Over the last year, there have been several major pieces of legislation passed that provide funding to the nation's K-12 schools. Congress has provided financial support through the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund. (Click on chart to enlarge the graphic.) Funds are allocated to each state in the same proportion as their Title I, Part A grants. In March 2020, the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act included $13 billion in ESSER funds. In December 2020, an additional $54 billion for ESSER II was allocated through the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations (CRRSA) Act. And most recently in March 2021, the American Rescue Plan (ARP) authorized another $122 billion for ESSER III (also called “ARP ESSER”).
Congress is offering districts quite a bit of flexibility in how they can use ESSER Funds. They can use them on any "activity authorized by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act.” Additionally, ESSER II and III legislation specifies that funds can be used to address “learning loss.” Your ESSER funds can be used for a variety of purposes including professional development, summer learning, and identifying and addressing unfinished learning.
At LINC, our team of experts designed a “Pandemic to Progress” personalized professional development package which is aligned with allowable uses of ESSER Funds. This strategy is based on six key actions to support post-pandemic teaching and learning:
- Build a culture and mindset focused on equity that recognizes and builds on student assets
- Address the trauma that students and staff have experienced by intentionally building community and addressing SEL upon re-entry, and in an ongoing, integrated way
- Plan for acceleration, not retention, with high expectations and targeted instruction for all students
- Address the individual needs of all students through a renewed focus on personalized learning- leveraging the innovation, devices, curriculum and skills that were acquired during the pandemic
- Upgrade assessment practices for equity and student ownership, with increased opportunities for feedback and revision
- Create leaders who understand next-generation learning and who empower teacher agency, innovation, and risk-taking to create future-forward classrooms
I invite you to take this Assessment to determine your readiness for implementing these six steps. Following the Assessment, you will receive personalized recommendations your organization can take to accelerate learning in summer school, intervention programs, and during the instructional day.
Through our Pandemic to Progress Professional Learning, your team will have:
- the support of a LINCspring coach,
- access to live workshops, and
- a library of modules and other resources within the award-winning LINCspring coaching and professional learning platform.
By using your ESSER funds towards professional development, you will be making a valuable investment in your educators to support them in creating student-centered, equitable and engaging classrooms as we head back to school next year.