STARS Residencies Grants Available for 2023-24 School Year

Amy Chu, Program Officer

STARS Residencies

Mass Cultural Council’s STARS Residencies application is now available for the 2023-2024 school year.

STARS Residencies support creative learning residencies of 3 days or more at Massachusetts K-12 schools in the arts, sciences, and humanities with teaching artists, scientists, or humanists. Any Massachusetts school serving grades K-12 is eligible to host one residency per school year. The program provides grants of $2,500-$6,100.

We’ve already gotten this question from eager new and returning applicants: What do I need to know about this year’s application?

The program keeps many of the changes that were made for the FY23 grant cycle as part of our commitment to equity, access, and inclusion, while adding two new priority points.

To improve equity, we will continue prioritizing:

• Residencies serving schools with student populations that are 50% or more Black, Indigenous, and/or People of Color (BIPOC) as reported by Data Source (2022-2023). [See the 2022-23 Enrollment By Race Report (School)].
• First-time applicants or applicants that have not received any grant funding from Mass Cultural Council in the last three fiscal years (FY21, FY22, FY23).

And begin prioritizing:

• Residencies serving schools with student populations that are 25% or more students with disabilities as reported by Data Source (2022-2023) [See the 2022-23 Selected Populations Report (School).]
• Residencies serving schools with student populations that are more than 45% low income, as defined and reported by DESE Data Source (2022-2023). {Read the full definition and see the 2022-23 Selected Populations Report (School).]

The STARS application will no longer be scored by a panel of reviewers. All eligible applications will be considered for funding. If the number of applications exceeds available funding (which historically, it has), then the priority points will be used to consider which residencies get funded. Please note that Funding Prioritization is different from Eligibility. If you meet the Eligibility requirements listed in Residency Eligibility, you are still encouraged to apply, even if you do not meet all, some, or any of the Funding Priorities.

Finally, there is a new payment process and contract package this year. Grantees will receive guidance on how to proceed. We’ll also discuss this state-wide change at the information sessions.

Looking for more tips on how to design a successful school residency? Read the advice of experienced teaching artists and scientists.

The FY24 STARS Residencies application deadline is October 24, 2023 at 11:59pm (ET). To access the application, you must be registered in Mass Cultural Council’s online grants management system.

Review the program guidelines and FAQs before applying.

For new applicants especially, we recommend that you attend a virtual information session. We will walk you through the guidelines, the application, and answer questions live:

• September 29, 2023
• October 5, 2023
• October 13, 2023

Apply for a STARS Residencies Grant

STARS Residencies