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ARP ESSER State Reserve - Application Details
LIFE Academy, American Rescue Plan (ARP) ESSER - Fiscal Year 2021 (Rev 0)
ARP ESSER State Reserve Allocation to Address Loss of Instructional Time
The ALSDE is providing a State Reserve allocation to LEAs to address the loss of instructional time through the implementation of evidence-based interventions and ensure that those interventions respond to students’ social, emotional, and academic needs and address the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on underrepresented student subgroups.
For the ARP ESSER State Reserve Allocation, the following interventions are allowable: 1. Summer Learning & Summer Enrichment Programs
2. Comprehensive After-School Programs
3. Other – See Intervention box C for more details.
| Required Narratives |
| Provide a description of the evidence-based program(s) (including partnerships with community-based organizations) the LEA has selected to use with the ARP ESSER State Reserve, and how the LEA will address the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on certain groups of students, including each major racial and ethnic group, children from low-income families, children with disabilities, English Learners, gender, migrant students, students experiencing homelessness, and children and youth in foster care. |
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LIFE Academy honors Montgomery’s longstanding commitment to educational excellence through the establishment of a high quality, college, career and life preparatory K-8 Academy. In partnership with Montgomery Public Schools, LIFE Academy is dedicated to serving the students and families of Montgomery residing in the 36105, 36107, and 36108 with a high-rigor, trauma-sensitive, community –based schooling option. LIFE Academy is absolutely committed to raising the bar of student achievement and leading neighborhood schools in the drive towards academic excellence and student wholeness. Our initial aim is to increase the performance of Montgomery Public Schools on state assessments through achieving 5% above the district, however our long-term goal is for LIFE Academy students in 36105, 36107, and 36108 to be among the highest performing in the state of Alabama. LIFE also seeks to help the state of Alabama drive towards its 2030 ESSA goals according to the six performance indicators by leading its district partners in ELA and Math proficiency, ranking in the top 25% of the state in academic growth, strengthening the English proficiency skills of our English Language learners, maintaining an average daily attendance of 95%, and tracking towards college, career, and life readiness.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, many of the students who now attend Life Academy were separated from traditional educational environments and lacked access to proper resources to sustain and accelerate their age-appropriate, grade-level academic learning. Many of our students matriculated from academic environments that did not provide a climate that was affirming of their diverse educational, cultural, and social economic needs, which may have negatively impacted their capacity to learn and perform academically. In order to close achievement gaps and promote our students' social emotional wellness, Life Academy will use the ARP ESSER funds to address our students learning loss and social emotional needs through implementation of a Prek-2 Literacy Camp, after school programming, and summer enrichment programs.
Our curriculum will be implemented so that we respond to the cultural and academic needs of our students. Life Academy will utilize the following evidence-based practices and strategies to address the learning needs of our students:
Project-Based Learning will be infused throughout our curriculum. Students will be instructed in a Blended learning environment in which technology along with teacher facilitation of learning will occur. STEM/STEAM practices will be infused with the ARTs to provide opportunities for students to learn math and science. Explicit literacy instruction that is connected to current reading research (i.e. Science of Reading, Big Ideas of Reading Success) will be provided to ensure that all students are reading on grade level by grade three. A counselor will utilize varied instructional tools, programs, and counseling methods to help kids become resilient and socially and emotionally well.
Our elementary students will participate in after school and summer programs based on the need to close their learning gaps and losses. The after school program will operate for 55 minutes after the normal school day. The summer programs will operate for a specified four week period during the summer. Funds from ARP ESSER will be utilized to provide the human capital needed to provide academic support to our students beyond the school day through after school and summer enrichment programs. This additional learning time will enable our school to reduce the achievement gap resulting from school closures, virtual learning environments and lack of access to resources needed to sustain and accelerate their learning. These funds will be used for the additional support staff salaries and benefits. Funds will also be utilized to provide transportation from home to school to home for students residing in rural areas outside of the local school radius.
Life Academy will ensure that evidence-based interventions are addressing the academic, social, emotional and mental health needs of all students. We will monitor the students’ needs by implementing a data-driven CIP which aligns to the comprehensive needs assessment. This plan will include how loss of instructional time will be addressed due to the pandemic as well as how the social and emotional needs of students will be supported. The plans will be revised throughout the year to assess student progress and implementation. We will also participate in bi-weekly grade-to-grade feeder pattern data meetings to examine student progress in meeting the standards. Students will be given additional instruction through a multi-tiered system of support with Tier II, Tier III intervention (academic and behavior) and available tutoring/after school support. A charter school plan includes specific interventions/programs to use with grade span groups and progress of students is continually monitored based on standards and needs. Many students who experience bullying and trauma from lack of acceptance may have attendance and truancy issues. We will use PowerSchools to monitor student attendance and will utilize this data to set up a system of support for these students.
Building community partnerships has played an integral part in establishing our school. During our inaugural year, we are developing an outreach plan to solicit partnerships with community organizations around the surrounding Montgomery County area. These partnerships will to enable us to better serve our diverse population of students. Currently, we are partnering with the following organizations:
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Montgomery Public Schools
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Helping Montgomery Families Initiative (HMFI)
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District Attorney’s Office
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Mental health organizations like the Sunshine Family Center and Thriveway Peer Helpers
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Montgomery City Council
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Maxwell Air Force Base
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Metropolitan Methodist Church
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Community Congregational Church
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Montgomery Chamber of Commerce
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| Indicate the data sources the LEA used to identify the students most in need of the program(s) and the extent to which the LEA will evaluate the impact of the program(s). |
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Life Academy will utilize the qualitative and quantitative data to meet the needs of our students and evaluate the impact of our program. Formative and summative will be utilized to assess student growth in all content areas. The following data sources will be utilized:
MAP Testing
ACAP
Independent Reading Level Assessment
ALA Kids
WIDA (ACCESS for EL)
Community poverty data will be utilized to determine the percentage of students that qualify for free and reduced lunch services as well as to determine our status as a Federal Programs Schoolwide School.
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| Using the allocation from the ARP ESSER State Reserve, explain how the LEA will identify and engage 1) students who have missed the most in-person instruction during the 2019-2020 and 2020-2021 school years; and
2) students who did not consistently participate in remote instruction when offered during school building closures. |
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Parent/family communication, old school records (attendance, discipline), transcripts, and surveys will help us to identify and engage students who missed in-person learning and struggled with remote learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Parents and family members will be able to access curriculum information and resources on our website. Formative and summative assessment results will be used to monitor student growth and academic progress.
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| Intervention A (Summer Learning & Summer Enrichment Programs) |
| Provide the following information for Intervention A (Summer Learning & Summer Enrichment Programs): 1) Brief description and timeline for each service (service must end by 9/30/2024) 2) Number of employees and FTE(s) (if applicable) 3) Itemized Budget using Function & Object codes (must match Budget Grid) |
| Example: ARP ESSER funds will be used to host a Summer Enrichment Camp during the Summer of 2023. The camp will run for two weeks for four days a week. Subjects to be covered are science, technology, engineering, mathematics and reading. We will purchase general supplies such as pencils, notebooks, glue, color pencils, copy paper, etc. to effectively run the program. We will also purchase ELA & Math manipulatives to help improve student achievement. Additionally, we will purchase an online subscription to XYZ Company for the duration of the summer program to assist our participating EL students with the curriculum (See attached job description). Total cost: $109,030.00 |
[Cont.]
9130 - [010-199] (Salaries) $54,450.00 | 9130 - [200-299] (Benefits) $11,430.00
9130 - [400-499] (Materials and Supplies) $2,800.00 | 9130 - [400-499] (Software) $20,000.00
4120 - [010-199] (Bus Driver Salaries) $12,500.00 | 4120 - [200-299] (Bus Driver Benefits) $3,200.00
4120 - [300-399] (Mileage for Buses) $4,650.00 |
ARP ESSER funds will be used to host a Summer Enrichment Camp during the Summer of FY 22, FY 23 and FY 24..
The camp will run four hours per day, four days per week for a period of 4 weeks. Subjects to be covered are mathematics and reading.
We will purchase general supplies such as pencils, notebooks, glue, color pencils, copy paper, student consumables, teacher manuals aligned with student consumables, etc. to effectively run the program.
We will also purchase ELA & Math manipulatives to help improve student achievement.
We also will pay the salaries and benefits for 3 teachers (3 FTEs) at $25.00 per hr for four hours per day for 4 days per week for a period of 4 weeks.[ 3 Teacher Salaries-9130(010-199)- $4800 x 3 years=$14400.00 Total Salaries ] [3 teacher benefits-[9130 (200-299)-$972.60 x 3 years=$2917.80 total benefits] [Materials and Supplies-9130 (400-499)-$657.40 x 3 years=$1972.20]
Summer Enrichment Total-$19,290.00
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| Intervention B (Comprehensive After-School Programs) |
| Provide the following information for Intervention B (Comprehensive After-School Programs): 1) Brief description and timeline for each service (service must end by 9/30/2024) 2) Number of employees and FTE(s) (if applicable) 3) Itemized Budget using Function & Object codes (must match Budget Grid) |
ARP ESSER funds will be used to host a Comprehensive Afterschool Program during FY 22, FY 23, FY 24 school terms. The program will run for 1 hour per day for 4 days per week for a period of 26 weeks. Students will receive enrichment and remediation in the areas of reading and math. Monies will be utilized to purchase general supplies such as pencils, notebooks, glue, color pencils, copy paper, student consumables, teacher manuals aligned with student consumables, etc. to effectively run the program. Additionally, funds will be used to purchase ELA & Math manipulatives to help improve student achievement. Salaries and benefits will be paid for 1 teachers (1 FTE) at $40.00 per hr for 1 hour per day for 4 days per week for a period of 26 weeks [ 1 Teacher Salary-9130(010-199)- $4160.00 x 3 years=$12480.00 Total Salaries ] [3 teacher benefits-[9130 (200-299)-$843.23 x 3 years=$2529.70 total benefits] [Materials and Supplies-9130 (400-499)-$1426.77 x 3 years=$4280.30]
Comprehensive After school Total-$19,290.00
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| Intervention C (Other) |
| Provide the following information for Intervention C (Other): 1) Brief description and timeline for each service (service must end by 9/30/2024) 2) Number of employees and FTE(s) (if applicable) 3) Itemized Budget using Function & Object codes (must match Budget Grid) |
| NOTE: If an LEA chooses to use the "Other" intervention option, the LEA must attach documentation in the Related Documents section that shows that the Intervention is evidence-based (Tier I | Tier II | Tier III | Tier IV). |
ARP ESSER funds will be used to host a K-2 Literacy Camp during the summers of FY 22 and FY 23. The program will run for 4 hours per day for 4 days per week for a period of 4 weeks. Students will receive intensive instruction in the area of reading in order to ensure that every child will be reading on grade level by grade 3 as determined by formative and summative assessments. Monies will be utilized to purchase general supplies such as pencils, notebooks, glue, color pencils, copy paper, student consumables, teacher manuals aligned with student consumables, etc. to effectively run the program. Additionally, funds will be used to purchase ELA manipulatives and varied reading resources to help improve student reading growth and achievement. Salaries and benefits will be paid for 7 teachers (7 FTEs) at $40.00 per hr for 1 hour per day for 4 days per week for a period of 26 weeks [7 teacher Salaries-9130 (010-199)- $17920 x 2 years=$35840.00 Total Salaries ] [7 teacher benefits-[9130 (200-299)-$3632.39 x 2 years=$7264.78 total benefits] [Contracted Services-9130 (300-399) 5245.00 (year 1) + 5245.00 x (year 2) =$10490.00] [Materials and Supplies-9130 (400-499)-$9362.11 x 2 years=$18724.22]
Comprehensive After school Total-$72319.00
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| SYSTEM PLAN ITEMS RELATED BY FISCAL RESOURCE |
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There are currently no Goal or Action Step items associated with this Grant.
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