Grants and Other Financial Assistance Programs: FY2009

Title II, Part B, of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) authorizes the Massachusetts Mathematics and Science Partnership (MMSP) grant program. The intent of this program is to encourage districts and institutions of higher education to collaborate in professional development activities that increase the subject matter knowledge and improve the standards-based instructional practices of science, technology/engineering, and mathematics (STEM) teachers.

Funds for new partnerships through this 2008-2009 MMSP competitive grant program will be awarded by the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (Department). For FY2009, approximately $1,400,000 is available for new MMSP awards.

The purpose of the MMSP program is to improve student achievement in science, technology/engineering, and mathematics (STEM) through intensive, high-quality professional development activities aligned to district STEM improvement goals.

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

Priority will be given (up to an additional 10 points for each priority addressed) to partnerships that:

1. offer courses or courses of study for grades 5-8 mathematics, and/or science and technology/engineering teachers;

2. offer courses or courses of study that engage participants in learning science and technology/engineering content through inquiry-based learning experiences;*

3. engage high-need districts in activities that integrate professional development with local STEM improvement initiatives; and/or

4. develop a rigorous summative evaluation using a randomized control design.

Second priority will be given to proposals that focus on other STEM grade levels.

* Please see Additional Materials for Definitions of terms in italics.

Eligible MMSP proposals must:

1. include at least a high-need district, a STEM department from an institution of higher education, and a local evaluator;

2. address the Required Program Information (pages 6-9); and

3. be developed collaboratively by the core partners and the local evaluator.

Core Partners

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

Core partner organizations in each partnership must include:

1. a high-need district (See Additional Information for the High-Need District List.); and

2. a STEM department from a Massachusetts institution of higher education, which can include community colleges.

Districts may submit, as a core partner, only one mathematics and only one science-technology/engineering proposal.

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 recommended highly that a high-need district act as the lead partner.

Required Evaluator

A local program evaluator, which can be an organization or an individual, serves as an objective collaborator with the partnership regarding issues of planning, executing, and reporting on findings from the evaluation of the program. The evaluator should be a working member of the project team from the earliest stages of proposal development through the completion of a final report.

Additional Partners

Partners may hold differentiated roles within a partnership. Additional partners from within or outside of Massachusetts may include:

1. other 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 high-need districts.);

2. the STEM department or education department of other institutions of higher education;

3. non-profit or for-profit organizations with demonstrated effectiveness in improving the quality of STEM teachers; and/or

4. business partners.

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

Proposed MMSP partnership activities must address the following general requirements (specific requirements are outlined in the Required Program Information, pages 6-9):

1. high-quality, content-specific professional development for science, technology/ engineering, and/or mathematics teachers, including special education teachers and teachers of English language learners. (At least 50% of the participating teachers must be from high-need districts.);

2. at least 20 hours of supplemental activities per course to guide the implementation of course content into standards-based instruction and facilitate connections between the course and district/school STEM initiatives; and

3. integration of the local evaluator into the initial program planning, a formalized program evaluation, and compliance with state and federal reporting requirements.

Proposed MMSP partnerships must develop and maintain a web page to communicate and disseminate partnership activities.

Proposed MMSP partnerships are encouraged to include additional activities for the high-need districts that integrate the professional development with local STEM improvement initiatives (e.g., improvement plans, curriculum alignment or instructional documents, instructional leadership training and protocols, and/or Individual Professional Development Plans). Potential MMSP partnership activities may include:

1. creating or updating district/school STEM alignment documents and/or STEM school improvement plans;

2. developing tools to assess teachers' STEM professional development needs (of all teachers in the identified content area(s) and level(s)) to inform their Individual Professional Development Plans (IPDP); and/or

3. providing instructional leadership training to facilitate effectively site-based supplemental activities and standards-based instruction.

Funds awarded should 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 STEM professional development programs, course development, and activities that integrate the professional development with local STEM improvement initiatives in high-need districts.

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 graduate credit tuition and to provide a stipend.

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

4. Funds may not be used for full-time staff positions.

5. Indirect costs, if charged, must be at the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's approved rate and may not exceed a rate of 10%.

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

7. 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 5, 2008

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

1. PART I - GENERAL

   		Standard Contract Form and Application for Program Grants (Program Unit Signature Page)
   		Form A: General Program Information

2. PART II - REQUIRED PROGRAM INFORMATION

   		Required Program Information - Narrative Component
   		Form B: Partner Contributions and Commitments
   		Form C: Equitable Participation of Private Schools
   		Form D: Statement of Assurances

3. PART III - PROJECT EXPENDITURES

   Form E: Budget Workbook (Project Expenditures) Instructions

1.     Checklist for Submission

2.     Definitions

3.     FY2008 High-Need District List

4.     Experimental and Quasi-Experimental Evaluation Designs

5.     TII-B Federal Annual Performance Report

6.     Scoring Rubric

7.      Massachusetts Science and Technology/Engineering Curriculum Framework

8.      Massachusetts Mathematics Curriculum Framework

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

10.      An Effective Standards-Based K-12 Science and Technology/Engineering Classroom

11.      Characteristics of a Standards-Based Mathematics Classroom

12. Massachusetts Licensure Regulations and Information

13. Massachusetts Tests of Educator Licensure (MTEL), including the Test Objectives

14. 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 Elementary and Secondary Education. The original must include an original signature of the authorized institutional official of the lead agency. An electronic copy of Form E: Budget Workbook must be submitted to mathsciencetech@doe.mass.edu. Write "MMSP Competitive Application" in the subject line. Fax submissions are not acceptable. To be considered for funding, proposals must be received at the Department by 5:00 p.m. on Monday, May 5, 2008. Incomplete applications will not be considered. Proposals should be mailed or delivered to:

Lisa Tyrrell/Jake Foster

Office for Mathematics, Science, and Technology/EngineeringMassachusetts Department of
Elementary and Secondary Education
75 Pleasant Street
Malden, MA 02148-4906

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 and this RFP 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 scoring rubric (See Additional Information.) and make recommendations to the Department. Proposals will be ranked according to the final score assigned by the review panel and will be recommended for funding consideration based upon the following criteria:

1. final score assigned each proposal by the review panel (including points for any of the RFP priorities);

2. 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

3. geographic distribution.

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.