The American Rescue Plan
On March 11, 2021 , President Biden signed into the law the American Rescue Plan of 2021 (ARPA). Nine billion dollars of federal funding has been made available to New York State to distribute to school districts in support of safe reopening and safe operations. The focus of the use of these funds provided to school districts should be addressing academic deficits due to the pandemic as well as the social, emotional and mental health needs of our students.
What are the ESSER funds?
The ARP ESSER Fund, authorized under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 will assist local schools in supporting students who heave been most severely impacted by the COVID 19 pandemic. Hammondsport Central School has been awarded $912,320 of ESSER funds that must be used prior to 9/30/2024.
Planning Team and Planning Process
The District administration and management team has led the planning process for use of ARP funds along with required stakeholder input gathered from others through meetings and surveys. District staff, parents, and community members were solicited for feedback through surveys, town hall meetings, phone calls, and that feedback was incorporated into the spending plan developed for the use of ARP funds.
1. Stakeholder input: Meetings and Google Survey conducted with faculty, staff and community members in June 2021. Town hall meetings.
2. Budget Allocation Planning (completed and awaiting submission)
3. Program Planning and Implementation (ongoing)
4. Measurement of Success (completed following funded activities).
Planning Timeline
Project Period: 3/13/20-9/30/2024
Planning Period: 5/1/21 -6/30/2021
Hammondsport CSD Areas of Focus With ARP Funding
Professional Salaries: Additional instructional staff have been budgeted to support learning and intervention services K-12.
Learning Loss: Significant funds have been allocated to both school year and summer programs to address learning loss. After school tutoring, summer learning programs, and summer enrichment programs will be funded. Transportation costs have been budgeted so transportation is not a barrier to program attendance.
Outdoor Learning Spaces: Funds have been budgeted to create outdoor learning spaces to allow classrooms to transition to those areas and conduct learning activities.
Next Steps
The District is awaiting the formal release of the ARP application from New York State. Should anyone wish to review stakeholder data used in formulating the District plan for the usage of ARP funds, please contact Superintendent Bower directly at #569-5200 ext 5240.