The Pennsylvania Association of School Administrators (PASA), the Pennsylvania Association of School Business Officials (PASBO), and the Pennsylvania Association of Rural and Small Schools (PARSS) collaborated with the William Penn Foundation to facilitate an annual budget report on the use of funds in school districts across Pennsylvania.
According to the report, “School districts find themselves navigating a new normal as they work through the lasting effects of the pandemic to address student needs all the while battling increases in mandated costs, massive statewide educational labor shortages, significant supply chain issues, and stringent requirements associated with ESSER funding.”
The report showed that labor issues across the spectrum for operational and instructional student services and support functions were reported as the top concern and challenge for all three survey respondent groups (superintendents, school business officials, and operational specialists).
The use of ESSER funds has been focused on three main areas: student-centered academic and support programs, expanded technology access and improvements to the physical structures to better facilitate healthy learning.
The report outlined the fact that ESSER funds are being used for mental health support services as well. However, the criteria and timeline for the use of the funds does make the use of the funds challenging to implement.
The top 5 uses for the ESSER funds, according to those who responded to the survey were as follows:
— Purchasing educational technology for students to aid in regular classroom instruction
(87.67%)
— Addressing learning loss among students (87.67%)
— Planning and implementing activities related to summer learning and afterschool programs (85.84%)
— Providing technology/internet access for online learning to all students (77.63%)
— Providing mental health services and supports (70.32%).
Information was also gathered from the general fund budget data (GFB) for all 500 districts (as received and posted by the Department of Education on its website).
Otto-Eldred Superintendent Matthew Splain shared the various opportunities for students in both elementary and high school during Summer 2021.
“Last summer, we expanded our summer school offerings to include both buildings and included a series of summer enrichment activities from K-8. We will plan the same for this summer,” he said. “Our student did some great hands-on activities, which included rocket building and also built a functioning mud kiln to cook pizza. I don’t have the exact number of kids participating, but it was great to see the smiling faces of every kid that was there!”
Bradford Superintendent Katy Pude noted that Bradford has added additional staffing to provide reading intervention support and counseling for our students and are currently working on increasing supports in those areas and also freed staff to provide peer coaching support to teachers to build capacity in technology integration and math implementation, ensuring instructors have the skills needed to support students in these areas.
“In looking toward this summer, we are designing our summer school programs to include field trips and/or thematic units that have been absent for the last few years to encourage more students to attend,” Pude said. “For example, I have been in touch with the Barnes and Noble book store in Erie to see if we could partner with them and the Erie Zoo for a thematic field trip centered around animals for our elementary students. Our hope is to bring our students to the bookstore for a field trip where they would participate in a storytime concerning animals, would get a tour of the store and tokens to purchase their own books, and end the day with lunch and a visit to the Erie Zoo.
“Creating authentic learning experiences for the students during the summer would be a goal for all of our buildings. We are also adding additional pay through ESSERS to attract teachers and aides to work summer school programs that we hope will provide our students with many of these opportunities.”
The feedback from school leaders, according to the report, was that “the federal ESSER money has been beneficial in helping school districts provide strategic educational services and programs to assist students in recovering from the pandemic. Superintendents are grateful for the federal ESSER funds with 79% of respondents indicating that the funds have made a positive impact on their students and 72% commenting that the funds have made a positive impact on their district operations.”
The survey identified the top four actual uses of federal ESSER funds included the purchase of equipment and the creation of new programs to target learning loss, as well as maintaining or increasing staff levels and providing mental health support services.
“We hired a reading interventionist for this school year and helped fund other learning loss support efforts through tutoring or additional paraprofessionals,” Splain said of Otto-Eldred’s efforts. “We were able to purchase a number of resources for the classroom and online to support students.”
However, some superintendents reported that it is just too early to see the outcomes from the programs that were recently implemented.
Sadly, while the funds are there and being put to use, including for the hire of temporary staff to help implement programs and strengthen summer school offerings, the report indicated that 31% of school leaders say the students most in need of the learning help are not taking advantage of the programs offered.
Burnout from the stress of the school year may be a factor, as it seemed to be for Bradford.
“Although summer school enrollment was not high last year (students and staff were exhausted), we have continually provided a multitude of after-school offerings for all of our students,” Pude said. “We are also expanding options to continue to build upon the Saturday school model that we utilized with our AP students to include additional students who may need a small group, relaxed setting, to advance their learning.”
“Next year’s continuation and expansion of these programs will provide students with further value should they choose to participate. Superintendents reported a wide range in student participation rates across the districts, with many noting attendance as disappointing,” the report stated.
