Building upon the progress and learnings of the initial Strengthening School Leadership cohort, Barr is launching a request for proposals (RFP) to invite a new cohort of Massachusetts districts to reflect on school leadership in their own contexts and pursue planning and pilot implementation of instructional leadership initiatives to drive systemic improvements.
Donor Name: Barr Foundation
State: Massachusetts
County: All Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 06/30/2025
Size of the Grant: $100,000 to $500,000
Grant Duration: 2 Years
Details:
The Barr Foundation’s Education Program strives to advance excellence and equity for all young people with a particular focus on the high school years, a vitally important period in their lives. They envision public high schools across New England that have been transformed to provide relevant and rigorous learning experiences that help students thrive and leave them ready for college, career, and life. They pursue this goal via three interconnected strategies:
- They Build Public Will by supporting partners who elevate the experiences and voices of students, parents, and educators to build awareness and shape the conditions that incentivize excellence and equity in schools.
- They Catalyze New Models by supporting school leaders to collaborate with their communities to plan, prepare, and take action to advance excellence and equity in their schools.
- They Invest in Educators by partnering with organizations that build a diverse, skilled, and effective workforce of teachers, school leaders, and system leaders who deliver high-quality instruction and bring new school models to life.
This opportunity is part of the Invest in Educators strategy. To support student success during and after high school, school systems need to consistently provide high-quality learning experiences from K-12 across all of their schools. They believe that school leaders are vitally important for driving the necessary improvements in instruction that support excellent learning and life outcomes for all students. There may be no clearer path to these outcomes than by ensuring that every school is led by a highly-effective principal working within an aligned, coherent strategy for driving instructional improvement at the school and system level.
This opportunity may be aligned to your school system if your team:
- Is committed to a belief that all students are capable of achieving at high levels and is willing to interrogate disparities in data to understand progress
- Believes that the role of the principal is essential to driving instructional change to improve student outcomes
- Seeks to improve school leader efficacy and retention by thinking systemically
- Values learning within your context and contributing to the knowledge of the education sector
- Values cross functional teamwork between district leaders, school leaders, and teachers to implement cohesive instructional change across the context
- Is committed to leading a multi-year change effort in ultimate service of student success.
Funding Information
Applicants are invited to apply for grants of up to $200,000.
Grant Period
18 to 24-month.
Eligibility Requirements
- Entity: Public Local Education Agencies (LEAs), including districts and charter organizations, in Massachusetts are eligible to apply. A group or regional consortium/collaborative of LEAs or schools organized around common goals or interests may also apply. This opportunity is not a fit for single site LEAs applying alone
- District Characteristics:
- At least 6 schools, including at least one high school
- A total student enrollment of at least 2500 students
- As Barr views the high school experience as pivotal to a student’s life trajectory, they are seeking districts that serve at least 950 students in grades 9-12.
For more information, visit Barr Foundation.
