Deadline: 25-May-22
The California Department of Education (CDE) is accepting applications from local educational agencies (LEAs) for the Middle School Foundation Academies (MSFAs) Planning Grant program.
The program aims to establish MSFAs to prepare students for participation in a complete, high-quality career technical education (CTE) pathway at the local high school.
Funding Information
- The program provides $250,000 to use as start-up funds for 10 middle school career academies. This one-time funding opportunity offers eligible LEAs $25,000 grants.
- The funding source for this grant comes from the Proposition 98 CTE Initiative that was included in the 2022–23 State budget.
Program Outcomes
The MSFA Planning Grant aims to provide middle grade students CTE and career exploration learning experiences. The program is outlined in the five elements:
- Element 1: To develop academies at the middle school level, districts will implement the use of the California Career Resource Network (CalCRN) Career and College Readiness Lesson Plans, which align with the CTE Standards for Career Ready Practice, in grades five and six starting the 2023–24 school year.
- Element 2: The middle grade CTE instructors, in coordination with the high school CTE pathway instructors, will partner to develop a plan for establishing the MSFA model, including industry representation.
- Both middle grade and high school CTE instructors will support regional Middle Grade CTE by:
- Serving as an in-region contact for schools, teachers, and support staff;
- Coordinating with regional demonstration sites;
- Hosting regional CTE and Career Awareness activities; and
- Serving as a regional coordinator.
- Both middle grade and high school CTE instructors will support regional Middle Grade CTE by:
- Element 3: Design a three-semester career and self-exploration sequence of courses:
- One semester mini-CTE or CTE Wheel or modifications on these themes;
- One semester introductory to CTE sector-specific content; and
- One semester sector/pathway-specific content and the development of a Career Action Plan.
- Element 4: Provide at least four Leadership Seminars offered at various times and various locations throughout the state to teams of district and site educators.
- Element 5: Develop a coalition of industry partner(s) within each region that assist with providing work-based learning modules that will be used with the MSFAs.
Eligibility Criteria
To be eligible for funds, applicants must meet the following requirements:
- Be a school or charter school serving middle school grades based on the configuration at the LEA.
- Commit to provide career planning and CTE experiences to grades five through eight students, or the middle school grades, based on the configuration at the LEA.
- Provide a three-semester sequence of career exploration and CTE courses that are standards-based and developmentally appropriate for middle grade students. In addition, the CTE pathway must feed into one of the local high schools with a complete, high-quality CTE pathway program.
- Collect and provide information and data as specified by the CDE.
- Agree to protect the confidentiality of individual student information, including each student’s identity, consistent with state and federal statutes and regulations.
- Agree to participate in disseminating models, lessons, experiences, and other relevant information about the programs and activities funded through this grant.
- Participate in networking and sharing of practices with other grantees of the MSFA Planning Grant.
- Attend the Educating for Careers Conference in February 2023.
For more information, visit https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/fo/profile.asp?id=5797
