FY14 Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK) Open Competitive Grant Proposal Early Education and Care Board Meeting November 12,

FY14 UPK: Overview Line Item Description: Provides grants to preschool programs to promote school readiness and positive outcomes for children and to inform the longer term implementation of a program of universally accessible, high- quality education. This account is funded at $7.5 million in FY14 as it was in FY13. FY14 Renewal Grant - approximately $5.6 million granted to 208 UPK providers. In FY 14, EEC intentionally funded fewer Research and Training opportunities, so that increased funds could be directed toward grant activities. 1

FY14 UPK: Unallocated Funds Proposal Approximately $692,000 in unallocated funds is currently available for FY14 UPK. Develop an open competitive bid for preschool programs that are not currently participating in UPK. There is potential to fund approximately 45 new UPK classrooms and identify and serve approximately 225 new “high needs children.” Consistent with the UPK Policy Objectives articulated in FY13: Increase access to UPK funds. Increase the number of programs participating in UPK. 2

FY14 UPK: Open Competitive Grant Eligibility The eligibility criteria for the open competitive bid will mirror the eligibility criteria for the FY14 Renewal Grant. In order to be eligible to apply for the UPK open competitive grant, the designated preschool classrooms and/or family child care homes must satisfy all twelve (12) of the criteria outlined on the next slide. Only preschool programs and/or family child care homes that are not currently participating in UPK are eligible to apply for this grant. 3

FY14 UPK: Open Competitive Grant Eligibility (cont…) 1 All programs must be EEC Licensed or License-Exempt. 2 All programs must also have an income-eligible contract, and/or voucher agreement in place and be willing to accept EEC-subsidized or low-income children. 3 All programs must provide access to full-day, full-year services for working families. 4 All programs must provide a developmentally appropriate program. 5 All programs must have current accreditation or a non-expired Child Development Associate (CDA) credential or higher for family child care educators (AA, BA, or Master’s degree). 6 All classrooms for which an applicant is seeking UPK funding must be serving preschool-aged children (age 2 years 9 months to kindergarten eligible in the community in which they live). 7 All programs must be self-assessed at a level 3 or above in the Massachusetts QRIS Program Manager. 8 All programs must demonstrate that they serve “high needs children.” 9 All programs must collect and enter formative assessment data for each child in the classroom. 10 All programs must provide a competitive compensation package for lead teachers. 11 Program match is required of all programs. 12 All programs must demonstrate pre-kindergarten to third grade alignment with the school district in which they are located. 4

FY14 UPK: Open Competitive Grant Funding Formula 5 Funding formula is same as FY14 Renewal Grant: limited up to a maximum of five (5) “high needs children” per classroom. For those programs that have less than five (5) “high needs children” in their classrooms, the formula was calculated to fund the specific number of students in their respective programs.

FY14 UPK: Open Competitive Grant Timeline Grant Application Posting:November 21, 2013 Bidders’ Conferences:December 4, 2013 December 6, 2013 Submission of Intent to Bid:December 11, 2013 Submission of Written Inquires:December 13, 2013 Response to Written Inquires:December 23, 2013 (estimated) Submission Deadline:January 7, 2014 Bidders are Notified of Awards:January 31, 2014 (estimated) Grant Start Date:February 2,