CARES / ESSER (American Rescue Plan) Strategic Spending Plan 7.12.21 Board Meeting Kareemah Fowler Assistant Superintendent of Business & Finance Financial Services Department 1 Overview - ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) ● South Bend Community Schools received about $7 million in funding ● $1.6 million went to non-public schools ● $1.8 million to the South Bend Empowerment Zone ● Remaining $3.5 million went to the district for technology to support virtual learning, personal protective equipment, and social and emotional support for students, etc. CARES / ESSER I Funding ● Second round of ESSER II was approved on December 24, 2020 ● Application to apply opened on April 5, 2021 ● SBCSC received approximately ($25.9 million) ● South Bend Empowerment Zone share ($5.6 million) ESSER II Funding ● Third round of ESSER III funding passed in March 2021 ● SBCSC will receive approximately ($46.6 million) ● South Bend Empowerment Zone share ($12.6 million) ESSER III Funding 2 Federal ESSER Priorities & Guidelines ● Use new evidence based interventions ● Focus on special subgroups ○ Minorities and economically disadvantaged ○ Free and reduced lunch ○ English Language Learners ○ Special education ○ Homeless/Migrant ○ Foster ● Partnerships strongly encouraged (consultants) Mandatory 20% set aside for learning loss ● Title I, IDEA, CTE, and Adult Literacy, and other authorized activities: buildings, facilities, and sanitation ● Focus on students’ academic health and social emotional health ● Maintenance of equity (supplanting funds) ● Emphasis on addressing disproportionately affected student subgroups ● Focus on reopening by requiring LEA’s receiving funding to make a return to in-person learning available on LEA's website ● ESSER III period of availability: 3/13/2020 - 9/30/2024 80% remaining 3 ● Met with all district-level administrators to address the needs of all their individual departments. ● Engaged with our local legislators. ● Engaged with outside community-based organizations across the South Bend Community School Corporation district. ● Participated in a state roundtable with other districts to discuss consortium efforts and best practices. ● Conducted an internal survey in April for all building-level staff to gather additional feedback and insights to help aid the team in the planning process. Questions focused on equity, curriculum, after-school activities, technology, SEL (Social/Emotional Learning), mental health & well-being, literacy, and overall student achievement barriers. Our survey received a total of 252 responses. Strategic Planning & Stakeholder/Community Feedback & Engagement 4 How did we allocate ESSER dollars to those most severely impacted by the pandemic? ● We recognized that the traditional operating budget cannot serve the student groups we need to target with these dollars, nor can it facilitate the way in which we need to target them. ● We created a funding formula/methodology up front to allocate dollars equitably to specific subgroups (e.g., minority, economically disadvantaged, SPED, SEL, ELL, homeless/migrant, chronically absent, etc.). ● We looked at enrollment and attendance volatility. ● We had to make an internal assessment using any data available to us (such as NWEA growth, attendance, grades, and graduation data) to gauge where our students’ and their families’ needs were and how to meet those needs. What We Did Internally 5 Feedback from Stakeholders More lab equipment / devices More after school & tutoring programs Curriculum maps for all subjects Extra support in the classroom More cleaning supplies Stipends for staff More social workers & therapists Input from district community partners 6 ESSER Guiding Principles 7 ● The district's absolute priority is to counter learning loss resulting from the pandemic through student instruction and direct services. ● Additional expenditures must be focused on one-time or short-term costs associated with long-term improvement and turnaround efforts. ● Countering student learning loss is a multi-year effort that will require additional expenditures through 2024. ESSER/ CARES Breakdown Grant Total Allocation District Portion Zone Portion ESSER/CARES I* $7,011,143.30 $3,560,876.18 $1,833,366.16 ESSER/CARES II $26,420,195.96 $20,780,343.70 $5,639,852.26 ESSER/CARES III $59,336,007.08 $46,669,700.05 $12,666,307.03 Total $92,767,346.34 $71,010,919.93 $20,139,525.45 *= $1,616,900.96 was allocated to Non-Public Schools 8 Timeline March 2021 Internal meeting held with department heads April 2021 ESSER II application opened May 2020 CARES I funding approved April 2021 Internal survey sent to key stakeholders at building level May 2021 ESSER II application submitted ESSER III application opened June 2021 ESSER II approved - 6/29 ESSER III application submitted Pending ESSER III approval 9 Spending Strategy Supporting educators Accelerated learning Sustaining innovation Updating tech and other infrastructure $9.9 million $22.2 million $9.2 million $29.7 million 10 Accelerated Learning (Social Emotional Learning, Special Populations, Academic Programming and Assessment, and Out of School Time Programming) Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet at nec at adipiscing 04 ● New Curriculum for Pre-AP ● English Learners Program ● New Curriculum from Heinemann ● Engineering Program Expansion Learning Loss Mitigation ($1.7m) Supporting students to reach and maintain grade-level mastery. 03 ● Achieve3000 Software ● Texthelp Subscription ● Evidence-based intervention Social Emotional Learning & Community Partnerships ($4.5m) Leveraging community assets and schools to support students and families. 02 ● Black Male Achievement ● Partnerships with local community organizations ● Brown Community Learning Center support Extended Learning ($21.6m) Ensure students stay connected to the power of education through hands-on and engaging learning opportunities. 01 ● Before and after school programs ● Summer school programming ● School year extended day learning Curriculum Expansion and Integration ($1m) Capitalize on the opportunity to strengthen curriculum opportunities for all students. $29.7 Million 11 Supporting Educators (Educator Wellness, Safety, and Classroom Supports) Staff Support ($2.2m) 02 ● Temporary employees for departments with pandemic-related staff shortages ● Digital Learning Coordinators Stipends and Staff Retention ($7.7m) 01 ● Stipends for certified and non-certified employees for professional development and additional cleaning duties ● Stipends for paraprofessionals, secretaries, food & nutrition staff and custodial staff ● Pay and sign-on bonuses for hard to fill positions $9.9 Million 12 Updating Tech and Clean Air Infrastructures (Updating Student Information Systems, Consideration of Our Buildings’ Structural and Design Needs, Education/Technology Supplement, and Emergency Preparedness) Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet at nec at 04 ● Smartboards, interactive whiteboards ● Classroom redesign ● Charging carts Establishing Technology Infrastructure ($7.4m) 03 ● Computers & iPads: Device acquisition, repair, and replacement. ● Expansion of Wi-Fi buses ● IP phone system Buildings & Maintenance ($4.3m) 02 ● Building modifications, window replacements, and roof repair. ● Bathroom renovations ● Socially distancing equipments such as additional tables, water stations etc. COVID Mitigation ($5.7m) 01 ● $2,000,000 for upgrades to district HVAC systems ● Recommissioning HVAC Units in all buildings ● MERV 13 filters ● PPE supplies Classroom Modernization ($4.8m) $22.2 Million 13 Sustaining Innovation (Virtual Learning, Rethinking School Design and Programming) Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet at nec at 04 Pre-K & Early Education Expansion ($0.4m) 03 ● Supplies and start-up costs for pre-K expansion ● Adoption of High Scope Curriculum 02 Virtual Learning and Mixed Modalities ($1.1m) 01 ● Virtual curriculum implementation and design. ● Transportation technology upgrades ● Virtual School $9.2 Million Turnaround Efforts ($3.8m) ● LSI contracts and professional learning for turnaround schools ● Middle school redesign ● Supporting community & technical education efforts ● Focus on increasing minority representation in higher-level courses, including AP, IB, and magnet programming ● Community Connections Closing College & Career Readiness Gap ($2.1m) 14 Student Services & Additional Wrap Around Supports Tiered Supports ● Provide mentoring to offer students a connection to a caring adult at school, a key to student success. ● Incorporate research-based wraparound support and restorative practices aimed at academic gains, improvements in school connectedness, attendance, and goals such as personal growth, artistic expression, future planning, goal-setting to boost academic achievement and social-emotional development. Brown Community Learning Center and Family and Community Engagement ● Give families greater access to resources. ● Offer opportunity for growth through volunteerism and parent education courses. ● Focus on the development of SBCSC families and community. ● Foster educational sustainability which leads to higher graduation rates and job readiness within our community. ● Focus on the development of SBCSC families and community. Professional Learning ● Increase equity-centered practices in interactions with staff, students, and families, and community. 15 Total Spending Per Year 16 Spending Per Pupil 17 ESSER I $3,560,876.18 • Chromebooks • Software licenses • Socially-distanced eating • Summer school • Textbooks • Before and after school programs • Stipends to educators • Special Education testing • Digital learning • Support for virtual learning • Support for after school programs and supplies 18 ESSER II $20,780,343.70 • HVAC upgrade for school buildings • Hazard supplies • Air filters • Bilingual software upgrade • Before and after school programs • Summer school • Community partnerships • Stipends to non-certified employees • Social workers • Social and emotional learning • Turnaround efforts for Muessel and Marquette • Professional learning • Transportation software upgrade 19 ESSER III $46,669,700.05 • Interactive smartboards • Buildings and grounds • System upgrades and record digitization • Social and emotional support • Extended learning • Summer school • Stipends to certified employees • Literacy development • STEAM acceleration • ASAP program • Pre-Kindergarten • Reimagining secondary education • South Bend Virtual School 20