How Four Oklahoma School Leaders View Federal Relief Funds

Oklahoma colleges are seeing an inflow of federal coronavirus aid {dollars} to assist college students get well from instructional disruptions amid the pandemic. 

The most recent allocation, made via the American Rescue Plan, was almost $1.5 billion for Okay-12 colleges. Mixed with earlier packages underneath the CARES Act, Oklahoma colleges have been given greater than $2 billion. 

The funds are vital sufficient for districts to put money into bold applications. As a result of the {dollars} had been awarded based mostly on Title I funding, colleges serving essentially the most low-income youngsters obtain extra. 

College districts are tasked with utilizing the funds to handle the impacts of COVID-19 on college students, together with assembly their social, emotional, psychological well being and educational wants. Prolonged studying applications, like after-school and summer season and early childhood applications, are a important piece. And, the federal authorities says the funds needs to be used to put money into workers and keep away from layoffs. 

District leaders are already planning and implementing new applications. 

There’s additionally a coordinated effort underway by the Nationwide Mother and father Union, a community of advocacy teams specializing in training, to make sure these leaders hearken to and worth dad and mom’ enter whereas making these selections. 

“We may actually innovate and do one thing particular. We’ve the sources and time to do it,” mentioned Keri Rodrigues, president of the Nationwide Mother and father Union. 

“And oldsters need to do it. The worry issue may be very excessive as a result of we’re very involved concerning the long-term affect that is going to have on our children, and we’re prepared to face shoulder to shoulder with educators.”

Academics needs to be asking dad and mom questions, she mentioned, and districts needs to be together with college students, dad and mom and group members on groups tasked with growing applications. 

Having group buy-in and collaboration may repay sooner or later, too, if districts need to maintain profitable applications after the federal aid funds are spent, she mentioned. “As a result of it’s the group that elects the individuals who fund these applications,” Rodrigues mentioned. 

Oklahoma Watch spoke with 4 college district leaders concerning the challenges COVID-19 introduced and the way they’re investing the federal aid funds. 

They’re: 

• Robert Romines, superintendent of Moore Public Faculties, which has been allotted greater than $33 million for 23,390 college students; 

• Steven Stefanick, superintendent and principal of Harding Constitution Preparatory Excessive College, which has been allotted almost $900,000 for 524 college students; 

• Victor Salcedo, superintendent of Vian Public College, which has been allotted greater than $4.3 million for 809 college students; 

• Jorge Robles, chief finance and operations officer at Tulsa Public Faculties, which has been allotted greater than $205 million for 32,569 college students. 

Solutions have been edited for size and readability. 

Query: What are the COVID-19 associated challenges college students and workers in your colleges are dealing with now? 

Romines (Moore): Our greatest challenges have been main as much as the primary day of faculty and continued navigation via the well being disaster to safeguard the well being and security of our college students and workers. We stay vigilant with mitigation efforts and centered on ending robust to offer college students with a high quality training and memorable end-of-year actions (similar to promenade, commencement, award recognitions, and Tremendous Youngsters Day).

Stefanick (Harding): The power to observe the social distancing tips set forth by the Facilities for Illness Management in school rooms, but in addition offering in-person instruction for all college students. (Harding Constitution Preparatory re-opened for in-person instruction April 6, one of many final state colleges to take action.) 

Salcedo (Vian): Proper now, we’re nonetheless sporting masks at college (for fourth grade and up). We’re nonetheless sustaining social distancing. Is it difficult? Somewhat bit as a result of it’s hotter now and youngsters don’t need to have their masks on, however for essentially the most half, everyone’s performed a reasonably good job. 

Robles (Tulsa): Security protocols make it at occasions difficult — to show whereas sporting a masks and social distancing. They (lecturers and workers) are doing an incredible job navigating via that and protecting themselves and our children secure however it’s a change. They’re additionally having to help college students in several methods. Some college students stay in distance studying. Others are in-person. From a planning perspective and adjusting, how do you help the 2? It’s one thing they proceed to cope with. 

Q: How has your district spent federal aid funds to this point? 

Romines (Moore): We’ve utilized the funds to fill deficits because of funds cuts. We allotted a good portion to offering a number of studying choices for college students and much-needed know-how (one-to-one units for college students in seventh via 12^th grades, WiFi, software program for our college students and lecturers.) We had been capable of keep present staffing positions to take care of decrease class sizes for social distancing.

Stefanick (Harding):  Harding Constitution Preparatory has spent the federal aid funds on laptops for every pupil throughout distance studying, Edgenuity (a web based studying platform) for our households that selected a 100% digital choice all college 12 months, updating the constructing HVAC for air high quality and water fountains to touchless fashions, PPE provides, extending summer season college for lack of instruction, {and professional} improvement for educators.

Salcedo (Vian): Personnel, and we additionally purchased know-how. Expertise-wise we needed to catch up as a result of we had so many children going digital. We supplied a Chromebook and a hotspot for all the children who wanted one as a result of we had been going to an AB schedule. In the course of the time once they’re at house, they nonetheless have to do their classes. 

Robles (Tulsa): We’ve performed a whole lot of funding in air high quality, primarily ensuring that our programs are ready to herald recent air. We’ve upgraded all our air filters at each college. The work on air high quality is one thing as a district we’ve got been doing for a while and for the reason that pandemic began, we’ve got accelerated a whole lot of the work. The stimulus {dollars} have helped us full that efficiently. We’ve performed a whole lot of different upgrades similar to touchless water bottle fillers and changing home windows.

Q: What particular applications or objects are you planning to buy with the incoming federal aid funds?

Romines (Moore): We’ll handle instructional deficiencies with remediation, improve and enhance know-how, and construct upon our present initiatives of offering psychological and emotional well being and bodily well being professionals for our college students and workers.

Stefanick (Harding): The main target will likely be on remediation for the lack of instruction and credit score restoration. Summer season college has been expanded to be the complete month of June and is open and free for all college students. College students will likely be engaged on a studying platform with lecturers in math, science, historical past, English, and world language. Summer season college will even embody free breakfast and lunch for all college students.

Salcedo (Vian): We’re trying to develop a digital curriculum, greater than what we had this 12 months, and to workers that with lecturers and workers only for digital setting children. That approach we will present extra of a one-on-one useful resource for the children and oldsters. We’re in a really numerous and low financial space. So we’re attempting to offer extra of a useful resource for fogeys. We’re additionally going to proceed tutoring and do summer season college to get a few of our children caught up which might be behind or are struggling. Even the children who’re on activity, in the event that they need to are available in and get extra enrichment and sources, we’re going to do this. 

Robles (Tulsa): We need to have prolonged studying applications for multiple 12 months. It’s going to take longer than one summer season and one college 12 months or two to assist our college students get well and re interact and actually have help. Our college students, 80% of whom qualify totally free and decreased lunch (a measure of poverty), don’t have entry to enrichment actions like summer season camps and after-school actions. That is going to provide us a possibility to offer entry to all of our college students and actually create a powerful set of help for each child. We all know that makes an enormous distinction of their studying.

Q: How “regular” do you anticipate the 21-22 college 12 months to look? And which COVID associated adjustments are you planning to maintain?

Romines (Moore): We stay hopeful it will likely be just like pre-COVID-19. Mitigation efforts and quarantine protocols will likely be decided by CDC suggestions and constructive circumstances within the county and college district. Our hope is that we’re again to our outdated regular. Thankfully, initially of our present college 12 months, we invested in and put in ionization air filtration programs in all 35 colleges.

Stefanick (Harding): Harding Constitution Preparatory absolutely intends to be in-person 5 days per week with mitigation efforts in place if vital. If mitigation efforts are vital, we’ll keep a masks mandate and social distancing efforts in hallways and cafeteria. If not, we’ll proceed to offer hand sanitizer in all school rooms, follow high quality hygiene strategies, and increase on our cleansing and disinfectant efforts.

Salcedo (Vian): One factor we’ve realized is utilizing Google classroom. We used it to some extent earlier than COVID however now, the lecturers have gotten used to it and they’re going to proceed. We’re in a know-how world now. We jumped into it as a result of we needed to and lecturers have adjusted. In order that’s one factor that’s a really huge constructive. 

Robles (Tulsa): I feel a whole lot of it’s depending on what continues to occur with new COVID-19 variants and the way rapidly we will get everybody vaccinated, and so forth. I’d anticipate that we’ll have households that select our Tulsa Digital Academy subsequent 12 months as a result of they really feel that it really works higher for his or her college students. Then, attempting to deliver children again who didn’t enroll this 12 months. We noticed an enrollment decline, as most city college districts across the nation have. And we need to welcome them again.

How Federal Aid Funds Have been Allotted to Oklahoma Faculties

Federal {dollars} allotted to Oklahoma college districts via the Elementary and Secondary College Emergency Aid Fund, generally known as ESSER. {Dollars} are allotted proportionately to a district’s low-income pupil inhabitants. The state Division of Training in March made a supplemental allocation to districts receiving lower than $550 per pupil underneath the second installment.

Sources: Governor’s Workplace, federalpay.org, Oklahoma Division of Training; • Annexed to Dahlonegah in 2023; •• Annexed to Boise Metropolis in 2023; ••• Refused Title I funds, which had been used to allocate ESSER.

Jennifer Palmer has been a reporter with Oklahoma Watch since 2016 and covers training. Contact her at (405) 761-0093 or [email protected]. Comply with her on Twitter @jpalmerOKC

The publish How 4 Oklahoma College Leaders View Federal Aid Funds appeared first on Oklahoma Watch.