About this archived opportunity

The California Department of Education (CDE) is committed to supporting continuous quality improvement and responsive teacher-child interactions in the California State Preschool Program (CSPP). Responsive teacher-child interactions require intentional work to address potential implicit and explicit adult bias to transform environments and ensure that the culture and climate of all CSPPs reflect inclusion and a sense of belonging for all children, regardless of any disabilities and the race, religion, gender identity, or sexual orientation of the child or children and their families. This is particularly critical for children from historically marginalized Black and Tribal communities, children with disabilities, and children whose home language is not English. To best support an educator-first system of improving adult-child interactions and enhancing equity for all children, the CDE is implementing the CSPP Achieving Success in Positive Interactions, Relationships, and Environments (ASPIRE) grant program to support the use of Teachstone Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) 2nd Edition® and CLASS Environment® tools across all CSPPs (refer to Management Bulletin [MB] 23-10 for details). One ASPIRE grant will be awarded to a county office of education (COE) to serve as the state lead and provide overall coordination of CLASS and CLASS Environment implementation to the entire state. Four additional ASPIRE grants will be awarded to COEs to serve as regional leads supporting CSPPs in multiple counties in their region. COEs must reside in one of the counties in the region to be considered for the grant, and as a result, a COE may not apply for more than one regional grant. Please note, it is possible for a COE to apply for both the statewide lead and regional lead and be awarded both grants. However, if a COE is awarded both the statewide and regional grant, the CDE requires that each grant have its own separate budget and that each grant be implemented by separate staff within the COE according to the requirements of the grant funding set forth within this request for application (RFA).