Clay County Schools will utilize ARP Funds to upgrade HVAC units across the school system to improve air quality, thus preventing the spread of COVID-19. Funding will also be utilized to purchase cleaning supplies, masks, and hand sanitizing products to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19. In addtional nurses will be funded to assist with parent communication regarding positive case and close contacts through the Safe Opening of Schools Program.

Clay County Schools will use funds to implement prevention and mitigation strategies that are, to the greatest extent practicable, consistent with the most recent Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) guidance on reopening schools, in order to continuously and safely open and operate schools for in-person learning. CCS will use its ARP Act ESSER III funds to implement the following prevention and mitigation strategies:

Improve ventilation in buildings and on school buses;
Provide personal protective equipment (PPE) for staff, students and visitors; and
Purchase desks and store excess furniture to allow for social distancing in classrooms.

Participate in the Safe Reopening of Schools Program

This funding will be used in conjunction with other funding sources to fully implement additional recommended prevention and mitigation strategies, including enhanced cleaning and disinfection.

Clay County Schools will assess all students at the beginning of each school year to determine academic gaps resulting from lost instructional time. A personalized learning plan will be developed for each student including tiered intervention using evidence-based programs, and afterschool/summer school opportunities as needed. Each student having a personalized learning plan will ensure that all students' needs are addressed regardless of race, ethnic group, disability, socio-economic status, etc. In addition to meeting the academic needs of students, social/emotional and mental health needs will be assessed and addressed through the use of school counselors

Provide expanded academic and enrichment programming for summer 2022, 2023 and summer 2024.

Summer school staff for 2024  Summer School Supplies for 2024 
Purchase  for each elementary and middle school to increase access to after-school intervention and enrichment activities.

Section 2001(e) of the ARP Act permits school divisions to use the ARP Act ESSER III funding not reserved to address unfinished learning to address the impacts of COVID-19 in a variety of ways. CCS will use ARP Act ESSER III funds in accordance with Section 2001(e) of the ARP Act as described below:

Additional Staff and Personnel

Add 1 local teaching for FY22, FY23 and FY24  to promote more individualized instruction.
Add a half time Job Coach/Graduation Coach for FY2024  dedicated to monitoring students who are at-risk of dropping out do to Covid-19 related issues.

Add a Mental Health Coordinator for FY22, FY23 and FY24 dedicated tp coordinating mental health support; and
Add ESL teacher 2022-2024 to promote more individualized instruction for EL students.

Add a Resource teacher for 2022, 2023 and 2024 to promote more individualized instruction for resource students at the high school who are at-risk due to Covid-19 learning loss.

Add a Resource Interventionist to promote more individualized instruction to assist in closing the learning gap for Resource Students.

Purchase evidence based programs to identify students learning loss in math and reading.

 

The LEA will follow local, state, and federal guidelines to assure there will be no barriers to participation. All students enrolled in the LEA will have access to and be eligible for participation in the program.

CCS will provide summer learning opportunities targeting students identified as at-risk learners. Our students in kindergarten through eighth grade are participating in project- and problem-based, hands-on learning, while our students in grades 9-12 are completing courses from the previous school year, allowing participants to continue into the next academic year with their peers. Specifics for our summer 2022 summer programming are still under development.

As detailed in previous sections, CCS will provide additional staffing and expand transportation in support of academic, social and emotional learning as well as mental health. We will target these services to all students who are identified during the school year as needing just-in-time interventions (the right support at the right time). Support will begin as soon as the need is identified.

The Federal Programs Director and Chief Finical Officer(CSFO)  will actively monitor ESSER grant allocations and prepare program budgets, schedules, and budget amendments to ensure compliance with statutory requirements. Additionally, the Federal Programs Director will collect and manage all required data elements by developing systems of collaboration with relevant program directors and supervisors in the collection of required data elements. Required reporting elements will be posted on the Clay County Schools public site for public comment. The Federal Programs Director and CSFO will audit all purchases prior to the obligation of funds to ensure funds are expended as approved in the ESSER grant applications. The CSFO will audit expenditures prior to requesting grant reimbursements and maintain documentation necessary for year-end audit reporting.  Additional responsibilities include developing systems for assuring compliance with program requirements, monitoring program activities for progress and compliance, and evaluating program results against stated objectives. The Superintendent and Federal Programs Director will also develop program goals in collaboration with district and school leaders, teachers, and other stakeholders.  Upon clarification of required monitoring, auditing, and reporting elements at the state and federal levels, CCS will update the procedures for ensuring compliance if necessary.

In developing the ARP ESSER Plan, CCS conducted consultation in the following ways:

We will continue to host  community conversations with staff, students, families, and special populations  focused on COVID-19 recovery efforts.
We will periodically survey our school community, including employees, students and families, about our plans for the 2022-23 school year.
We will present updates for ARP funding at the regular  public School Board meeting.
We will survey school community to collect input on the ARP funding plan throughout the year. 

Clay County Schools will maintain the ESSER page of the district site to keep all stakeholders informed of the progress of ESSER funding plans and programs. The site information includes phone and contact information for stakeholders to address comments related to ESSER funding, programs, and reporting. Stakeholders will also be notified of any public meetings that address the use of ESSER funds.