summer program's weeks of duration or hours per day; or adding a summer program to a school year design.

   Preference will be given to proposals developed collaboratively by public schools (school district), non-public schools, and private community-based programs.

Massachusetts public school districts, non-public schools, and public and private community-based programs are eligible to apply for funding. Institutions of higher education are encouraged to partner with one of these entities. FY2007 Fund Code: 530 grant recipients are also eligible to apply.

Applications from agencies and organizations other than a school district must demonstrate the capacity to administer the program based on the applicant's:

• proven fiscal responsibility as demonstrated, for example, through an annual audit; and

• previous experience with similar amounts of funding at the state or federal level through government, foundation, or private grants.

Applicants and partnering programs and organizations applying for funds must demonstrate:

• adherence to applicable EEC regulations or Department Program Standards for Public School Operated After-School Programs;

• willingness to serve low-income students through EEC vouchers if the program meets EEC's requirements for subsidized school-age services as will be documented by signing a voucher agreement with EEC if funded; and

• implementation of all six (6) quality enhancement guidelines listed in Attachment A.

In addition, applicants requesting between $50,000 and $75,000 in funds must address the following criteria:

• expanding capacity through program development, serving children on the EEC subsidized waitlist, or designing wrap-around component(s) to existing programs, including 21st CCLC. Applicants with unfilled capacity that wish to serve children on the EEC waitlist are to use the regional state rate for subsidized care when determining their budgets;

• developing strong partnerships that involve multiple organizations; and

• leveraging of additional funds to supplement the work of this grant in the amount of at least 15% of the total budget request.

A minimum of $950,000 and a maximum of $1,950,000 is available, pending final FY2008 budget appropriation. Of this amount, at least $100,000 statewide must be expended for services that include students with disabilities in after-school programs that serve non-disabled students and for services that include students for whom English is a second language.

Grant requests must be a minimum of $10,000 up to a maximum of $75,000. Please note that the minimum and maximum amounts refer to costs of services/programs through August 31, 2008. Applicants may choose to expend these funds for School Year services only, Summer services only, or both.

Funds may be used to provide more comprehensive services, as outlined in the Purpose and Priorities sections and in Attachment A.

Budget expenditures may include but are not limited to the following costs:

• staff and coordinator salaries;

• contracts/subsidy payments with provider agencies;

• professional development activities;

• stipends for professionals and students involved actively in the delivery of services;

• family involvement;

• additional costs related to serving students with disabilities and/or students who are English Language Learners *;

  * Expenditures for serving students with disabilities or students whose first language is not English may include increased per-child reimbursement rates, additional staff, specialized training, and technical assistance.

• transportation; and

• program materials.

No more than 10% of the total budget may be used for program coordination and administration.

Indirect costs are not an allowable expenditure under this grant.

FY2008 School Year Program: Upon Approval - 6/30/2008

FY2009 Summer Program: 7/1/2008 - 8/31/2008

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Competitive proposals must be received at the Department by 4:30 p.m. on the date due.

1.     Attachment A: Guidelines for Quality Enhancements in After-School and Out-of-School Time Programs

1. Applicants intending to apply for funds are encouraged to submit a Letter of Intent to Apply no later than Wednesday, July 3, 2007, indicating the name of the agency applying for the grant along with any partnering agencies and a 1-2 paragraph description of the proposal plan, including an estimated total budget request. Letters of Intent should be emailed to asostrfp@doe.mass.edu or mailed to Donna Traynham at the address listed in Submission Instructions.

2. Part III - Required Program Information: Sections A-C, including the Executive Summary, should be no longer than 8 pages with 1 inch margins. Responses should be single-spaced and should be no smaller than 10-pt Arial font.

3. Several considerations will be made when recommending applications to the Board of Education. Funding recommendations will strive to have this grant program:

   1. represent a geographic distribution in order to reach children and youth in need of services throughout the Commonwealth, especially those from school districts with demonstrated need for academic improvement as measured by performance on the MCAS;

   2. fund a cross-section of program organizations and program sizes to ensure that the grant recipients are reflective of the state's mixed delivery system; and

   3. fund programs that are cost-effective in terms of the number of children to be served, services to be provided, and money requested.

4. Applicants may choose to apply for funds to cover services during the school year only, summer only, or both school year and summer. Applicants wishing to include school year and summer services must submit two Standard Contract Forms and two Budget Detail Pages. The first set will be for services to be rendered between the award of the funds and June 30, 2008. The second set should reflect dates and costs associated with services to be provided between July 1, 2008 and August 31, 2008.

5. Applicants submitting proposals for more than one site must submit the individual proposals together in one package with a cover letter indicating how they would prioritize the proposals.

6. Due to the competitive nature of this grant, the Department is not able to respond to e-mail or telephone call questions. Instead, a Q & A document will be posted at www.doe.mass.edu/asost/ by Wednesday, June 27, 2007.

Submit three (3) sets, each with an original signature of the Superintendent/Executive Director. Mail to:

Donna Traynham
Center for State and Federal Programs
Massachusetts Department of
Elementary and Secondary Education
350 Main Street
Malden, MA 02148-5023