1. Please describe the extent to which and how the funds will be used to implement prevention and mitigation strategies that are, to the greatest extent practicable, consistent with the most recent CDC guidance on reopening schools, in order to continuously and safely open and operate schools for in-person learning:

We are planning to use a significant amount of the funding to upgrade our heating and cooling systems. Many of these systems are over 30 years old, not energy efficient,  and most importantly, do not have the type of air ventilation/filtration systems required to keep our staff and students safe in the age of COVID-19. Our new heating and cooling systems will have the proper ventilation with outdoor air, which is a key component for good indoor air quality as research indicates that stagnant indoor air may be two to five times more polluted than outdoor air.  In addition, these systems will have greater capacity to reduce the COVID viral particle concentrations in the air. The lower the concentration, the less likely these viral particles can be inhaled into the lungs, contact eyes, nose, and mouth; or fall out of the air to accumulate on surfaces. In addition to the COVID mitigation measures, the updated heating and cooling systems will maintain stable temperatures in our buildings, as well as be more cost effective to operate. The money saved from more efficient systems can directly be used to enhance teaching and learning in the district.

2. Please describe how the LEA will use the funds it reserves under section 2001(e)(1) of the ARP Act (see below) to address the academic impact of lost instructional time through the implementation of evidence-based interventions, such as summer learning or summer enrichment, extended day, comprehensive after school programs, or extended school year:

Almost the entire student population of Kelloggsville Public Schools falls under one or more of the categories that have been disproportionately affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

1. Over 85% of our students are economically disadvantaged.
2. Close to 75% of our population are students of color
3. Approximately 30% of our students receive EL services.
4. We have close to 175 Special Ed. Students

All of these groups of students have been significantly impacted by the pandemic. To meet the needs of these groups as well as all students, we will address the lost learning with the following approach:

1. Purchase of Culturally and Linguistically appropriate curriculum materials for our diverse population of students- One component of our current Diversity, Equity and Inclusion initiative was to analyze the curricular materials used in our classrooms to determine the appropriateness as it relates to our diverse population of students. It was determined that as our population has become more diverse over the past 10 years, the district has been unable to make significant curriculum purchases to be more reflective of our student population due to budget restraints. In addition, many of the materials used in the classroom have been teacher created and lack the scaffolding support that is needed by students below grade level. As a result of these findings, we plan to make significant curriculum upgrades at all grade levels. Please see the following information for the specific areas of focus and the rationale for the proposed changes.

  ELA Curriculum and Resources (Grades K-12)

We are replacing materials that have been used for years (and no longer representative of our student population) with materials that have a wide variety of stories, activities, assignments, and illustrations that are more reflective of the life experiences of our students. Equally important, the methodology in this program will be based on the research behind the Science of Reading.

Math Resources (Grades 9-12)

Our teachers are currently using a variety of materials, many of which have been teacher created. These materials do not have the necessary information for teachers to provide scaffolding strategies and activities needed to help students that are behind due to missed learning attributed to the pandemic. Our goal is to bring students up to grade level rather than lower our expectations in these classes.

Social Studies Resources (Grades 9-12l)

To improve student engagement among our highly diverse population, we would like to update textbooks so that the material covered is from a more diverse perspective with a greater focus on the contributions and roles of people from all races and ethnicities. As a result, our students will see more relevance to the material.

Science (Grades 9-12)  

Once again, many of our teachers have created their own materials and use old textbooks to teach science concepts.We would like to update our textbooks, as well as purchase equipment that will provide more hands-on, inquiry-based science exploration in all our classrooms. These purchases will lead to higher levels of student engagement, resulting in higher levels of student achievement.

Please describe how the LEA will spend its remaining ARP ESSER funds consistent with section 2001(e)(2) of the ARP Act.

We will use part of the funding to pay the salaries of staff members that have been added to help meet social, emotional and mental health needs of our students. Please see the summary below:

• We have Increased the number of Student Service personnel at all buildings. Their primary role is to provide both academic and behavioral support to students in need.  
• We have Increased the number of reading support staff who provide intensive remediation to students with lost learning.
• We have added a Social Worker to provide direct SEL support to elementary students based on the results of Universal Screeners given to all students at the beginning of the year.
• We have Increased Science support by adding a staff member to provide inquiry-based hands-on learning for our K-2 students.

Please describe how the LEA will ensure that the interventions it implements, including but not limited to the interventions implemented under section 2001(e)(1) of the ARP Act (see below) to address the academic impact of lost instructional time, will respond to the academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs of all students, and particularly those students disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, including students from low-income families, students of color, English learners, children with disabilities, students experiencing homelessness, children in foster care, and migratory students.’

Kelloggsville Public Schools disaggregates achievement, discipline and attendance data on a regular basis. We administer the NWEA Benchmark Assessment three times per year to measure the academic progress of students. In addition, staff use both formative and summative assessments to measure student growth in the classrooms. To measure discipline data, we use the reports from SWIS which is a web-based information system to collect and summarize student behavior data. From these SWIS reports, we are able to identify any specific group(s) that may be disproportionately impacted by our discipline policies. To monitor attendance, each building has a Student Services staff member that reviews attendance data on a regular basis and then works with families and the Kent Intermediate School district to improve attendance.  With the addition of a K-8 SEL curriculum this year, we are also going to assess student progress by using the information from Universal Screeners given to all students in the Fall of 2021 and then again in the Spring of 2022.