Lynbrook UFSD

Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund 

Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Fund 

ESSER-GEER Funding Plans

Introduction

On December 27, 2020, the President signed into law the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2021 (CRRSA Act). The CRRSA Act provides $81.88 billion nationwide in a second Education Stabilization Fund to prevent, prepare for and respond to the coronavirus, of which:

• $54.3 billion is for a second Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund to support the ability of local educational agencies (LEAs), including charter schools that are LEAs, with emergency relief funds to address the impact that Novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has had, and continues to have, on elementary and secondary schools across the nation; and
  
• $4.05 billion is for a second Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Fund which provides grants to Governors for the purpose of providing educational agencies with emergency assistance to address the impact of COVID-19. Of the $4.05 billion, $2.75 billion is set aside for Emergency Assistance to Non-Public Schools grants.

Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief 2 (ESSER 2) Fund
New York State has been allocated just over $4 billion under CRRSA’s Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER 2) Fund. A minimum of 90% of these funds must be allocated to local educational agencies (LEAs), including charter schools that are LEAs.

Individual LEA allocations of the 90% portion of the ESSER 2 funds have been calculated by NYSED using the relative shares of grants awarded under Title I, Part A of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) for the 2020 federal fiscal year.

Governor’s Emergency Education Relief 2 (GEER 2) Fund
New York State has been allocated $322.9 million under CRRSA’s Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER 2) Fund. Of the $322.9 million, $250.1 million is for a new Emergency Assistance to Non-Public Schools (EANS) grant program that is being separately administered by NYSED. The 2021-22 enacted state budget directed that $395 million of the remaining ESSER 2 funds and the full $72.8 million of GEER 2 funds be allocated to provide school districts of lower wealth with a minimum per pupil allocation.

Federal emergency resources known as ESSER and GEER Funds are available for a wide range of activities to address diverse needs arising from or exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, or to emerge stronger post-pandemic, including responding to students’ social, emotional, mental health, and academic needs and continuing to provide educational services as States, LEAs, and schools respond to and recover from the pandemic. Some uses of these funds may be directly focused on health and safety—such as improving ventilation and implementing prevention strategies that are, to the extent practicable, consistent with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) guidance. Other allowable uses may be focused on meeting the social, emotional, mental health, and academic needs of students. That could be through preventing teacher layoffs; providing accelerated learning opportunities; implementing rigorous curricula; funding additional school counselors, school nurses, and school psychologists; increasing the number of full-service community schools; conducting any activities allowed under a number of Federal education programs; and implementing many other allowable uses.

Allocating resources in ways that advance equity and ensuring they are adequate for providing the opportunities and supports students need to succeed are particularly important as we recover from the disproportionate impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on communities of color and communities experiencing poverty. Addressing the many dimensions of resource equity—including equitable and adequate school funding; access to a well-rounded education; well-prepared, effective, and diverse educators and staff; and integrated support services—can begin to mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on schools and students and can close long-standing gaps in educational opportunity.

Lynbrook UFSD has been allocated $2,348,535 and $373,952 in ESSER 2 and GEER 2 Funds respectively, and the following details how the District plans to allocate both funding sources.

ESSER 2

The District goal for the science of reading implementation is to offer all students in grades K-2 more explicit phonics instruction. In light of the pandemic, it is more important than ever to take a proactive approach to reading and strengthen our Tier I services.

In order to accomplish this goal, we will take a multifaceted approach, which includes professional development, programmatic changes, additional assessment, and temporary staffing increases for an overall cost of approximately $2,066,950.

Overview workshops will target classroom teachers, interventionists (reading, special education, speech, and ENL), and administrators. Imbedded PD will be provided to support teachers in their classroom implementations. New programs such as Sounds-Write and Itchy’s Alphabet will help the District transition to a scientifically based speech-to-print approach to teaching reading. The Assessment of Literacy and Language (ALL) will be used to evaluate both the emergent literacy skills and language development of incoming kindergarteners and will help diagnose children who have language disorders and who are at risk for later reading impairment. Additional Teaching Assistants (TAs) will allow for the necessary professional development workshops to take place without continuously interrupting classroom instruction. Through rotation and creative scheduling, these extra TAs would facilitate training entire grade levels at a time. Additionally, summer curriculum stipends would be provided to teachers who avail themselves for summertime trainings, further reducing classroom interruptions.

This investment in early literacy skills will help address learning loss and help prepare students for successful academic careers.

Remote Schooling Option

If the District is required to provide a remote schooling option, $281,585 will be spent toward providing students a quality education at home. It is imperative that all our students find success regardless of the learning options they choose.

GEER 2

A full-time CSE Chairperson will help eliminate potential evaluation backlogs and continue to provide students with disabilities and their families necessary supports. In addition, this position will offer guidance and support to staff and students with respect to the development and implementation of behavior intervention programs and serve as a behavioral consultant as needed. The cost for the additional 0.5 FTE CSE Chairperson will be approximately $71,740. At the end of the funding period, the District can decide whether these additional services are still warranted.

Remote Schooling Option

If the District is required to provide a remote schooling option, $302,212 will be spent toward providing students a quality education at home. It is imperative that all our students find success regardless of the learning options they choose.

Questions or comments regarding this plan may be sent to fundingplancomments@lynbrookschools.org.