OLUSTEE-ELDORADO SCHOOLS

ARP ESSER III

Use of Funds Plan

1. Olustee-Eldorado Public School plans to utilize ARP ESSER III funds to prepare, prevent, and respond to the COVID-19 impact on our school district. We continue to prepare the school building with deep cleaning practices, sanitizing surfaces, and providing PPE for those that wish to use mask in the school setting.  With guidance from the most recent CDC recommendations, the committee, which is comprised of representatives from the student body, teacher, principals, district administration, staff, and community stakeholders has recommended the following areas that will be addressed with the ESSER III funds to ensure safety for the students and staff.  These actions will not only help to close the learning gaps that students have experienced, but will help our school to open safely, and operate continuously for in-person learning 

    

2. Funds that are reserved (a minimum of 20%) under section 2001(e) (1) of the SRP Act will be used to address the academic impact of lost instructional time through the following ways.  The committee agrees that the most important area where learning could have been lost was in the areas of reading and math and that this learning loss is seen to a greater extent with students who are economically disadvantaged.  Several methods are used at Olustee-Eldorado Public School to determine economically disadvantaged.  Students whose families participate or are eligible to participate in economic assistance programs such as free or reduced lunch programs, SSI, food stamps, Foster Care, etc are considered economically disadvantaged.  Families whose income is at or below 125% of the poverty level are also considered economically disadvantaged.  Learning in other areas of the school curriculum are greatly enhanced and furthered with better reading and math skills.   Lost time, instruction, and practice in these two areas are crucial to the learning process.  These gaps will need to be addressed during the regular school day and also in extra programs that provide additional time and learning opportunities. Benchmark test will be given at the beginning of the school year 2021-2022.  These will be compared to scores from the previous two years so that leaning gaps can be determined that may have developed during the time of school closures due to COVID-19.  Just a few of the gaps that will be tested for include comprehension, phonetic awareness, basic math skills, and others.   Once these gaps have been determined, then two methods of providing additional teaching time to close those gaps will be utilized.  The first is an afterschool program of instruction in math in reading.  Student data will determine which students would benefit most from this program.  The funds would be used to purchase any additional learning materials for the students and to supplement the salary of the teachers who are teaching this extra time after their normal contract hours.  Benchmark testing will be done periodically throughout the year to determine the effectiveness of the afterschool program.  The final benchmark testing and inclusion in the economically disadvantaged group for the regular school year will help to determine and the need for the second program to address gaps in learning caused by COVID-19.  The additional program would be a summer learning academy for students who continue to be behind where they should be according to benchmark testing.  These students will be given the opportunity to attend a Summer Academy where they will receive math and reading instruction by certified teachers.  ESSER III funds will be used for student’s supplies, and teacher salaries for teachers who work at this Summer Academy.  It is the hope and goal of the committee that students who are provided with these two additional leaning opportunities will have reached the level of learning that they would have achieved if COVID-19 closures had not occurred.

    

    

3. Olustee-Eldorado Public School and the planning committee recommends budgeting the remaining funds in the following areas.  This is not an exhausted list, and may be revised through community collaboration with Olustee-Eldorado Public School stakeholders. 

    

   1) Inspection, testing, maintenance, repair, replacement, and upgrade projects to improve the indoor air quality in school facilities, including mechanical and non-mechanical heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems, filtering, purification and other air cleaning, fans, control systems, and window and door repair and replacement.

   2) Purchasing educational technology (including hardware, software, and connectivity) for students who are served by the local educational agency that aids in regular and substantive educational interaction between students and their classroom instructors, including low-income students and children with disabilities, which may include assistive technology or adaptive equipment.

   3) Purchasing supplies to sanitize and clean the facilities of a local educational agency, including buildings operated

   4) Activities to address the unique needs of low-income children or students, children with disabilities, English learners, racial and ethnic minorities, students experiencing homelessness, and foster care youth, including how outreach and service delivery will meet the needs of each population including transportation to and from Summer Academy 

   5)  administering and using high-quality assessments that are valid and reliable, to accurately assess students’ academic progress and assist educators in meeting students’ academic needs, including through differentiating instruction.

   6) Providing information and assistance to parents and families on how they can effectively support students, including in a distance learning environment.

   7)  Providing opportunities for vaccinations for families and

   8) other activities that are necessary to maintain the operation of and continuity of services in local educational agencies and continuing to employ existing staff of the local educational agency.

   9) Purchase of touchless sinks and toilets to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and other infectious diseases by reducing contact with common surfaces.

   10) Purchase of intercom system to facilitate messages to campus concerning closures, changes of schedules, and other information related to COVID-19 exposures.

    

4. Olustee-Eldorado Public School will use the ESSER III funds to respond to the academic, social, emotional and mental health needs of students that have been impacted by COVID-19, including students from low-income families, students of color, English learners, children with disabilities, students experiencing homelessness, children in foster care and migratory students.

The LEA will ensure that these interventions will benefit the aforementioned students by establishing an oversight committee that will monitor and report to the school superintendent on a monthly basis about the effectiveness of the programs and provide insight in how their effectiveness could be improved as well as reporting their successes not only to the supervisor, but to the community of stakeholders of Olustee-Eldorado Public School.  It is the plan for Olustee-Eldorado Public School to use more than the required 20% of funds to address and correct the learning gaps that have been caused by COVID-19.  The school will continue to keep its stakeholders aware of the progress and successes of this program and to request community input whenever possible in the process.

The committee realizes that this plan is a dynamic document meaning that is will continually be edited and updated as the needs of the students change and adjustments are made to best meet those needs through the use of the ARP ESSER III Funds.