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$61.5 MILLIONThe plan submitted to DESE shows that more than half of this year’s funding will go directly to schools, calculated based on the specific needs of each school’s population and designated based on an engagement process operated by each school with their students, families, and staff. $50M has already been allocated to schools; with more to be distributed based on levels of need. Individual school allocations to date are posted on the BPS website here.
Schools must spend these funds on academic, social-emotional and operational interventions that provide immediate responses to students’ recovery needs which are beyond district service. These funds have already been available since July 9.
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$61.5 MILLION
The plan submitted to DESE outlines that the remaining funding for next year will support schools through the district procurement of services and materials and enhancing partnerships - but will not force them to draw down on their allocations. These include a focus on academics, facilities, and equitable recovery as outlined below. Decisions were driven by the community and public engagement process, detailed in the following text.
The proposed funding plan includes the following investments that will impact all schools:
Academics
- Funding to support the district-wide implementation of learning platforms to support literacy for all students, with a specific focus on students with disabilities and students learning English
- Access to district-adopted materials across all schools
- Investments in school libraries
- Providing a critical mass of more than 1,000 educators with professional learning on effective, research-based literacy instruction
- Central funding to schools to support the development of customized plans to support students academic recovery in a culturally responsive way, with a specific focus on students with disabilities and students who are learning English
- Investments in assessments to ensure all students who are learning English have an accurate, current English-learning level so schools can design acceleration plans
- Additional funding to provide compensatory services for students with disabilities who were impacted by the pandemic and not always able to access support through remote and hybrid learning
- Funding to support staffing, training, and support so more educators can work with students with disabilities thus expanding their opportunity to learn in more inclusive settings
Facilities
- Purchase and install indoor air quality monitoring devices in all BPS schools
- Purchase air conditioners for schools without AC systems
- Expedited servicing of air filtration systems and filter replacement
- Replace filters in air purifiers
- Provide students with access to clean and safe drinking water by repairing or turning on out-of-service water fountains at 42 schools
- Invest in consistent, higher levels of cleaning and sanitizing in school buildings, to meet federal cleaning guidelines
- Promote student and staff hygiene at small schools by adding portable sinks as additional handwashing stations
Equitable Recovery focused on Social and Emotional Support and Families
- Begin rollout of Community Hub Schools, including coordination of partnerships that support student social emotional learning and mental health,
- Restorative Justice trained staff member in every school
- Clinical supervisory support and coaching for an expanded Social Work staff in every school
- Clinical mental health services available to students outside the traditional school year, including during school vacations, after school, and over the summer.
- Building school capacity for Community Equity Roundtables through training, materials, and access to best practices
- Invest in additional capacity for the district’s Translations and Interpretations team vai additional staff, ongoing training, and adding contractors
- Family Liaisons at every school-- building their capacity as critical levers for engaging families in students’ learning
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We heard the following:The most urgent needs are prioritized in the Return and Recover Phase for ESSER II funding; others will be addressed in the Recover and Reimagine Phase for ESSER III funding.
Students
- Focus on providing mental health supports
- Invest in upgrades to school buildings
- Increase access to counseling in schools
Families
- Provide consistent and communicated before- and after-school care
- Ensure students have access to programming in arts and music and have access to libraries so the experience is even across all schools
- Accelerate work to improve school facilities and outdoor spaces
- Invest in additional support for students with disabilities and students learning English
Educators
- Offer additional support for social emotional engagement for students and staff
- Add academic support to boost student achievement
- Accelerate work to improve school facilities and outdoor spaces
- Invest in additional support for students with disabilities and students learning English
Partners
- Maximizing support through partnerships
- Prioritize career and college readiness curriculum, instruction, and external partnerships (in particular vocational)
- Ensure students have access to programming in arts and music and have access to libraries so the experience is even across all schools
