California Department of Education
March 2021

Expanded Learning Opportunities Grant Plan

The following is the local educational agency’s (LEA’s) plan for providing supplemental instruction and support to students, including those identified as needing academic, social-emotional, and other supports, including the provision of meals and snacks. The plan will explain how the LEA will use the funds it receives through the Expanded Learning Opportunities (ELO) Grant to implement a learning recovery program for at least the students included in one or more of the following groups: low-income students, English learners, foster youth, homeless students, students with disabilities, students at risk of abuse, neglect, or exploitation, disengaged students, and students who are below grade level, including, but not limited to, those who did not enroll in kindergarten in the 2020–21 school year, credit-deficient students, high school students at risk of not graduating, and other students identified by certificated staff.

For specific requirements please refer to the Expanded Learning Opportunities Grant Plan Instructions.

Plan Descriptions

A description of how parents, teachers, and school staff were involved in the development of the plan.

CORE Butte Charter established a group to address the expanded learning opportunities grant plan. The group included leaders from tk-8, high school, Special Education, Title 1, assessment and intervention, student services, and fiscal and operations. This mix of classified and certificated members included specialists that work with homeless/foster youth, EL learners, and other special populations. The committee was tasked with discussing current needs of the school’s students, staff, and programs. The goal was to come up with a multi-faceted plan to provide the supplemental instruction and support to students centered around both academic learning loss and the social and emotional well-being of our students. The needs identified by our group and designated by the community survey, include a focus on supporting students who experienced academic learning loss, students who are struggling with social-emotional, and serving the nutritional needs of our students in an ongoing basis. The plan will allow the district to use the funds it receives through the Expanded Learning Opportunities (ELO) Grant to implement a learning recovery program for all CORE Butte students who qualify, but specifically for students who are identified as being socio-economically disadvantaged, homeless/foster youth, students at risk, disengaged students, and students who are struggling academically or need additional social and emotional strategies. The group met several times and has outlined a plan to support students who attend CORE Butte.

A description of how students will be identified and the needs of students will be assessed.  

Students are identified as needing additional academic support by using our local assessments: iReady, ESGI, and benchmark data. Also considered will be staff recommendation and parental consultation. Our counselors also played a key role in the identification of those students struggling with not only academics but social-emotional needs. It is very clear that all students need support as we transition from a year of distance learning and pandemic environment to in-person instruction in a recovering pandemic environment. Also, due to the impact of the Camp Fire in 2018, many of the students who attend CORE Butte have had years of trauma piled on. All students in our program would benefit from additional social environments in which students are taught intentional strategies to build resilience. In addition to the assessments, students were also identified based on attendance, engagement, and social-emotional needs. The usage of our multi-tier of student support also helped to identify the students and grade levels in greatest need of support and intervention as well as in some cases acceleration.Survey results from parents, students, and staff also play a large role in the identification of supports the school can offer to ensure we are reaching all students.

A description of how parents and guardians of students will be informed of the opportunities for supplemental instruction and support.

The plan is to consult and share information with each family during our regular 1:1 meetings. At these meetings teachers will share the assessment results and discuss potential gaps in the student’s learning. Teachers and support staff will identify students in need and share that with parents/guardians, but more importantly staff will share ideas for support, tools and programs the district is prepared to implement through the use of grant funding to achieve student success. These conversations with parents will take place in-person and virtually as needed. Phone calls, newsletters and ParentSquare notifications will also be utilized to share the information. This will also allow us to share with parents the resources available and opportunities for student engagement and support. The school’s focus is on students and to support students and families that may have been negatively impacted during the COVID-19 school building closures and have experienced a lack of opportunities to engage in-person and build resilience as a community.  

A description of the LEA’s plan to provide supplemental instruction and support.

The plan will allow the district to use the funds it receives through the Expanded Learning Opportunities (ELO) Grant to implement a learning recovery program for sub-groups and include socio-economically disadvantaged students, homeless/foster youth, students at risk of abuse, neglect, or exploitation, disengaged students, and students who are below grade level, assessed with learning skills loss. The activities/actions were prioritized to best serve the needs of the students who attend CORE Butte.

CORE Butte will use the following tools, activities, and programs to provide the best supplemental instruction and support to all of our students:

Extended day is strategically offered to be inclusive and supportive of our students and families. These will be opportunities to increase the school day with both before school and after school opportunities.

The addition and implementation of academic and social-emotional support during non-traditional school hours (after school, summer).

The increase of support days with a mental health clinician to support students' social-emotional behavioral health.

Purchase of supplies and curriculum materials to use for before and after school student academic and social-emotional supports.

Provide staff with student incentives for students to engage and establish a stronger school connection.

Hire a temporary paraprofessional to support greater access to the general education program for students with disabilities to engage in small group instruction and support.

Hire certificated teachers to support the small group intervention opportunities and decrease roster sizes.

Provide summer enrichment and academic support opportunities for both Tk-8 and HS students.

Provide in-person opportunities for students in high school to engage in credit recovery.

Provide and fund staff development on emotional supports for students.

The plan is based on our ability to fully staff positions. Should we not be able to fully staff the plan will be updated to indicate alternative expenditures based on student needs.

Expenditure Plan

The following table provides the LEA’s expenditure plan for how it will use ELO Grant funds to support the supplemental instruction and support strategies being implemented by the LEA.

A description of how ELO Grant funds are being coordinated with other federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Funds received by the LEA.

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Expanded Learning Opportunities Grant Plan Instructions: Introduction

The Expanded Learning Opportunities Grant Plan must be completed by school districts, county offices of education, or charter schools, collectively referred to as Local Educational Agencies (LEAs), that receive Expanded Learning Opportunities (ELO) Grant funds under California Education Code (EC) Section 43521(b). The plan must be adopted by the local governing board or body of the LEA at a public meeting on or before June 1, 2021, and must be submitted to the county office of education, the California Department of Education, or the chartering authority within five days of adoption, as applicable. The plan must be updated to include the actual expenditures by December 1, 2022.

For technical assistance related to the completion of the Expanded Learning Opportunities Grant Plan, please contact ELOGrants@cde.ca.gov.

Instructions: Plan Requirements

An LEA receiving ELO Grant funds under EC Section 43521(b) is required to implement a learning recovery program that, at a minimum, provides supplemental instruction, support for social and emotional well-being, and, to the maximum extent permissible under the guidelines of the United States Department of Agriculture, meals and snacks to, at a minimum, students who are included in one or more of the following groups:

• low-income,
• English learners,
• foster youth,
• homeless students,
• students with disabilities,
• students at risk of abuse, neglect, or exploitation,
• disengaged students, and
• students who are below grade level, including, but not limited to, those who did not enroll in kindergarten in the 2020–21 school year, credit-deficient students, high school students at risk of not graduating, and other students identified by certificated staff.

For purposes of this requirement

• “Supplemental instruction” means the instructional programs provided in addition to and complementary to the LEAs regular instructional programs, including services provided in accordance with an individualized education program (IEP).
• “Support” means interventions provided as a supplement to those regularly provided by the LEA, including services provided in accordance with an IEP, that are designed to meet students’ needs for behavioral, social, emotional, and other integrated student supports, in order to enable students to engage in, and benefit from, the supplemental instruction being provided.
• “Students at risk of abuse, neglect, or exploitation” means students who are identified as being at risk of abuse, neglect, or exploitation in a written referral from a legal, medical, or social service agency, or emergency shelter.

EC Section 43522(b) identifies the seven supplemental instruction and support strategies listed below as the strategies that may be supported with ELO Grant funds and requires the LEA to use the funding only for any of these purposes. LEAs are not required to implement each supplemental instruction and support strategy; rather LEAs are to work collaboratively with their community partners to identify the supplemental instruction and support strategies that will be implemented. LEAs are encouraged to engage, plan, and collaborate on program operation with community partners and expanded learning programs, and to leverage existing behavioral health partnerships and Medi-Cal billing options in the design and implementation of the supplemental instruction and support strategies being provided (EC Section 43522[h]).

The seven supplemental instruction and support strategies are:

1. Extending instructional learning time in addition to what is required for the school year by increasing the number of instructional days or minutes provided during the school year, providing summer school or intersessional instructional programs, or taking any other action that increases the amount of instructional time or services provided to students based on their learning needs.
2. Accelerating progress to close learning gaps through the implementation, expansion, or enhancement of learning supports including, but not limited to, any of the following:

1. Tutoring or other one-on-one or small group learning supports provided by certificated or classified staff.
2. Learning recovery programs and materials designed to accelerate student academic proficiency or English language proficiency, or both.
3. Educator training, for both certificated and classified staff, in accelerated learning strategies and effectively addressing learning gaps, including training in facilitating quality and engaging learning opportunities for all students.

3. Integrated student supports to address other barriers to learning, such as the provision of health, counseling, or mental health services, access to school meal programs, before and after school programs, or programs to address student trauma and social-emotional learning, or referrals for support for family or student needs.
4. Community learning hubs that provide students with access to technology, high-speed internet, and other academic supports.
5. Supports for credit deficient students to complete graduation or grade promotion requirements and to increase or improve students’ college eligibility.
6. Additional academic services for students, such as diagnostic, progress monitoring, and benchmark assessments of student learning.
7. Training for school staff on strategies, including trauma-informed practices, to engage students and families in addressing students’ social-emotional health needs and academic needs.

As a reminder, EC Section 43522(g) requires that all services delivered to students with disabilities be delivered in accordance with an applicable IEP.

Fiscal Requirements

The following fiscal requirements are requirements of the ELO grant, but they are not addressed in this plan. Adherence to these requirements will be monitored through the annual audit process.

• The LEA must use at least 85 percent (85%) of its apportionment for expenditures related to providing in-person services in any of the seven purposes described above.
• The LEA must use at least 10 percent (10%) of the funding that is received based on LCFF entitlement to hire paraprofessionals to provide supplemental instruction and support through the duration of this program, with a priority for full-time paraprofessionals. The supplemental instruction and support provided by the paraprofessionals must be prioritized for English learners and students with disabilities. Funds expended to hire paraprofessionals count towards the LEAs requirement to spend at least 85% of its apportionment to provide in-person services.
• An LEA may use up to 15 percent (15%) of its apportionment to increase or improve services for students participating in distance learning or to support activities intended to prepare the LEA for in-person instruction, before in-person instructional services are offered.

Instructions: Plan Descriptions

Descriptions provided should include sufficient detail yet be sufficiently succinct to promote a broad understanding among the LEA’s local community.

A description of how parents, teachers, and school staff were involved in the development of the plan

Describe the process used by the LEA to involve, at a minimum, parents, teachers, and school staff in the development of the Expanded Learning Opportunities Grant Plan, including how the LEA and its community identified the seven supplemental instruction and support strategies that will be implemented. LEAs are encouraged to engage with community partners, expanded learning programs, and existing behavioral health partnerships in the design of the plan.

A description of how parents and guardians of students will be informed of the opportunities for supplemental instruction and support.

Describe the LEA’s plan for informing the parents and guardians of students identified as needing supplemental instruction and support of the availability of these opportunities, including an explanation of how the LEA will provide this information in the parents’ and guardians’ primary languages, as applicable.

A description of how students will be identified and the needs of students will be assessed

Describe the LEA’s plan for identifying students in need of academic, social-emotional, and other integrated student supports, including the LEA’s plan for assessing the needs of those students on a regular basis. The LEA’s plan for assessing the academic needs of its students may include the use of diagnostic and formative assessments.

As noted above in the Plan Requirements, “other integrated student supports” are any supports intended to address barriers to learning, such as the provision of health, counseling, or mental health services, access to school meal programs, before and after school programs, or programs to address student trauma and social-emotional learning, or referrals for support for family or student needs.

A description of the LEA’s plan to provide supplemental instruction and support

Describe the LEA’s plan for how it will provide supplemental instruction and support to identified students in the seven strategy areas defined in the Plan Requirements section. As a reminder, the LEA is not required to implement each of the seven strategies; rather the LEA will to work collaboratively with its community to identify the strategies that will be implemented. The plan must include a description of how supplemental instruction and support will be provided in a tiered framework that bases universal, targeted, and intensive supports on students’ needs for academic, social-emotional, and other integrated student supports. The plan must also include a description of how the services will be provided through a program of engaging learning experiences in a positive school climate.

As a reminder, EC Section 43522(g) requires that all services delivered to students with disabilities be delivered in accordance with an applicable individualized education program. Additionally, LEAs are encouraged to collaborate with community partners and expanded learning programs, and to leverage existing behavioral health partnerships and Medi-Cal billing options in the implementation of, this plan (EC Section 43522[h]).

Instructions: Expenditure Plan

The ‘Supplemental Instruction and Support Strategies’ column of the Expenditure Plan data entry table lists the seven supplemental instruction and support strategies that may be supported with ELO Grant funds.

Complete the Expenditure Plan data entry table as follows:

In the ‘Planned Expenditures’ column of the data entry table, specify the amount of ELO Grant funds being budgeted to support each supplemental instruction and support strategies being implemented by the LEA and the total of all ELO Grant funds being budgeted.

The plan must be updated to include the actual expenditures by December 1, 2022. In the ‘Actual Expenditures’ column of the data entry table the LEA will report the amount of ELO Grant funds that the LEA actually expended in support of the strategies that it implemented, as well as the total ELO Grant funds expended.

A description of how these funds are being coordinated with other federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Funds received by the LEA

Describe how the LEA is coordinating its ELO Grant funds with funds received from the federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund provided through the federal Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2021 (Public Law 116-260), also known as ESSER II, to maximize support for students and staff.

California Department of Education
March 2021