Grants and Other Financial Assistance Programs: FY2009

The priorities for this grant program are to:

1. support a system of Regional Support Centers prepared to work with and under the guidance and direction of Department staff, as well as with staff from the other Regional Centers, a Central Resource Center, educational institutions, and Massachusetts adult education programs;

2. provide high quality, results-driven program and staff development focused on proven and effective approaches to school/educational program improvement and, in particular, teaching and learning in key content areas that are responsive to Department priorities and to Massachusetts programs and practitioners;

3. assist the Commonwealth's adult educators and adult learning centers to meet Massachusetts professional, program, and performance standards for Adult Basic Education;

4. assist Adult Education Centers in implementing a data-driven, cyclic continuous improvement process of self-assessment, goal-setting, planning, and evaluation that will enable them to achieve their continuous improvement goals and help them to implement action plans that result from monitoring;

5. develop educational and administrative leadership skills among Adult Basic Education program directors and increase their understanding of and capacity to support teaching and learning;

6. increase the number of programs, teachers, and other Adult Basic Education professionals who participate in high quality professional development;

7. assist Massachusetts Adult Basic Education programs in developing and implementing curricula and assessments aligned with the standards in the Massachusetts Adult Basic Education Curriculum Frameworks;

8. promote diversity in adult education program staffing and in the pool of training consultants; and

9. document outcomes and progress through monthly reporting in the Department's web-based reporting System for Managing Accountability and Results Through Technology (SMARTT) and narrative reports.

The funding available for the Program and Staff Development Regional Support Centers for ABE programs is approximately $2 million in state (667) and federal (343) grants. Each regional award will be comprised of a combination of state and federal funds and is estimated to be between $360,000 and $400,000. Grantees should be prepared to fulfill responsibilities assigned in a work plan to be negotiated with the Department.

At the time this RFP is posted, specific federal and state funding levels are not finalized. Exact funding levels will be provided, as soon as they are available, to all potential applicants that submit a Letter of Intent to Apply by the March 28 due date.

Applicants proposing to operate a Program and Staff Development Regional Support Center are eligible to apply for up to an additional $140,000 to provide a Statewide Research and Resource Collection for Adult Basic Education programs and practitioners.

1. Personnel

   Each Regional Support Center (RSC) will be required to hire qualified individuals to fill the following positions at a minimum.

   1. Regional Support Center Director (1.0 FTE)

   2. Regional Curriculum and Assessment Specialist - This role must be assigned to a full-time person. A minimum of 0.5 FTE must be allocated to curriculum- and assessment-related training, technical assistance, and other support. The remaining 0.5 FTE may be assigned to other Regional Support Center duties fulfilled by the same person.

   3. Regional Field Technology Specialist - A minimum of 0.5 FTE in the Southeastern Massachusetts region and 1.0 FTE in each of the other four regions must be allocated to technology-related training, technical assistance, and other support to ABE programs and practitioners.

   4. Regional Workforce Development/Community Planning Specialist(s) - A minimum of 0.25 FTE must be allocated to coordinating activities designed to assist the field with developing the skills and knowledge needed to effectively integrate services and collaborate with workforce development and community partners, including career centers, local Workforce Investment Boards, local employers, schools, and family support services.

      Each of the specialist positions listed above may be combined with other duties to create a full-time position.

      Support staff and other positions needed to fulfill the purposes of the grant program are allowable.

2. Flexible Consulting Funds

   The Massachusetts professional development system for Adult Basic Education is intended to build upon state-of-the-art expertise among practitioners and researchers and to support and develop practitioner leadership by using practitioners as trainers, coaches, and facilitators when they have mastery of the content. Accordingly, each Regional Support Center will be required to reserve a minimum of 11% of its total core RSC award in a consulting line item to be used to support such trainers, coaches, and facilitators. The specific allocation of the consulting budget will be negotiated in the annual work plan development and approval process. Costs for consultants who perform an identifiable function in the Regional Support Center (e.g., curriculum and assessment, technology, or workforce development) are excluded from the 11%. Costs related to the ABE Statewide Research and Resource Collection are not considered in the total award for calculating the 11% flexible consulting requirement.

3. Other Non-Personnel Items

   Allowed are other non-personnel items necessary to implement the annual work plan and to document outcomes, e.g., supplies for training and office operations, including postage; hardware and software; staff in-state and out-of-state travel; printing; telephone and Internet access; memberships and subscriptions; advertising; equipment maintenance; etc. Funds may not be used, however, to cover costs of office, classroom, or other space.

   Applicants with a current approved federal indirect cost rate will be required to submit a copy of their current approval letter. Please note that the maximum allowable indirect cost rate that may be charged to this grant is 8% of the subtotal of direct costs. Any entity that does not have a current federal rate may apply to the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education for a maximum 5% indirect cost rate using the Department's current Indirect Cost Rate Application available at the following link:

   http://finance1.doe.mass.edu/grants/other/indirect_app08.html

   Note that final indirect costs for FY2009 will not be set before July, 2008.

   All budgets and staffing of the Program and Staff Development Regional Support Centers are subject to negotiation.

Applicants for Program and Staff Development Regional Support Centers for ABE are required to provide, at no cost to the grant, quality, fully accessible space for trainings, office space for Regional Center staff, and other in-kind institutional support, such as administrative and technology support.

Applicants that have received previously videoconferencing hardware from the Department, if selected for funding in FY2009, will be required to maintain at no cost to the grant adequate ISDN or IP connectivity to enable videoconferencing (minimum 384 KB; 768KB is preferable if connection is IP).

The program and staff development system for Adult Basic Education in Massachusetts is based on a set of clearly defined parameters; and demonstrated knowledge of its structure is crucial to successful proposals. The following information is offered to provide important details about the context and requirements of the system.

The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education requires that Adult Learning Centers (ALCs) compensate staff for their participation in certain minimum levels of engagement in program and staff development. All Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education grants to Adult Learning Centers include funding to support these requirements. A minimum of 2.5% of each salaried staff person's annual paid hours (or 12 hours/year, whichever is greater) must be allocated to professional development activities. Fifteen (15) additional paid hours are required for new direct service staff to complete a New Staff Orientation. Further, Department-funded ALCs must assign and compensate staff to conduct program development activities for at least 3.5% of total paid staff hours and they must use a process that integrates program and staff development.

Every Department-funded ALC grant includes dedicated funding to pay for the required release time for staff and program development, as well as additional funds to hire substitute teachers. Every ALC grant includes funding to support a Program and Staff Development Facilitator (approximately 6 hours/month) who works to ensure that the program uses a planning process that links program development activities and staff professional development.

These requirements and the funding that supports them are explained further in the first document listed below. The additional documents provide helpful information for developing and implementing proposals.

1.   Massachusetts Guidelines for Effective Adult Basic Education (FY2008)

2.   Massachusetts Indicators of Adult Basic Education Program Quality

3. Massachusetts Performance Standards for Community Adult Learning Centers

4. Massachusetts Professional Standards for Adult Basic Education Teachers

5. Requirements of Massachusetts ABE Program and Staff Development Provider System

6.    FY 2007-2008 SABES Work Plan

7. Definition of Massachusetts ABE Regions

8.   Massachusetts Guidelines for Professional Development Providers

9. Massachusetts ABE Curriculum Frameworks

10. Massachusetts System for Managing Accountability and Results Through Technology (SMARTT)

11.   SMARTT Program Planning for FY08 - User Guide

12. Grants for Schools: Getting Them and Using Them - A Procedural Manual

13. The Adult and Community Learning Services web site

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Competitive proposals must be received at the Department by 3:00 p.m. on the date due.

The Letter of Intent to Apply Form must be received at the Department by 5:00 p.m. on Friday. March 28, 2008. It should be sent by Certified, Registered, or Return Receipt Requested mail.

Mail Letter of Intent to to:

Sharon Artis-Jackson
Adult and Community Learning Services
Massachusetts Department of
Elementary and Secondary Education
350 Main Street
Malden, MA 02148-5023

Submit five (5) sets, with an original signature in BLUE ink of the Superintendent/ Executive Director/President on ONE set.

Proposals are due Thursday, April 17, 2008, by 3:00 p.m.

Mail proposal to:

Charlene Collins, Fiscal Liaison
Adult and Community Learning Services
Massachusetts Department of
Elementary and Secondary Education
350 Main Street
Malden, MA 02148-5023

Applicants that deliver proposals in person or by courier should be sure to request a receipt. Mailed proposals should be sent by Certified, Registered, or Return Receipt Requested mail.

Applicants proposing to operate a Program and Staff Development Regional Support Center are eligible to apply for additional funding to provide a Statewide Research and Resource Collection or SRRC (up to $140,000).

The option requires submission of additional information. The description of the proposed SRRC will be scored separately and have a separate page limit. (See Section VI of Part III - Required Program Information for further detail.)

All applicants requesting funding to operate a Program and Staff Development Regional Support Center must limit their response to no more than twenty-five (25) pages, single-spaced with 11-point font.

Applicants requesting funding to provide an ABE Statewide Research and Resource Collection must limit their description of this service to no more than five (5) additional pages.

Budget narratives and appendices do not count toward the page limit.