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Project Lead The Way Massachusetts School Grant Program

Thank you for your interest in the Project Lead The Way (PLTW) Massachusetts grant opportunity. Funding for school grants is provided by the One8 Foundation and schools will receive additional programming and support from Mass STEM Hub, a program of the One8 Foundation.

Application Instructions

Please feel free to reach out to Erica Roberts (eroberts@mass-stemhub.org) with any questions.
Complete one application per program per school.
Submit all applications by the deadlines below

Progress on the application can be saved - it does not need to be completed in one sitting. Click "save and continue later" and enter your email address in the green bar at the bottom of any page.
You may download a copy of the application for your reference here.

Priority deadlines- round 1 (recommended for high school) and round 2

Round 1

December 21: Grant due
January 11, 12, 13: Finalist interviews
February 2: Decisions to schools

Round 2

March 1: Grant due
March 13, 14, 15: Finalist interviews
March 31: Decisions to schools

Additional Important Dates:

April 27, 2023: Grant Convening
May 1, 2023: Grant paperwork due
June-August 2023: Summer core training
October 2023: Annual State Conference

High Level Programming Expectations

A competitive application will include a plan to achieve the following program expectations over the three years of the grant as well as a clear plan to sustain the program after the three-year grant period.

Meaningful and sustained student exposure to the program with significant student participation
- PLTW Launch (K-5): 100% of students enrolled in the school completing at least one unit each year by year three of the grant
- PLTW Gateway (6-8): 75-100% of students enrolled in the school completing at least one unit each year
- High School (9-12): 15-25% of students enrolled in the school building on track to complete a three-course pathway by year 3 of the grant
Teacher, school administrator, and district leader champions
Plan to financially sustain the program after the grant.
Note: for expansion grants, applicants should clearly articulate how programming will be expanded (e.g., courses offered, students participating, number of courses/units a student is offered each year)

Grant funding is intended to support high-quality adoption of Project Lead The Way and more specifically to offset the costs associated with launching the program. Schools will be provided three payments over three years and schools will pay vendors directly. Grant funds may not be used for annual recurring costs of the program, namely the annual PLTW participation fee or consumable equipment. Grant award sizes are determined by school sizes and based on two key start-up costs:

Teacher Training: All teachers who will teach a PLTW course will be trained in that program/course. At the elementary level, Launch, teachers complete a two-day training for the program while middle and high school teachers complete a training for each specific unit or course they teach.
Durable Equipment: Schools can also use grant dollars to purchase durable equipment required for the courses they implement. This may, in some cases, include computer hardware.

Most grant awards will follow standard PLTW grant amounts and be disbursed through three annual payments:

Program	Standard Grant
PLTW Launch	$11,000
PLTW Gateway	$25,000
PLTW Computer Science	$25,000
PLTW Engineering	$40,000
PLTW Biomedical Sciences	$45,000
Expansion Grants	$5,000-10,000

Grants are expected to be awarded at the standard level for each program; factors that may increase grants include:

Number of students reached
Number of units/modules/courses to be offered
Number of teachers to be trained
Units/modules/courses selected (as equipment varies by course)
Engineering courses that are supported and strongly encouraged include Introduction to Engineering (IED), Principles of Engineering (POE), Civil Engineering and Architecture (CEA), Computer Integrated Manufacturing (CIM), and Engineering Design and Development (EDD)
Gateway courses that are supported and strongly encouraged include Design and Modeling (DM), Automation and Robotics (AR), App Creators (AC), Computer Science for Innovators and Makers (CSIM), and Medical Detectives (MD)
Maximum grant awards are as follows: PLTW Launch* $20,000, PLTW Gateway $45,000, PLTW Computer Science $35,000, PLTW Engineering $55,000, and PLTW Biomedical $75,000

* Note: Only schools with more than 500 students in grades K-5 are eligible to apply for Launch funding that exceeds the standard grant size

If awarded a grant, your school will receive a grant agreement that includes the following:

Complete all implementation steps according to your application and grant agreement.
Accurately roster all students participating in PLTW programs at your school, using the PLTW interface by Oct 1.
Ensure students are properly enrolled in PLTW courses for the October reporting to the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education (DESE) of the Student Schedule System (SCS) and Student Information System (SIM).
Ensure all high school students will take PLTW End-of-Course assessments.
School/district grant teams are required to attend the grant convening for all grant recipients. This is tentatively scheduled for April 27.
Ensure at least two representatives attend the Mass STEM Hub Fall Conference and Spring Professional Development Day
Ensure qualified teachers are selected to attend PLTW professional development and teach PLTW content. Math, science, vocational-tech credential, or relevant industry experience is required for 6-12 and encouraged for K-5.
For Launch Programs, ensure a minimum of two teachers will complete PLTW Launch Lead Teacher Training
Students (Grades 6-12) and teachers will be required to complete surveys as designed by PLTW, Mass STEM Hub, or its designated survey vendor.
PLTW middle and high school teachers commit to participating in Mass STEM Hub (Student Industry Connects) online challenges to submit student work for industry feedback.
Attend PLTW Core Training in state at either WPI or UMass Lowell; note grant funds may not be used for online or out of state training unless the requisite courses are not offered or extenuating circumstances arise (and schools must seek written approval)
Agree to data sharing with Mass STEM Hub or designated research firm (i.e. data that is reported to PLTW can be shared with Mass STEM Hub).
Complete financial and grant reports by April 15 of each granted year.

School Information

1) Please select your district and school.

District

Start typing to search the list

School

Start typing to search the list. If you don't see your school, make sure your district is entered.

3) Please provide the name and contact information of the primary grant contact.

First name

Last name

Which of the following best describes your role:

Title

Email address

Phone number

Phone number digits only

Note: if the grant is awarded, the superintendent will sign the grant agreement and all champions listed in the application will be invited to the spring convening.

Total school enrollment

How did you hear about the PLTW grant opportunity?

If you selected "other", please specify.

Number of students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds

Percentage of students from economically disadvantaged backgrounds

Please include number only without a percentage sign

Program to be implemented (please select only one program)

Note: if applying for more than one program, you must submit a separate application for each program

Are you applying for a grant to start a new program or to expand an existing program?

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Grant Champions

Champions: Please identify teacher, leader, and district “champions” of the program. Note: In this context, a champion is an educator who is knowledgeable of PLTW and the grant requirements, as well as someone who is committed to high-quality implementation. These champions will be included in the April 27, 2023, grant convening.

Teacher Champion

Teacher Champions are PLTW teachers who will be implementing PLTW and helping lead the work with their colleagues. These champions should be knowledgeable of PLTW and committed to participating in the MA PLTW educator community – attending the Mass STEM Hub Fall Conference and Spring Educator Day, joining a learning team, attending a student event, and submitting student work for industry feedback.

First name

Last name

Title

Email

Why was this teacher selected as a teacher champion?

School Admin/Principal Champion (will become the PLTW Site Coordinator)

The school leader champion is a school leader (e.g., Principal, Assistant Principal, Department Chair) who leads the PLTW implementation at the school level. Ideally, this champion will be in a leadership position and have the ability to inform common planning time/department meetings, observe teachers, review data, and make budgeting/scheduling decisions. These champions should be knowledgeable of PLTW and excited to lead the work. These champions are required to attend the grant convening and encouraged to attend the Mass STEM Hub Fall Conference and other leader programming.

First name

Last name

Title

Email

Why was this school admin selected as a champion?

District Admin Champion (will become the PLTW Program Coordinator)

The district champion is a district leader (e.g., CAO, Assistant Superintendent, Science/STEM Director) who leads the PLTW implementation at the district level – across schools. Ideally, this champion will be in a leadership position and have the ability to inform common planning time/department meetings, observe teachers, review data, make budgeting/scheduling decisions, and hold a cross-school view. These champions should be knowledgeable of PLTW and excited to lead the work. These champions are required to attend the grant convening and encouraged to attend the Mass STEM Hub Fall Conference and other leader programming.

First name

Last name

Title

Email

Why was this district admin selected as a champion?

Rostering Point Person

In addition to the program champions, please identify who will be responsible for rostering students.

First name

Last name

Title

Email

Financial Contact

Please indicate who will be in charge of financial processes and what entity will receive payments if your school is awarded the grant.

First name

Last name

Title

Email address

Phone number

Name of entity that will receive payments (i.e., to whom do we make out the check?)

Mailing address of entity that will receive payments

For additional information on PLTW roles - Program Coordinator, Site Coordinator, Teacher and General User - please visit here.

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Impact and Vision

Intended Impact: What is the goal of the PLTW program at your school? Why is your school planning to implement or enhance your PLTW program? How does PLTW align with your school goals? (250 word limit)

If applying for an expansion grant for an existing program: Why is your school looking to expand your current PLTW program? How does your school intend to grow your PLTW program (e.g., student before/after participation, units/modules/courses currently offered and to be added)? (250 word limit)

Target Student Experience: Please describe your vision for how students would progress through PLTW courses from the time they enter until the time they exit your school. (250 word limit)

Current STEM Programming: Do you currently offer any classes that are similar to PLTW, and if so, what are your future plans around these existing classes? If your school is currently partnering with other organizations or STEM providers, please provide the name of the organization or provider and a brief description of the work. (250 word limit)

Innovation Pathways: Are you interested in integrating PLTW into an Innovation Pathway Program for students? If so, please describe any plan and timeline around this work. (250 word limit)

Student Recruitment: How do you plan to recruit students into your PLTW program(s)? (250 word limit)

District Alignment: Do other schools in the district have PLTW or are they interested in adding it in the next 2-3 years? If so, which schools? (250 word limit)

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Estimated number of participating students by grade

	Year 1 (SY23-24)	Year 2 (SY24-25)	Year 3 (SY25-26)
Pre-K
Kindergarten
Grade 1
Grade 2
Grade 3
Grade 4
Grade 5
Grade 6
Grade 7
Grade 8
Grade 9
Grade 10
Grade 11
Grade 12

Estimated percentage of participating students per grade level

	Y1 (SY23-24)	Y2 (SY24-25)	Y3 (SY25-26)
Pre-K
Kindergarten
Grade 1
Grade 2
Grade 3
Grade 4
Grade 5
Grade 6
Grade 7
Grade 8
Grade 9
Grade 10
Grade 11
Grade 12

Units/Modules/Courses offered for each grade

	Y1 (SY23-24)	Y2 (SY24-25)	Y3 (SY25-26)
Grade 6
Grade 7
Grade 8
Grade 9
Grade 10
Grade 11
Grade 12

Please describe the implementation plan outlined in the tables above and the rationale behind it. (500 word limit)

Module/Unit/Course selection: How did you select which PLTW modules/units/courses to offer? (250 word limit)

For new Launch programs, we have developed two recommended module sequences to support new schools’ adoption of the program. These sequences are based on input from educators and take into account costs, standards alignment, and student experience. Schools may choose different modules, but we highly recommend one of the sequences below.

Sequence 1: MA PLTW STEM Path
K.1 – Structures and function
K.2 – Pushes and pulls
1.1 – Light and sound
1.4 – Animated storytelling
2.1 – Properties of matter
2.4 – Grids and games
3.2 – Stability and motion: forces & interactions
3.4 – Programming patterns
4.1 – Energy collisions
4.2 – Energy: conversions
5.1 – Robotics and automation
5.5 – Matter: properties and reactions

Sequence 2: MA PLTW STEM + CS Path
K.1 – Structures and function
K.4 – Animals and Algorithms
1.1 – Light and sound
1.4 – Animated storytelling
2.1 – Properties of matter
2.4 – Grids and games
3.2 – Stability and motion: forces & interactions
3.4 – Programming patterns
4.3 – Input/output: computer systems
4.4 – Input/output: human brain
5.4 – Infection: modeling and simulation
5.5 – Matter: properties and reactions

Which sequence do you plan to implement?

Which modules do you plan to offer? Please describe your selection process and rationale for creating your own sequence in place of one of the recommended paths.

Staffing

In 3 years, when the program is fully implemented, how many teachers will be teaching PLTW? How will these teachers be selected? How will they work together? (250 word limit)

Teacher Experience: Please describe the background and teacher credential of the teacher(s) selected for year one implementation of PLTW. HoW and why was this educator selected? How long has this teacher been at the school? If the teacher(s) have not been selected, please describe the selection process and ideal candidate. (250 word limit)

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Budget Grant Request

Please complete the budget template below to indicate the total funding request for the program for which you are seeking grant support; it does NOT represent your full implementation budget. The PLTW website and the investment tool (found here) provide detailed information on costs by program and by unit/module/course.

Need help? Please don’t hesitate to get in touch with questions. We are more than happy to help you with your budget. Please contact Katherine (kskrivan@mass-stemhub.org)

PLTW Launch Grant Request

Launch grants are set at a standard $11,000 per school and are intended to offset the costs of implementing two modules per grade level. Launch grants are based off the sequences outlined above. The budget assumes that durable kits are shared within a grade level, including for VEX modules (3.2, 4.1, 4.2, 5.1), especially given higher cost for VEX equipment. Consumable kits serve 30 students. In year 1, additional consumable kits should be purchased by the school if needed. Costs do not include Launch Logs. Training includes the training fee and lodging. If your school enrollment is grades K-5 is larger than 500 students, you may request additional funding up to the maximum grant of $20,000.

What is your K-5 school enrollment?

Would you like to request additional funding?

YesNo

Please describe the additional funding being requested and how it will be used.

Please use the table below to show how you will allocate your $11,000 grant.

	Year 1 (SY '23-24)	Year 2 (SY '24-25)	Year 3 (SY '25-26)
Total Classroom teacher training fees- Number of teachers x $500 (Launch training fee)
Lead Teacher Training (Teachers must attend Classroom training first)- Number of teachers x $700 (Launch training fee)
Room & board for teacher training- Number of teachers training x $150 (hotel room estimate)
Course Level Durable Equipment (i.e. durable equipment kits)*
Computer Hardware**

Total grant amount requested: