ARP ESSER 3.0

ARP stands for American Rescue Plan, and ESSER stands for Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief.

Fairfield Public Schools will receive a total grant allocation of $2,881,317 for ESSER 3.  A minimum of 20% of ARP ESSER must be allocated to address incomplete learning ($576,263).  For more details on how our plans for the funding, please see the July 28 presentation to the Board of Education.

Initial stakeholder input was gathered from the District Leadership Team (DLT) in mid-May.  This included all school and district administrators, including special education administration, principals, school leaders and their union representatives (approximately 60 individuals). ARP ESSER information and guidelines were presented to and discussed with this group to identify prudent and effective use of ARP funds to improve instructional capacity.  Input was solicited through a shared Google Doc and identified by grade level bands (PK-5, 6-8, and 9-12).  Input from the Leadership Team focused largely on supporting academic alignment (vertical and horizontal), expanded professional development, and additional student supports to address increased social emotional needs and learning acceleration.  Further input was solicited from all instructional staff through a series of ThoughtExchange Surveys in late May and through June and July.  This work went deeper into some of the previously identified areas for support, including specifics around professional development, social emotional learning, academic alignment, and technology for deeper learning and was used to help frame strategic priorities within the ARP ESSER Priority Goals.

In early June, we hosted a public webinar on YouTube to inform all stakeholders about ARP ESSER and invite them to participate in a ThoughtExchange Survey, where they could provide input on specific uses for ARP ESSER funding, as well as rate the ideas of other in the community.  The YouTube webinar was posted for reference, along with the slide presentation, and was also included as part of the ThoughtExchange itself. The ThoughtExchange generated 240 ideas and 5,312 ratings, with 87% of participants representing families/guardians. Voices of stakeholders representing the interests of children with disabilities and English learners were clearly represented in this group, based on the ideas and comments generated.The specific input detailed above, along with academic assessment data, school climate survey data, and Developmental Relationships Survey data were utilized in assessing needs, determining appropriate strategies, and allocating ARP ESSER funds based on identified priorities.

In late July, we engaged our Board of Education in discussions around preliminary ARP ESSER plans to incorporate their feedback and input.  That draft was posted on the district website along with the ability to provide further comment.

Additional information can be found above.