BALTIMORE, Maryland – The Maryland State Department of Education has announced that it will continue its work to accelerate student achievement and support social and emotional health with approval by the United States Department of Education (Department ) US State Emergency Relief Plan for Elementary and Secondary Schools (ARP ESSER) plan and disbursement of remaining ARP ESSER funds.
The U.S. Department of Education has allocated approximately $ 1.95 billion in ARP ESSER funds to Maryland and local school systems to meet the urgent needs of schools and students in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
“With our strong return to full-time in-person teaching, these funds are critical to maintaining safe and meaningful learning environments for every student in Maryland,” said Maryland Governor Larry Hogan. “With our students back in class, the remainder of these ARP ESSER funds will provide the necessary resources for our schools to not only recover from the pandemic, but come back stronger. “
“Our mission to build a bright future for every student requires us to be bold as leaders in education. The approval of the US Maryland bailout allows us to do just that. With this federal distribution, we can truly be innovative in our approach to accelerate student success, support mental, social and emotional health, and fight disruption in education, ”said State Superintendent of Schools Mohammed Choudhury. “We are taking this moment to make sure that every student in Maryland has access to excellent educational opportunities and good results. We will not accept a return to normal because normal was not good enough, especially for those who have been historically underserved. “
The ARP ESSER called on national and local school systems to integrate broad community input into the development of strategic plans to support students, schools and school communities most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Each state was required to submit a state plan that promoted comprehensive planning by states and LSSs for the effective use of ARP ESSER funds to reopen schools safely from spring 2021; support sustained access to in-person instruction throughout the spring, summer and into the following school year; and to meet the academic, social, emotional and mental health needs of students.
The Maryland plan addresses:
• Accelerate student re-engagement: MSDE is focused on returning to in-person teaching for all students in the 2021-2022 school year, as well as necessary supports, especially in the areas of technology and broadband access and awareness, to ensure that students and parents and families remain engaged. MSDE will implement acceleration strategies that support students by providing them with more time in class, more dedicated attention in the classroom, and exposure to learning at the grade level. Most school systems use a tiered approach to support all students, offering different levels of support to students based on identified needs.
• Support mental and socio-emotional health: MSDE emphasizes the mental health and socio-emotional learning (SEL) needs of students, especially among underserved students most affected by distance learning . MSDE will invest $ 10 million from ARP ESSER funds for the Maryland Schools Mental Health Intervention Program Regional Teams, and $ 3.2 million to address adverse childhood experiences.
• Address the impact of disrupted teaching: MSDE will implement evidence-based strategies to reduce the impact of disrupted teaching on student learning that has occurred in the past 15 months, and support local school systems as they do the same.
• Most Affected Students: The MSDE Task Force on Academic Equity and Excellence for Black Boys (AAEEBB) has developed several evidence-based recommendations to address inequalities experienced by black boys overall. of State. Grants will be allocated to districts to implement the recommendations of the task force report, focusing on: 1) socio-emotional and behavioral supports; 2) recruiting and training effective teachers and administrators; and 3) curriculum and education. Examples of evidence-based recommendations include: de-escalation and intervention training for all school staff, providing financial incentives to recruit and retain a variety of teachers and administrators, and coordinating mentorship programs structured.
Maryland’s ARP ESSER plan is available here: http://marylandpublicschools.org/about/Documents/ARP-ESSER/ARP_ESSER_StatePlan.pdf
The American Rescue Plan (ARP) Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER) is available for states and local school systems until September 30, 2024.
