Playful Learning Institute, Preschool through 3rd Grade

The Playful Learning Institute, Preschool through 3rd Grade grant from the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education funds school teams to continue building playful learning practices in preschool through third-grade classrooms. Grants of up to $175,000 cover school years 2024–2025 and 2025–2026, supporting four school teams from the original cohort 1 pilot to expand work into priority areas during Year 3 (2025–26).

The program is designed to integrate playful learning approaches including games, open-ended exploration, and storytelling into early elementary instruction. Eligible applicants are Massachusetts public school districts, including charter schools, and educational collaboratives not currently receiving these supports from Boston Public Schools.

FY2026 Fund Code 0347: Playful Learning Institute, Preschool–3rd Grade - Grants and Other Financial Assistance Programs Grants and Other Financial Assistance Programs Educational Collaboratives Department of Elementary and Secondary Education DESE Budget Inter-District School Choice School Finance Regulations Chapter 74 Nonresident Tuition FY2026: Playful Learning Institute, Preschool–3 rd Grade The purpose of this targeted grant program is to support four (4) school teams to continue participating in the Playful Learning Institute, PK–3 (PLI) .

Through this grant, the four teams that were part of the cohort 1 pilot, will continue to build on work started in Year 1 (2023-2024) and Year 2 (2024-2025) to expand work into identified priority areas during Year 3 (2025-26), including but not limited to mentoring new districts participating in the pilot as part of cohort 2.

The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education's (Department/DESE) Early Learning Team will support grantees to participate in Year 3 of the Institute, which will be designed for district and school administrators, Preschool through 3 rd grade (PK–3) inclusive classroom educators, and Out-of-School Time (OST) program staff and administrators to continue to build on the work started in year 1 to implement playful learning instructional strategies into classrooms, PK–3 rd grade.

Through continued coaching and professional development, participants will gain additional tools and strategies needed to intentionally design and embed playful learning across the course of the day.

Playful learning will support deep dives into content; create equitable access to learning for all children; create many varied opportunities for authentic assessment, particularly during instructional blocks across the content areas; and support students in meeting their grade level Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks Learning Standards.

As part of professional development, coaches will continue to work with the school teams' educators for 1–2 hours/month and district and school administrators for 1 hour/month. This in-classroom/school coaching model will be aligned with and support implementation of the action plan created by the district/school team for the 2025-26 school year.

The main priority for this grant is to support districts from the year 1 PLI pilot cohort to develop and implement an updated action plan for the 2025-26 school year and to implement it through professional development, coaching and evaluation activities.

In addition to continued requirements around coaching, PD and evaluation activities, districts will be asked to select at least one of the following areas to focus on as part of the coaching and professional development: Supporting Students with Disabilities in Substantially Separate Classrooms; Multi-Tiered System of Supports; Building Capacity of Additional Classroom Educators; and/or Mentoring Educators for New Educators/Administrators in Cohort 2.

Districts that participated in the Year 1 PLI Pilot Cohort ( Fiscal Year 2023 ) and received continuation funds in FY 2025 through the FC 0347 grant are eligible to apply for funds under this grant: Beverly Public Schools; Pioneer Valley Regional School District; Sharon Public Schools; and Woburn Public Schools.

Federal grant funds must adhere to: EDGAR General Fiscal Administration 34 CFR Part 76 The receipt of grant funds is contingent upon the grantee being able to certify that it will comply with the Massachusetts General Laws, including G. L. c.

40A, § 3A, the MBTA Communities Act. Compliance with the MBTA Communities Act is determined by the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities. Approximately $140,000 is available.

Each district/school team is eligible to apply for $35,000 to cover expenses during the 2025-26 school year. This RFP is the governing document for these grant funds. Funding is contingent upon availability.

All dollar amounts listed are estimated/approximate and are subject to change. If more funding becomes available it will be distributed under the same guidelines that appear in this RFP document. Funds may be used to support participation of team members in the virtual and/ in-person professional development, planning, coaching, mentoring (as appropriate) and evaluation activities.

For FY2026, districts should propose a budget that includes (where needed) expenses related to: Substitutes and/or stipends for virtual Professional Learning Communities planned for the fall 2025 and spring 2026, an in-person professional development opportunity planned for the winter 2026, a Student Voice Showcase planned for Spring 2026 (date and location to be determined), planning time, coaching debrief sessions, mentoring (if selected as a coaching focus area for the 2025-2026 school year), and evaluation activities, etc. (please refer to assurance statement document for expectations around planning, PD, coaching and evaluation); Travel for in-person professional development — date(s) and location(s) to be determined; and Any additional supplies and materials for the 10 participating classrooms, PK–3 rd grade.

$25,000 of the $35,000 must be set aside for a contract to be established between the district and DESE's selected vendor, Neighborhood Villages, to provide the coaching and professional development. Fund use can include coordinator time, travel to professional development, stipends, substitutes, contractor for coaching/PD, supplies and materials, copying of playful learning materials.

Funds cannot be used for equipment, building/construction projects and/or curricular programs. Upon Approval (not earlier than 8/1/2025)* – 06/30/2026 *Grant start date cannot be prior to DESE receiving a substantially approvable Application Submission as directed in this RFP's Submission Instructions. Goods and services cannot be procured prior to Grants receiving and approving an application submission.

Funds cannot exceed the project duration end date. Office of Student and Family Support Proposals will be reviewed on a rolling basis and may be submitted any time prior to the due date. Extensions, if needed, may also be requested by the due date.

The 0347 Playful Learning Continuation Grant will be submitted in our Grants for Education Management System (GEM$) . GEM$ is a cloud-based fiscal and program management grant system that will eventually phase out the use of EdGrants. Continuation grant applications are considered submitted when the LEA Fiscal Representative approves the grant application in GEM$.

The following will be required to be submitted or uploaded directly into GEM$: Assurances: Template provided in GEM$. Budget: Will be entered into the GEM$ Budget Form. Program Narrative: Will be entered directly into GEM$.

Please Note: Grant Submission at the LEA level requires roles to be established for Grant writer for the specific fund code, LEA fiscal for financial review/approval, and Superintendent/Chief Executive sign off. All these roles should be established prior to the grant due date and all appropriate forms should be either uploaded to GEM$, maintained at the LEA level or sent in to the DESE RFP contact as described on the individual forms.

The user guidance documents and forms are found on the GEM$ homepage under DESE Resources. These forms can be accessed without logging in to the system. All team members (educators and administrators) are required to participate in professional development, coaching, both of which will be organized and held by Neighborhood Villages, and evaluation activities.

LEAs participating in this grant/program are asked to share with DESE their student-level assessment data from the approved early literacy screening assessment that is administered in all schools in grades K–3 during this program or grant award period. DESE will support LEAs to submit the required data by June 30 of each program year. DESE will analyze the statewide data collected for research purposes.

All reporting will meet state and federal confidentiality laws. Identifying information of LEAs and schools will not be reported without express consent. The receipt of grant funds is contingent upon the grantee being able to certify that it will comply with the Massachusetts General Laws, including G.

L. c. 40A, § 3A, the MBTA Communities Act.

Compliance with the MBTA Communities Act is determined by the Executive Office of Housing and Livable Communities. The FY26 FC 0347 Playful Learning Institute, Preschool–3 rd Grade must be submitted in GEM$. GEM$ is a cloud-based fiscal and program management grant system that will eventually phase out the use of EdGrants.

Grants for Education Management System (GEM$) Grant Submission at the LEA level requires roles to be established for Grant writer for the specific fund code, LEA fiscal for financial review/approval, and Superintendent/Chief Executive sign off.

All roles should be established prior to the grant due date and all appropriate forms should be either uploaded to GEM$, maintained at the LEA level or sent in to the DESE RFP contact as described on the individual forms. The user guidance documents and forms are found on the GEM$ homepage under DESE Resources. These forms can be accessed without logging in to the system.

Last Updated: June 18, 2025 This link will take you to an external website which may or may not be accessible and WCAG 2. 1 compliant