American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary Schools Emergency Relief (ARP ESSER)

Montville Township Public Schools

 Plan for Use of Funds

1. The extent to which and how the funds will be used to implement prevention and mitigation strategies that are to the greatest extent practicable consistent with the most recent CDC guidance on reopening schools in order to continuously and safely open and operate schools for in-person learning;

• The district has several aging HVAC units that should be replaced to ensure that the schools' ventilation systems are maximizing outside air flow and mitigating particulates in the air. The LEA will use funds to install new air conditioning units in classrooms with aging units.

2. How the LEA will use the funds it reserves under section 2001(e)(1) of the ARP Act to address the academic impact of lost instructional time through the implementation of evidence-based interventions such as summer learning or summer enrichment extended day comprehensive afterschool programs or extended school year;

• The LEA will use funds by providing students in need of academic support, based on their state assessment scores, i-Ready assessments, and district created formative assessments, with extended school day opportunities.
• The LEA will also provide a skills building summer camp for basic skills and English language learners, who are in need of supplemental academic support.
• Both of these programs are a continuation of services that have been offered to students through CARES and ESSER II funds.

3. How the LEA will spend its remaining ARP ESSER funds consistent with section 2001(e)(2) of the ARP Act;

• The LEA will hire instructional coaches during the 2022-2023 school year to work with elementary teachers and, by extension, their students, on strategies to improve students’ retention of key skills and standards.
• The LEA will contract with a mental healthcare organization to provide Tier 2 and/or Tier 3 school-based mental health services to support staff, as they work with middle school and high school students, who are struggling with emotional and mental health issues. The organization will offer solutions to the school district by providing a wide-range of onsite services including counseling, care coordination, school clearance assessments, and access to a full continuum of integrated care and social support services. District-selected clinicians will create tailored learning environments, based on the need of the students and the school.
• The LEA will use a portion of the funding to provide another part-time ESL teacher to service the increasing needs of the district’s English language learners, who are entering with interrupted formal education.  

4. How the LEA will ensure that the interventions it implements, including but not limited to the interventions implemented under section 2001(e)(1) of the ARP Act to address the academic impact of lost instructional time, will respond to the academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs of all students, and particularly those students disproportionately impacted by the COVID–19 pandemic, including students from low-income families, students of color, English learners, children with disabilities, students experiencing homelessness, children in foster care, and migratory students. Under this requirement, an LEA must engage in meaningful consultation with stakeholders and give the public an opportunity to provide input in the development of its plan. Specifically, an LEA must engage in meaningful consultation with students; families; school and district administrators (including special education administrators); and teachers, principals, school leaders, other educators, school staff, and their unions.

• On June 1, 2021, the district administration held a meeting with representatives from various stakeholder groups (including parents, administrators, teachers, BOE members, principals, union representatives, and school staff) to discuss how the LEA would implement interventions that address loss of instructional time and the social emotional needs of ALL students.  This committee proposed extended day and summer school programs for English language learners, special education, and basic skills students. They also proposed providing greater access to counseling and support services for students and staff struggling with mental health issues. Additionally, they concurred that upgrading aging HVAC units throughout the district would be a prudent use of funds.

5. Additionally, an LEA must engage in meaningful consultation with each of the following, to the extent present in or served by the LEA: Tribes; civil rights organizations (including disability rights organizations); and stakeholders representing the interests of children with disabilities, English learners, children experiencing homelessness, children in foster care, migratory students, children who are incarcerated, and other underserved students. (208 of 2000 maximum characters used)

• The district committee that met on June 1, 2021, also included stakeholders representing the interests of children with disabilities, ELLs, and our children experiencing homelessness and those in foster care.

Allocations