School Reopening ESSER Funds
Plan for Use of ARP ESSER Funds
District 28 keeps up to date with the COVID-19 safety guidance provided by the CDC, IDPH and local Cook County IDPH. District administrators and nurses meet with these agencies frequently to understand the guidance and seek clarification. Adjustments to our health and safety plans are made, as needed, and communicated to parents directly via email and on the website.
Each school’s leadership team and/or school administration provided input regarding district priorities related to COVID-19 mitigation and COVID-19-related learning loss. The Board of Education members also engaged in multiple meetings related to pandemic planning and monitoring. The COVID-19 Mitigation Advisory Committee, consisting of teachers, union representatives, administrators and board members meets periodically to discuss the district’s COVID-19 mitigations.
Teachers of Multilingual Learners and special education teachers met regularly with the administration to discuss programming needs related to the effect of COVID-19 on students’ academic, behavioral and social-emotional learning. In addition, the Director of Student Services works closely with staff members to adjust plans to address the needs of our most underserved students.
To gain public input, the district held a hearing at a regularly scheduled board meeting in August 2020 & 2021 to discuss reopening plans. The district sought board and general public feedback and answered questions.
ARP ESSER Funds were used to provide summer programming for students identified as needing additional learning time to address learning loss. Additional staff time, curricular resources and supplies were purchased with ESSER funds to provide the summer programming in 2021 and 2022. In addition, funds were used to purchase resources for literacy and math intervention programming during the school year.
In addition to the use of funds stated above, any remaining ARP ESSER funds will be used for additional programming to address learning loss. Funds will also be used for sanitization and safety supplies.
The district used assessment data, including results from NWEA MAP, classroom assessments, social emotional screeners, and school-wide data reviews, to determine which students needed additional support as a result of the disruption of services. Staff members with specialized expertise in literacy, math and social-emotional learning collaborated with classroom teachers to identify and serve students needing additional support.