KIPP Texas has a robust Academic Recovery Plan, which includes the use of our $145.5 million in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds. These federal funds are one-time, multi-year supplementary disbursements intended to respond to the student learning loss of the COVID-19 pandemic by investing in academic recovery, unfinished learning, and emotional support for our KIPPsters.
Brave and Belonging Spaces
Address trauma and bolster mental health supports by adding mental health staff in our schools.
Foundational Literacy and Writing
Students will experience on-grade level learning experiences. We believe that exposure to rigor is the best path to address Unfinished Learning.
High Impact Tutoring
Regular, targeted small-group intervention during the school day, designed to keep students on grade level.
Acceleration Academies and Summer School
Extend learning time by offering small-group summer school and in-year Saturday instruction to a targeted group of students.
High School: Secondary Writing
Support our students as they grow in their writing abilities and engage in rich writing experiences across content areas in our high schools.
The Local Education Agency (LEA) ESSER III Use of Funds Plan — this requirement is created in federal rule and requires the following: The LEA must engage in meaningful consultation with stakeholders and give the public an opportunity to provide input in the development of its plan for the uses of ARP ESSER III funds. The LEA must specifically engage in meaningful consultation with students; families; school and district administrators (including special education administrators); and teachers, principals, school leaders, other educators, school staff, and to the extent present in or served by the LEA tribes, civil rights organizations (including disability rights organizations) and stakeholders representing the interests of children with disabilities, English language learners, children experiencing homelessness, children in foster care, migrant students, children who are incarcerated, and other underserved students.
The LEA must provide its plan for the uses of ARP ESSER III funds in an understandable and uniform format; to the extent practicable, written in a language that parents can understand or, if not practicable, orally translated; and, upon request by a parent who is an individual with a disability, provided in an alternative format accessible to that parent. At a minimum, the plan must include a description of:
The intent and purpose of ARP of 2021, ESSER III funding is to help safely reopen and sustain the safe operation of schools and address the impact of the coronavirus pandemic on students.
The current CDC recommendations include:
Second, the plan must describe how the LEA will ensure continuity of services, including but not limited to services to address students’ academic needs and students’ and staff social, emotional, mental health and other needs, which may include student health and food services.
The plan must also be reviewed and, as appropriate, revised every six months until September 30, 2023, including stakeholder input and public comment. If the LEA revises its plan, the revised plan must address each of the aspects of safety currently recommended by the CDC at the time of the revision or, if the CDC has updated its safety recommendations at the time the LEA is revising its plan, each of the updated safety recommendations.
A plan is required of all LEAs, even those who have already returned to in-person instruction. An LEA that developed a plan prior to the enactment of the ARP Act that meets the requirements for stakeholder input and public comment, and is posted to the LEA’s website, but does not address each of the required aspects of safety recommended by CDC, as part of the required 6 -month periodic review must revise its plan consistent with these requirements no later than six months after it last reviewed its plan.
Since most LEAs developed their initial plans in the fall, if they have not been reviewed in the past six months, the plan must be reviewed and revised at this time. All plans must be in an understandable and uniform format; to the extent practicable, written in a language that parents can understand or, if not practicable, orally translated; and, upon request by a parent who is an individual with a disability, provided in an alternative format accessible to that parent. TEA will monitor this requirement based on the LEA’s written translation policy. In most cases the plan will be required to be translated into Spanish.
The Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief funds are federal stimulus dollars, which are provided under:
Funds are intended to respond to the pandemic and address unfinished learning as a result of COVID-19.
In addition to responding to the impact of lost instructional time, funds can be used to respond to the academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs of all students, particularly those students disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic, including students of low-income families, students of color, English learners, children with disabilities, students experiencing homelessness, children in foster care, and migratory students.
KIPP Texas has been allocated:
The information on this webpage focuses on ESSER II and III, as ESSER I funding has already been allocated and spent.
The $136.5 million in ESSER II and III funds will be used during a three-year period.
received $136.5 million in ESSER funds, which will be used during a three-year period.
You can find more information by visiting the U.S. Department of Education’s Office of Elementary and Secondary Education website and on the Texas Education Agency website.
