LCS has implemented and will continue to implement prevention strategies to safely stay open for in-person instruction.  Limestone County Schools will continue to utilize Alabama Department of Public Health (ADPH) recommendations, as well as the recommendations from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), and our local school data.

• Universal wearing of masks will be allowed but not required.  Training on the proper way to wear masks will be provided by faculty and staff, CDC videos, handouts, and posters with support by the local school nurse.  Teachers will demonstrate the proper techniques of wearing a mask to their students.  Masks will be available in each school for students, faculty, and staff who desire to wear one.

• LCS will continue to encourage physical distancing, to the extent possible, with videos, posting signs, and guidance for the students from the teachers. 

• LCS is providing Universal Precautions training with a PowerPoint presentation for all faculty and staff at the beginning of the school year.  Handwashing videos will be shown in classrooms and posters placed throughout each school. Teachers will demonstrate proper respiratory etiquette to their students.  Supplies will be provided, ex: soap in classrooms and restrooms to assist with proper handwashing and respiratory etiquette. 

• LCS will follow the latest CDC and OSHA guidelines for cleaning and maintaining healthy facilities, including improving ventilation, modified layouts, cleaning routines, communal spaces, food service, and water systems. 

• LCS will follow the guidance of ALSDE and the ADPH for contract tracing.  School nurses will monitor the need for in-school contract tracing and complete as needed.  Isolation areas for ill students are located in each school.  

• LCS will continue providing information to the faculty and staff about vaccine opportunities.

• The health and safety of all students and all employees is important to Limestone County Schools.  We will continue to stay abreast of recommendations and guidance from the CDC to ensure we keep students' and employees' health and safety a priority.

LCS will provide multiple opportunities of evidence-based interventions to address academic learning loss.  LCS continues to improve teacher learning and instruction through LETRS training of K-3 teachers, Phonics First training for K-2 teachers, SPIRE training for grades 2-5 teachers, and PLCs in Math and Reading. 

LCS provides summer learning programs for K-5 students with deficiencies in reading and in math at all elementary schools; Extended School Year for special education students, summer learning opportunities for middle school students, and after school tutoring for students in reading and math. Currently LCS has 4 after school learning programs that address reading, math and STEAM with daily after school learning programs. These four schools are ATSI schools.  

LCS plans on providing middle school enrichments programs starting in the summer of 2022 which is open to all students.   

Transportation and meals are provided for LCS afterschool and summer programs. 

LCS provides two social workers who work with our school based counselors and principals in providing mental health services for all our students.  

LEA partners with ThriveWay to provide all our schools with peer helper training/coaching to address bullying and cyber-bullying; drug, alcohol, and tobacco abuse; suicide prevention; and sexual abuse prevention. ThriveWay provides researched-based, scripted lessons for teachers to use with 100% of our student populations. 

Data meetings will be conducted monthly at all schools to evaluate all data points to guide instruction for underrepresented subgroups.  PST meetings will be conducted monthly to ensure all interventions are meeting the needs of students. 

• Program Type: Outreach and Services to Special Populations

• Providing additional nursing supplies, and custodial cleaning supplies will help prevent the spread of COVID-19 among all students, staff, and families. We will ensure that no student or teacher will be denied participation based on gender, race, national origin, color, disability or age.

• Providing in person instruction for all students is of utmost importance to Limestone County Schools to ensure equal access and participation in the ESSER III.

• The district provides translation and interpretation services to support families of are English Learners. LCS also uses a phone and video translation service that is available for all staff to use to be able to communicate with all families regardless of language. 

• Funds will be used to invest in infrastructure, communication, and staffing required to hold virtual or phone-based individualized education program (IEP) team meetings for students with disabilities and virtual and/or online learning experiences in all family and staff member homes that cannot meet in person due to being medically fragile. 

• The district will use ESSER grant funds for an additional professional development day to train teachers to remediate and accelerate student learning because a significant portion of our students have academic loss due to COVID-19 closings.  

• LCS will provide funds for teacher training that will assist staff in understanding poverty and how to provide intervention strategies and acceleration strategies to help students recover from their academic learning loss. LCS will ensure that no student or teacher will be denied participation based on gender, race, national origin, color, disability or age. 

•  The district will use ESSER grant funds to purchase curriculum to provide evidenced-based strategies during Tier I, Tier II, Tier III, and Tier IV instruction.

• Funds will be used for the purchasing interactive smart boards and other technology. LCS is committed to ensuring all students and teachers have all technology available to them; regardless of gender, race, national origin, color, disability or age."

Program Type: Mental Health Supports

• "The social worker who’s salary is covered by ESSER funds will develop an online support group for students who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender to ensure their safety and well being during the pandemic."

• "Our district will use ESSER grant funds toward our social worker efforts to support our low-income families/special needs/ESL population. Time is allocated for her to work with these families to ensure communication between home and school with constant conversations through web-based visits,, phone calls, emails etc. addressing safety issues, supporting living conditions, attendance, interpreters, meeting IEP requirements, etc. We will ensure that no student or teacher will be denied participation based on gender, race, national origin, color, disability or age

Limestone County Schools use many successful ways to meaningfully engage with parents either face to face or using technology. The district has flexible meeting schedules and is using their website to inform parents/family members who were unable to attend meetings. Limestone County will use the spring parent survey to see if these strategies are successful along with feedback from the Parent Advisory Committee.

Limestone County Schools will:

· Involve parent and family members in the development of the ARP ESSER Plan. Parents and family members are active participants on the Parent Advisory Committee that meets regularly throughout the year.

· Provide information through Social media, websites, Remind, School Messenger and also provide ways for families to provide feedback. 

·Communicate with parents using a variety of methods (phone calls, face to face meetings, text messages, emails, social media, automated phone system, school website, district website, etc...

· The district will provide training to new teachers on the importance of communicating with parents, as well as, ways to effectively communicate with parents. Limestone County Schools provides training on EL and how to involve EL families. Teachers, specialized instructional support personnel, principals, and other school staff will become more proficient in communication with parents through developing and presenting evidence-based strategies during parent meetings focusing on specific topics, and parent conferences.  Communication between home and school will strengthen through these face-to-face meetings.  Additionally, school personnel will continue to communicate with parents via phone calls, text messages, emails, social media, and the website.

·District-wide Fall & Spring Parent Conferences

·Through our partnership with Thriveway, parent letters are provided with evidence-based resources and links for parents to extend conversations of the prevention curricula at home.

·  The district implements an annual parent/family member survey. This survey will be conducted in the spring each year. Compiled information from the survey and other data is used to evaluate the overall effectiveness of the parent and family engagement/involvement.

·  Provide Parent Resource Rooms across the district  and provide resources for parenting such as literature, books, ideas, classes, etc… Supply materials and training to help parents and family members assist their children in meeting their academic goals. Lunch & Learn Opportunities where parents see academic learning in progress then accompany their child to lunch.

· Hire part-time Parent Liaisons

· Provide opportunities for parents and teachers to coordinate joint efforts to support student and school achievement, encouraging parental input on how educators could best assist their children in achieving educational goals

· The district will review and analyze parent evaluations to remove any barriers to parental/family engagement that exist.