Grants and Other Financial Assistance Programs: FY2010

Competitive Priority

Competitive priority for FY2010 will be given to applications that propose to:

1. change educational practice in order to improve student achievement through an explicit partnership with one or more non-charter public schools/districts in the school's charter region; or with schools/districts that have been identified as under-performing in the Massachusetts School and District Accountability System; or as in need of improvement, corrective action, or restructuring under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001; or

2. assist other individuals or founding groups with the planning and startup of one or more new public schools (including but not limited to charter schools) that are independent of the assisting charter school and the assisting charter school's developers, and that agree to be held to at least as high a level of accountability as the assisting charter school.

Massachusetts General Laws. c. 71, § 89 (s) and (ll), in part, state that:

• "The commissioner shall facilitate the dissemination of successful innovation programs of charter schools and provide technical assistance for other school districts to replicate such programs;" and

• "... a commonwealth charter shall not be renewed unless the board of trustees of the charter school has documented in a manner approved by the board of education that said commonwealth charter school has provided models for replication and best practices to the commissioner and to other public schools in the district where the charter school is located."

Federal legislation states that dissemination funds shall be used to:

"assist other schools in adapting the charter school's program (or certain aspects of the charter school's program), or to disseminate information about the charter school, through such activities as:

1. assisting other individuals with the planning and startup of one or more new public schools, including charter schools, that are independent of the assisting charter school and the assisting charter school's developers, and that agree to be held to at least as high a level of accountability as the assisting charter school;

2. developing partnerships with other public schools, including charter schools, designed to improve student performance in each of the schools participating in the partnership;

3. developing curriculum materials, assessments, and other materials that promote increased student achievement and are based on successful practices within the assisting charter school; and

4. conducting evaluations and developing materials that document the successful practices of the assisting charter school and that are designed to improve student achievement."

Minimum Eligibility Requirements: A charter school must meet two minimum eligibility requirements to apply for funds under this program:

1. Age: In the fall of 2009, the school will have been in operation (with students) for at least three consecutive years; and

2. Prior Funding: A charter school is eligible to receive funding through this program for no more than a total of two years. Eligible schools have not received previously two full years of funding under this program. If a school has received previously one year of funding, it may propose a new, one-year project or a continuation of the prior project. Schools applying for the first time are encouraged to consider projects that expand over a two-year period. Continuation funding for a second year is contingent upon submission of required progress reports.

Please review the eligibility list in Additional Information to determine if the charter school meets the minimum eligibility criteria described above. A charter school that meets these criteria may apply for funds solely or serve as the lead applicant for a consortium of schools. However, please note the following additional eligibility recommendations and requirements:

1. Recommended Academic Performance Standard: A charter school (a) should not be in an accountability status in either English language arts (ELA) or mathematics or (b) should have at least a Moderate performance rating in both ELA and mathematics. If a charter school does not meet this standard, it is highly unlikely that such a school would be awarded funds unless it can provide compelling evidence that it is an overall success and is particularly qualified and has the capacity to conduct successfully the proposed project.

2. Federal Requirements: Federal rules require that to be eligible for funding a charter school must have demonstrated overall success, including substantial progress in improving student achievement, high levels of parent satisfaction, and the management and leadership necessary to establish a thriving, viable charter school. These factors will be evaluated as part of the grant review process.

3. Mandatory Training Participation: In order to be eligible to apply for funding, a representative of a charter school must participate in a Dissemination Grant Orientation. Information about how to register for an orientation conference scheduled during February 2009 can be found at http://www.doe.mass.edu/conference/?ConferenceID=361.

4. Prospectuses and Interviews: Each charter school that intends to apply for funding under this program must submit a prospectus as described in Part III - Required Program Information. Department staff will review these prospectuses in order to determine if proposed projects meet state and federal guidelines and priorities. As part of this review process, applicants may be requested to participate in an interview (to be conducted by the end of March 2009) to answer questions regarding their prospectuses. All applicants will be notified in early April 2009 if they are invited to submit a full grant proposal.

Dissemination funds are made available to assist charter schools in disseminating their successful innovations to other charter and district schools. Grant funds may not supplant the regular operating budget of the charter school and may not be used to purchase non-consumable goods/equipment (such as computers, furniture, or other equipment). Indirect costs may not be charged to this grant. All spending must be consistent with applicable federal regulations and guidelines.

Examples of Acceptable Expenditures

1. Salary Costs, Stipends, or Contractual Services for direct project work (Budget Lines 1, 2, or 5).

   1. Salary/Contractual Services for a project coordinator devoted directly to conducting the dissemination project.

   2. Stipends for work beyond regular duties for teachers at the charter school or the partner school(s) to participate in dissemination activities.

   3. Stipends for business office staff for specific additional work related to grant tracking.

   4. Rates and number of hours for consultants and stipends for employees must be reasonable, justifiable, and accompanied by a clear scope of services and/ or description of specific duties/activities.

2. Travel costs to conduct dissemination activities. (Budget Line 7)

3. Consumable office supplies/printing/postage related directly to the dissemination project. (Budget Line 8)

Examples of Unacceptable Expenditures

1. Salary costs for employee salaries that would otherwise have to be paid out of non-grant funds (e.g., 5% of the Executive Director's salary).

2. Out-of-state travel expenses, unless compelling justification is provided that such travel is essential to achieve project goals.

3. Purchase of technology, computer software or hardware, or any items that would have re-sale value after the grant period.

Friday, March 27, 2009 by 5:00 p.m.

Each charter school that intends to apply for funding under this program must submit a Prospectus as described in Part III - Required Program Information. Department staff will review these prospectuses in order to determine if applicants meet eligibility requirements and if proposed projects meet state and federal guidelines and priorities. Invitations to submit a full proposal will be issued by early April 2009.

Friday, May 15, 2009 by 5:00 p.m.

Each charter school invited to submit a full grant proposal must follow the requirements as described in Part III - Required Program Information.

1.      Part I - General - Program Unit Signature Page - (Standard Contract Form and Application for Program Grants)

2.      Part II Budget Detail Pages (Include both pages.) - Instructions

3.     Part III - Required Program Information (Project Proposal)

•      Eligibility List

Examples of potential projects include, but are not limited to:

• establishing a formal partnership around a specific program, curriculum, or educational approach with one or more non-charter districts or schools;

• establishing a formal mentoring program for a founding group that is preparing to start a new public school; or

• documenting an effective, innovative, instructional strategy or program of a teacher or group of teachers at the school to be shared with other schools.

1. Hard Copy Submission

   Submit five (5) hard copies of the entire proposal no later than 5:00 p.m. on Friday, May 15, 2009. Package each set in order (Part I, Part II, and Part III) with a single staple in the upper-left hand corner-no binding, please. Be sure that there is an original signature of the Charter School Leader on the Standard Contract Form and Application for Program Grants for each set.

   Mail to:

   Cliff Chuang
   Charter School Office
   Massachusetts Department of
   Elementary and Secondary Education
   75 Pleasant Street
   Malden, MA 02148-4906

2. Electronic Submission

   Submit via email to cchuang@doe.mass.edu, one (1) set of electronic copies of the proposal package (Part I, Part II, and Part III) no later than 5:00 p.m. on Friday, May 15, 2009; no signature required.

   Use an email subject line of "LEA Code 04XX: Fund Code 537 Dissemination Grant Proposal" (where 04XX represents the school's LEA code) and ensure that each of the three (3) attachments is named as indicated below.

   Document	Electronic File Name
   Part I - Signature Page	04XX_FY10_537_Part1
   Part II - Budget Detail Pages	04XX_FY10_537_Part2
   Part III - Required Program Information	04XX_FY10_537_Part3