WPS use of ARP ESSER III Funds
Consultation with stakeholders and needs assessments given to parents and staff show a need and support for addressing learning loss and the safety and well-being of our students, including low-income students, children with disabilities, English learners, racial and ethnic minorities, students experiencing homelessness, and children and youth in foster care. Woodward Public Schools will use high-quality assessments that are valid and reliable with Istation to accurately assess students’ academic progress and assist educators in meeting students’ academic needs, including through differentiating instruction; implementing evidence-based activities such as Istation, IXL Math and Reading, USA Testprep, Seesaw, Edpuzzle, Odysseyware, Renaissance Learning and Tutoring to meet the comprehensive needs of students; provide information and assistance to parents and families on how they can effectively support students, including in a distance learning environment; and tracking student attendance with Infinite Campus and improving student engagement in distance education. Woodward Public Schools has a plan for coordinating and implementing activities during long-term closures, including providing meals to eligible students, providing technology for online learning to all students, providing guidance for carrying out requirements under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act and ensuring other educational services can continue to be provide consistent with all Federal, State, and local requirements.
The planning and implementing activities related to summer learning and supplemental afterschool programs will include providing classroom instruction or online learning during the summer months and addressing the needs of low-income students, racial and ethnic minorities, children with disabilities, English learners, migrant students, students experiencing homelessness, and children in foster care. Our most at-risk students will be given priority in attending afterschool and summer programs. Learning enrichment activities for students will be aligned to the academic standards and support academic needs. Transportation will be provided for students to attend summer learning programs.
Purchasing educational technology with the ARP ESSER III funds is (including laptops or iPads, Antivirus software, and internet access or hot spots) for students that aids in regular and substantive educational interaction between students and their classroom instructors, and to provide the technology needed for students to access distance learning that includes low-income students and children with disabilities, which may include purchasing assistive technology or adaptive equipment. Tutoring will be provided to address the needs of students as needed.
20% of our ARP ESSER III funds will be reserved to address learning loss through the implementation of evidence-based interventions, such as summer learning or summer enrichment, comprehensive afterschool programs, and we will ensure that such interventions respond to students’ academic, social and emotional needs and address the disproportionate impact of the coronavirus and on the student subgroups described in section 1111(b)(2)(B)(xi) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (20 U.S.C. 6311(b)(2)(B)(xi). Tutors will be providing interventions to students that are not on grade level from benchmark assessment data from Istation and OSTP. The budget for the ARP ESSER III reflects that we will use these funds to pay for tutors, summer school staff, and after school staff. Bus drivers are another expense to transport students to and from summer school. Summer and After School supplies will be needed to address learning loss.
The safety and well-being of our students and on other activities necessary to maintain the operation of and continuity of service and continuing to employ existing staff ARP Act Section 2001 (e) (2) (R) will be used with the remainder of these funds. The ARP ESSER III funds will allow to pay salaries for teachers and staff needed for the operation of summer learning programs, afterschool programs and to maintain the operation of instruction for students during the school day and to maintain staffing. Additionally, these funds will provide mental health services and supports to students with having a counselor at each school site.
Woodward Public Schools will continue to coordinate preparedness and response efforts of local educational agencies with State, Local and public health departments, CDC guidelines and other relevant agencies, to improve coordinated responses among such entities to prevent, prepare for and respond to coronavirus with additional supplies for daily cleaning and sanitizing protocols. Our district will use the ARP ESSER III funds for an Ionization system that will help improve indoor air quality in our schools to help keep students and staff safer. In addition, we have added more cleaning and sanitizing at all school sites. Woodward Public Schools has developed and implemented procedures and systems to improve the preparedness and response efforts with a Safe Return Plan and will meet with stakeholders throughout the school year to update this plan as needed.
The American Rescue Plan – ESSER III Project 795 funds will be used to help pay the utilities for each school site due to the FY 21 increase in cost of utilities and the negative impact from the loss of 1.5 million of state aid that affected our carryover of funds. Additionally, our school district is facing a tax protest which will hold an additional $1.5 million in funding for the FY 22 year. The ARP ESSER III funds will provide us the need to keep school operations going, not increase class sizes, and keep our staff employed.
20% of ARP ESSER III funds will be used for the following to address learning loss: tutors, summer school and after school programs that will provide learning grade level state standards and learning enrichment, summer and afterschool supplies (paper, pencils, glue, crayons, markers, etc.) Software – Microsoft. USA test prep, Edpuzzle, Teacher Innovations (Planbook), Seesaw online learning program, IXL, Renaissance Learning, and Edgenuity online software program (Odysseyware) – Programs to address learning loss. The projected cost for interventions is $535,561.34
80% of ARP ESSER III funds will be used for the following: Salaries for bus drivers to transport students to and from school, Online therapy services with the program Gaggle will address social, emotional and mental wellness for students, network server maintenance and repairs (United Systems, Chickasaw Telecom), IT & maintenance help desk (Big web apps), Sophos filer and firewall (Two Trees), 2 Security resource officers used to support safety for all school sites, copier services provides support for student learning and family engagement (Oklahoma Copier, De Lage Landen), Utilities – water (City of Woodward), Ionization system to improve indoor air quality at each school site ( Purchased from Kline’s Mechanical), window and door repair and replacement, HVAC thermostats, Fleet Insurance (OSIG), School Messenger – to provide communication for students and parents (Intrado Interactive), Technology directory integration software (Mizuni), Hotspots for buses for students (Kajeet), Hotspots for students to use at home (Cellco), Antivirus software for technology equipment (Thiryseven4), Online applicant tracking (Severin), Student information system (Infinite Campus), School property insurance (OSIG), Telephone and cell phone service (Cellular network, Logmein, AT&T), school liability insurance (OSIG), Ink and badges for student ID badges, Chromebooks, Computer cases, Computers, Ipads, Computer charging stations, Safety threat alerts that will notify administrators if there is a safety threat (Navigate 360), Data Analytics and parental engagement (School Status), School website (Sopris), Internet switches (Chickasaw Telecom), Aristotle to track Chromebooks (Sergeant/Blocksi), Extended warranty for servers (Dell), Anti bullying software FightSong (Two Trees), Utilities – Electricity (Northwestern Electric, OG&E), Natural Gas (One Gas, Clearwater), Bottle filling stations for students (Marks Plumbing), Cameras and sensors for Vap detection devices to address air quality, Destiny Library System (Follett), and Analytical district data programs used to support tracking and planning of our school system (Forecast 5). A portion of the funds will be used to purchase a vehicle to use in times of school closures for delivery of meals, learning packets, books and computers. Additionally, stipends will be paid to retain 5 employees to do additional account duties to maintain the grants.
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