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Superintendent's Office » Tuscarora School District ESSER Grants Information

Tuscarora School District ESSER Grants Information

ARP ESSER OVERVIEW
In 2020 and 2021, Congress passed three stimulus bills that provided nearly $190.5 billion to the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund. Tuscarora School District applied for a total of $6,478,427 from the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund that was part of the American Rescue Plan Act over three grants: ESSER II,  ARP ESSER III, and a third grant called the ARP ESSER State Set-Aside. An explanation of the purpose of the American Rescue Plan and Secondary Emergency Relief Funds as well as a Frequently Asked Question Guide can be found by clicking this Pennsylvania Department of Education website. 
Following are allowable uses of ARP ESSER funds, grouped into major categories. The list is intended to convey the wide range of allowable uses and is not exhaustive.
  • Coordinating preparedness and response efforts with public health departments to prevent, prepare for, and responding to COVID-19, including the development and implementation of procedures and systems to undertake such efforts
  • Training and professional development on sanitizing and minimizing the spread of infectious diseases
  • Implementing infection prevention and control protocols
  • Aligning school reopening with public health guidance
  • Satisfying other short-term needs associated with the pandemic
  • Planning for or initiating activities during long-term closures, including providing meals to eligible students and providing technology for online learning
  • Improving cybersecurity infrastructure
  • Maintaining the operation and continuity of LEA services, including to employ existing or hiring new LEA and school staff
  • Repairing and improving school facilities to reduce risk of virus transmission and exposure to environmental health hazards, and to support student health needs
  • Improving indoor air quality, including installation of mechanical ventilation and/or advanced filtration systems and/or upgrading HVAC systems
  • Undertaking the remediation of mold, lead, and other sources of poor indoor air quality
  • Replacing windows to allow for improved intake of fresh air
  • Upgrading facilities to comply with American Disabilities Act requirements
  • Repairing or replacing roofing in certain circumstances
  • Replacing plumbing to ensure safe drinking water
  • Undertaking priority school facility repairs and improvements that will accelerate a safe return to in-person learning
  • Creating outdoor classroom spaces and/or outdoor eating areas
  • Providing mental health supports to students and staff, including through the implementation of evidence-based, full-service community schools and the hiring of counselors
  • Performing regular mental health screenings and providing referrals to counselors for students who need extra support
  • Partnering with mental health organizations to provide extra assistance for students who need it
  • Implementing restorative practices, such as restorative circles, as an alternative to
    traditional discipline
  • Establishing policies and practices that avoid the over-use of exclusionary discipline
    measures (including in- and out-of-school suspensions)
  • Creating a positive and supportive learning environment for all students
  • Creating new teacher leader roles such as multi-classroom leaders, to enable highly effective educators to extend their reach
  • Maintaining school staff and providing professional training
  • Adopting robust professional learning plans to build teacher capacity
  • Utilizing innovative staffing models that employ school counselors, mental health professionals, psychologists, substitutes, student teachers/teacher residents,institutions of higher education, tutors, or other educational agencies
  • Rebuilding the educator pipeline with a focus on diversifying the workforce
  • Providing retention bonuses for teachers in high-need subject areas and/or schools or increases to teacher salary to support retention efforts
  • Improving working conditions
  • Purchasing educational technology (including hardware, software, connectivity, assistive technology, and adaptive equipment) for students that aids in regular and substantive educational interaction between students and their classroom instructors
  • Purchasing books, art supplies, play equipment, and other supplies to improve learning opportunities
  • Establishing or expanding summer bridge programs
  • Planning and implementing additional activities related to summer learning, supplemental after-school programs, and extended school day/year
  • Supporting and protecting LEA-sponsored PreK/early childhood programs
  • Reconnecting with truant students
  • Conducting diagnostic, formative, and summative assessments to measure learning
  • Reviewing each student’s academic and attendance record during the COVID-19
    pandemic to determine needs and develop “individual learning plans” including goals
    and progress benchmarks
  • Providing tutoring services for every student in need
  • Developing a streamlined curriculum with identified priority standards
  • Creating or enhancing college and career readiness programs such as dual enrollment/early college, internships, and apprenticeships
  • Making structural changes, e.g., in LEA administrative practices to distribute resources more equitably across schools within an LEA
  • Strengthening multi-tiered systems of support for students academically and behaviorally
  • Addressing the needs of children from low-income families, children with disabilities, English learners, racial and ethnic minorities, students experiencing homelessness, and children and youth in foster care
  • Increasing opportunity to learn factors for underserved youth
  • Developing culturally responsive curriculum
It is important to note that grants are open and "in progress"; therefore, adjustments may be needed to accommodate changes to both actual expenses and to the actual use of funds over the course of the grant.