1. FY15 Universal Pre-Kindergarten (UPK) Grant Proposal
Policy and Research Committee:
Monday, December 2, 2013

2. FY15 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.
FY14 Supplemental (Open Competitive) Grant – approximately $692,000 will be granted to new UPK providers by February 2, 2014.

3. FY15 UPK: Overview (cont…)
FY13 Renewal (511)
FY13 Open Competitive (511-B)
FY13 UPK Total
FY14 UPK Renewal (511)
FY14 Open Competitive (611)
FY14 UPK Total
Date Posted
March 20, 2012
August 30, 2012
May 13, 2013
November 21, 2013
Money Allocated
$5.5 million
$500,000
$6 million
$692,000
$6,692,000
Money Awarded
$4,735,342
$1,007,438
$5,742,780
$5,599,985
$6,291,985
Number of High Needs Children Identified*
1,611
342
1,953
1,918
225
2,143
Number of Children in UPK Classrooms*
5,844
1,492
7,336
6,831
618
7,449
Number of UPK Programs
180 46
226
208 26
234
Number of UPK Classrooms
362 80
442
420 45
465

4. FY15 UPK: Grant Proposal
Continue with the UPK Policy Objectives articulated from the previous two fiscal years.
Develop a renewal bid with the allocated $6 million in PP (Grants line item).
Continuing with the funding formula from the previous two fiscal years, there is potential to fund approximately 399 UPK classrooms and identify approximately 1,995 “high needs children.”

5. FY15 UPK: Grant Eligibility
The eligibility criteria for the renewal grant bid will mirror the eligibility criteria for the FY14 Renewal Grant.
In order to be eligible to apply for the UPK renewal grant, the designated classrooms and/or family child care homes must satisfy all eight (8) of the criteria outlined on the next slide.

6. FY14 UPK Eligibility Criteria FY15 UPK Eligibility Criteria
All programs must be EEC Licensed or License-Exempt.
All programs must be “Self-Assessed – Final Submitted” at a level 3 or above in the Massachusetts QRIS Program Manager. 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.
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). 5
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).  6
All programs must demonstrate that they serve “high needs children.” 7
All programs must satisfactorily complete and submit all prior year data assessment reports.
All programs must collect and enter formative assessment data for each child in the classroom. 8
All programs must be self-assessed at a level 3 or above in the Massachusetts QRIS Program Manager.
All programs must demonstrate pre-kindergarten to third grade alignment with the school district in which they are located. 9 10
All programs must provide screening and/or formative assessment scores for each child in the classroom. 11
All programs must provide a competitive compensation package for lead teachers. 12
Program match is required of all programs. 13

7. FY15 UPK: Proposed Eligibility Criteria
Criterion 1:
“All programs must be ‘Self-Assessed – Final Submitted’ at a level 3 or above in the Massachusetts QRIS Program Manager.”
FY15: fold the following three FY14 criteria listed below under Criterion 1:
“All programs must be EEC Licensed or License-Exempt.”
“All programs must provide a developmentally appropriate program.”
“All programs must provide a competitive compensation package for lead teachers.”

8. FY15 UPK: Proposed Eligibility Criteria (cont…)
Criterion 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.”
FY15: no changes proposed.
Criterion 3:
“All programs must provide access to full-day, full-year services for working families.”

9. FY15 UPK: Proposed Eligibility Criteria (cont…)
Criterion 4:
“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).”
FY15: no changes proposed.
Criterion 5:
“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).” 

10. FY15 UPK: Proposed Eligibility Criteria (cont…)
Criterion 6:
“All programs must demonstrate that they serve ‘high needs children.’”
FY15: no changes proposed.
Criterion 7:
“All programs must collect and enter formative assessment data for each child in the classroom.”
FY15: fold “All programs must satisfactorily complete and submit all prior year data assessment reports” into this criterion.

11. FY15 UPK: Proposed Eligibility Criteria (cont…)
Criterion 8:
“All programs must demonstrate pre-kindergarten to third grade alignment with the school district in which they are located.”
FY15: no changes proposed.

12. FY15 UPK: Grant Funding Formula
# of High Needs Children in the Classroom
1 High Needs Child
2 High Needs Children
3 High Needs Children
4 High Needs Children
5 High Needs Children
FY15 Grant Amount
$3,009
$6,018
$9,027
$12,036
$15,045
FY15: no changes proposed.

13. FY15 UPK: Fund Use and Priorities
FY15: no changes proposed.
Priorities:
FY15: consider being more prescriptive around Professional Development in the following areas:
Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) Standards
Early English Language Development: Massachusetts Guidelines to Serve Dual Language Learners
Evidence-based Early Literacy

14. FY15 UPK: Considerations for FY16 and Beyond
Consider restructuring the UPK grant so that there is a closer alignment with QRIS.
Notice: consider adding language to the FY15 UPK Grant, notifying the field of potential changes to that may be make in the future.

15. FY15 UPK: Questions & Comments