Grants and Other Financial Assistance Programs: FY2008

The purpose of these federal Learn and Serve America funds is to:

1. support the institutionalization and sustainability of service-learning district-wide;

2. increase the practice of service-learning as a methodology for implementing the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks, K-12 (See the definition of high-quality service-learning in the Additional Information section below.);

3. improve the quality of service-learning initiatives;

4. provide more opportunities for low-income students to engage in service-learning; and5. identify and address significant barriers to student achievement and, through service-learning and other activities, implement solutions to those barriers.

Priorities for the use of these funds are to:

1. develop a plan to institutionalize service-learning practice through ongoing professional development, connecting to the district's mission, policies, and practices, as well as connecting to other educational initiatives;

2. continue to implement and align classroom-based service-learning activities with the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks;

3. continue to identify and work with community partners to meet identified needs of young people (particularly those who are at-risk);

4. continue to provide teachers and administrators with the professional development opportunities needed to implement high-quality community service-learning;

5. demonstrate a commitment to networking with and mentoring other districts to share best practices in service-learning implementation and institutionalization; and

6. implement service-learning projects that serve to reduce barriers to learning. Examples include, but are not limited to: truancy; substance abuse issues; school violence/climate; homelessness; and literacy/language barriers. (Please see the Needs Statement in the Additional Information section for more details.)

The following districts are eligible to apply.

Funds may be used for stipends or salaries for staff to coordinate the CSL initiative, curriculum development, teacher stipends, consultants, substitutes, transportation of student participants, travel, conferences, purchase of materials and supplies, printing, and reproduction of materials.

Funds may not be used for the purchase of computer/audio visual hardware, copiers, or vehicles.

A minimum of 40% of budgets should support activities to sustain the CSL program. (Examples include trainings, professional development, curriculum development, and policy development.)

These funds may not pay for indirect/overhead costs.

Note: In-kind and cash matches must be tracked and documented as a requirement of the grant and cannot include a match from other Corporation for National and Community Service funding. See the Learn and Serve provisions for grant spending requirements.

Friday, July 20, 2007

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

• Needs Statement

  The overarching need identified as a priority by the Department Community Service-Learning (CSL) program is improving student achievement. To accomplish this goal, the Department will focus CSL efforts on addressing local needs identified as barriers to learning and work with schools and districts to address these needs, improve instruction, and increase student engagement through the use of service-learning.

• Definition of Service-Learning

  In 1990, the Corporation for National and Community Service said that service-learning:

  • Promotes learning through active participation in service experiences;

  • Provides structured time for students to reflect by thinking, discussing, and/or writing about their service experience;

  • Provides an opportunity for students to use skills and knowledge in real-life situations;

  • Extends learning beyond the classroom and into the community; and

  • Fosters a sense of caring for others (as adapted from the National and Community Service Act of 1990).

    The National Commission on Service-Learning defined service learning in 2001 as follows: "Service-learning is a teaching and learning approach that integrates community service with academic study to enrich learning, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities."

• Key Elements to High Quality Service-Learning

  • Service that meets a community need;

  • Explicit, authentic, and guided learning;

  • Youth decision-making; and

  • Analytic reflection.

•  Learn and Serve America Grant Provisions

Submit two (2) sets of all required forms, with original signatures of the Superintendent/ Executive Director. Mail to:

Donna Pisaturo
Student Support
Massachusetts Department of
Elementary and Secondary Education
350 Main Street
Malden, MA 02148-5023