Kathy Cross is the State and Federal Resource Coordinator for the Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education’s (DESE’s) Office of Planning and Research, Resource Allocation Strategy and Planning team. Most recently, Kathy has worked to develop consolidated applications and resource materials for federal entitlement grant programs in the new cloud-based grants management system, Grants for Education Management System (GEM$).  She also supports DESE’s strategic planning toolkit for districts, Planning for Success, and coordinates DESE’s pilot program, Spending Blending, which provides districts expansive flexibility in using federal grant funds when combined with state and local resources at Title I schoolwide schools.