Strategic Planning for Continued Recovery

• 6 Factors for Assessing the ESSER Cliff

  Here is an exploration of historical data to identify six key factors that indicate whether a particular district might be at greater risk of an upcoming fiscal cliff. These indicators will help SEAs understand where districts stand—and how to better position those high-risk districts for long-term sustainability.

• 10 Ways to Spend Remaining ESSER Dollars to Transform Schooling for Good

  Here are 10 ways to invest in doable strategies that address urgent needs now and build toward redesigned schooling models that have lasting impact beyond funding deadlines.

• Data Quality Campaign Data Roadmap

  This is a Roadmap for Effective Data Use and Research Partnerships between State Education Agencies and Education Researchers.

• ESSER Funding Cliff By State

  A look at three significant factors that will influence how the ESSER funding cliff will affect SEAs.

• ESSER Guidance for School Staffing, Spending, and Scheduling

  ERS developed guidance for district leaders looking to invest ESSER funds in high-impact priority areas.

• ESSER Halftime Review Tools

  ESSER Halftime Review includes three distinct phases: collecting data, interpreting the data, and action planning for what’s next.

• Evidence to Insights Coach

  Mathematica e2i coach: The Coach takes you through five steps to generate your own evidence 

• Halftime for the K–12 Stimulus: How are Districts Faring?

  For more detailed information read the McKinsey and Company report.

• New York ARP ESSER vs Outcomes

  Here is an example of a state chart comparing spending with outcomes by LEAs.  The SEA can view to explore spending and outcomes data in order to prioritize technical assistance to the LEAs.

• Return on Investment in Education

  See the simple five-step System Strategy Approach to K-12 ROI (SSROI) process in action in this new overview presentation.

• Tool for Assessing the Health of Research-Practice Partnerships

  This tool is designed for individuals who want to formatively assess a research-practice partnership (RPP) in collaboration with its members. It provides guidance on how to set and monitor progress on quarterly RPP goals aligned to five critical dimensions that researchers and practitioners must address to build and sustain an effective RPP.

• Tools for SEAs

  Tool for SEAs to assess their readiness to participate in a research-practice partnership  

• 10 Ways to Spend Remaining ESSER Dollars to Transform Schooling for Good

  Here are 10 from ways from Education Resource Strategies (ERS) to invest in doable strategies that address urgent needs now and build toward redesigned schooling models that have lasting impact beyond funding deadlines.

• Continuous Improvement ROI: Concept Explainer

  See the simple five-step System Strategy Approach from ERS to K–12 ROI (SSROI) process in action in this new overview presentation. 

• ESSER Hold'em for Districts

  Using this tool from ERS, choose investments that will support students through recovery from the pandemic and leave the district in a stronger position after ESSER/ESF funds expire. 

• ESSER Strategy Planner & Spending Calculator

  Using this tool from ERS, compare the sustainability implications of various investments of American Rescue Plan funds. 

Spending Guidance

• Beyond Recovery: Sustaining High Impact Tutoring for the Long Term

  An Accelerate example of activity-focused guidance that shows how more than one U.S. Department of Education formula grant can coordinate to support an initiative. 

• Breaking the Mold Without Breaking the Bank: A Guide to Reimagining the Teaching Job

  An Education Resource Strategy (ERS) example of activity-focused spending guidance about transforming the teaching job.  

• Developing Effective Guidance: A Handbook for State Educational Agencies

  This CCSSO resource provides strategies for developing effective spending guidance. 

• ESSER Funding Cliff Toolkit

  North Carolina designed this toolkit to support LEA leaders with relevant information and data around ESSER expenditures and student outcomes as well as resources to understand which ESSER investments were most effective.  

• How Traditional U.S. Department of Education Grants Can Help Sustain ESSER Activities

  This Federal Education Group and CCSSO resource is an example of  spending guidance with concrete examples of activities ED grants can support, acknowledging that allowability always depends on facts and circumstances.

State Oversight

• A Guide to State Educational Agency Oversight Responsibilities under ESSA

  This CCSSO resource helps SEAs identify their various oversight systems and consider how those systems affect LEA behavior.

• Restart & Recovery: Federal Funds & COVID-19

  An CCSSO tool SEAs can use to review and assess their oversight systems in light of ESSER/ESF funds.

Use of Funds

• Commonly Asked Questions about Allowable ESSER and GEER Activities

  This document, developed by Federal Education Group (FedEd) and Council for Chief State School Officers (CCSSO), outlines information and considerations for ESSER/ESF investments.

• Covid-19 Relief Funding Map

  The updated COVID relief funding map includes over 300 examples of state, districts, and localities investing COVID relief funds to support students with afterschool and summer programs. 

• Education Resource Equity Framework

  These Guidebooks from Alliance for Resource Equity explore underlying causes for inequity and how to make change in your system across all 10 dimensions of education resource equity.

• The Federal Funding Streams for Children and Youth Services Database

  This Children’s Funding Project database helps communities find federal funding available to states, tribal areas, counties, cities, towns, school districts, and local nonprofit organizations to support children and youth. 

• How States are Addressing Unfinished Learning in Math with ESSER Set-Aside (CCSSO)

  CCSSO’s latest Road to Recovery report highlights five investment priorities for math acceleration: high-quality instructional materials, professional development, diagnostic and assessment tools, high-impact tutoring, and out-of-school time programs. 

• Investments in Student Recovery: A Review of School Districts’ Use of American Rescue Plan Funding to Support Afterschool and Summer Opportunities

  Released in late October by the Afterschool Alliance, the resource analyzes data from more than 6,300 school districts’ ARP ESSER spending plans from all 50 states and the District of Columbia and reflects insights from interviews with school district staff and program providers. The report calls on leaders to dedicate remaining ESSER funds to comprehensive programming, which includes both academic support and enrichment opportunities that excite and engage young people, and to look ahead at sustaining and expanding afterschool and summer programming to meet the needs of youth and families.  

• Resources to Help Programs Sustain Summer and Afterschool Programs

  The Afterschool Alliance has created a new web page of resources, tools, and strategies to help programs remain sustainable.  

• Sustaining Summer Learning: Tools & Lessons from Tulsa

  This National Summer Learning Association conference presentation outlines a strategic funding project Tulsa Public Schools did with The Learning Agenda.

• What States Can Do to Support Districts Through the COVID Recovery Window to Accelerate Student Learning

  This ERS document outlines answers to common challenges facing LEAs related to spending ESSER/ESF funds.

U.S. Department of Education Guidance

• Dear Colleague Letter on Title I Resource Equity

  The Department of Education released a Dear Colleague Letter on two related resource equity provisions under Title I, Part A of the ESEA in July 2023. (1) the requirement for States to periodically review resource allocation in LEAs serving a significant number of schools identified for comprehensive support and improvement (CSI), targeted support and improvement (TSI), and additional targeted support and improvement (ATSI); and  

  (2) the requirement that CSI and ATSI plans both identify and address local resource inequities.  

• Raise The Bar: Strategies to Improve Student Achievement

• FACT SHEET: Biden-⁠Harris Administration Announces Improving Student Achievement Agenda in 2024

  The Department of Education released two documents encouraging States to use any remaining ESSER funds on three academic strategies: (1) addressing chronic absenteeism (2) implementing high-dosage tutoring (3) expanded learning time. 

Diversifying the Educator Workforce

• Diversify and Expand the Incoming Teaching Force

  ERS’ "Breaking the Mold Without Breaking the Bank: A Guide to Transforming the Teaching Job" shows how using out-of-the-box strategies, investments, and the policy and partnerships levers can make it possible for leaders to redesign the teaching profession.  This resource can help leaders establish a budget-neutral residency program to diversify and expand the incoming teaching force. 

• ERS’ Breaking the Mold without Breaking the Bank: A Guide to Transforming the Teaching Job

  This resource from ERS  shows how using out-of-the-box strategies, investments, and the policy and partnerships levers can make it possible for leaders to redesign the teaching profession.  This resource can help leaders establish a budget-neutral residency program to diversify and expand the incoming teaching force. 

Frameworks for System Review

• Alliance for Resource Equity Guidebooks

  These Guidebooks from Alliance for Resource Equity explore underlying causes for inequity and how to make systemic changes across all 10 dimensions of education resource equity.  SEAs can use the framework to approach Resource Allocation Reviews – going beyond looking just at disparities in financial allocations. 

• Monitoring Educational Equity

  This National Academies of Science resource proposes a system of indicators of educational equity and presents recommendations for implementation. SEAs can use the indicators for access and opportunity as a way to focus prioritizing investments to sustain. 

• Unchartered Waters (erstrategies.org)

  This ERS paper makes the case that the key to LEAs making progress towards equity and excellence amidst so much uncertainty is a whole-system approach to continuous learning and improvement. The paper helps SEAs determine ways a whole-system approach to continuous improvement can help LEAs chart a course to equity and excellence.

• Casemaking Decks - Alliance For Resource Equity

  This Alliance for Resource Equity resource helps you develop compelling and coherent messaging to “make the case” for addressing resource inequities in your community. 

• CCSSO ESSER Storytelling Resource

  This CCSSO resource is structured to help states tell their full story of recovery in three distinct phases: (1) Look Back to reflect on what has already happened, (2) Look Up to recognize what is happening now and acknowledge any signs of impact or struggle, and (3) Look Ahead to envision expected outcomes and what could be possible in the future.

• Effectively Communicating Evaluation Findings (osepideasthatwork.org)

  The Center to Improve Project Performance tool presents guidance and strategies that can be used to identify key audiences and understand their information needs and to develop evaluation and communication plans that will generate useful information about the project’s findings for different audiences. 

• Oregon District ESSER Outreach

  The Oregon Department of Education designed this Toolkit to help school districts communicate about how they have used their Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds to strengthen academic supports and bolster the social and emotional wellness of our students and staff. 

• Talking About ESSER: Ways to Build Community Trust and Keep the Focus on Results for Students

  This article by National Comprehensive Center Partner, Edunomics Lab, maps out six ways leaders can communicate about and help make the most of their ESSER investments. 

• Continuous Improvement in Education: A Toolkit for Schools and Districts

  This toolkit is designed to help school- and district-based practitioners engage in a continuous improvement effort. It provides an overview of continuous improvement and focuses on the Plan-Do-Study-Act cycle. It includes tools and resources that practitioners can use to implement a continuous improvement effort in their own schools, districts, or agencies.

• Advocating Across Government - Alliance for Resource Equity (educationresourceequity.org)

  Incorporate the Alliance for Resource Equity’s guide into your review of implemented internal and external supports to determine who are the right players across the education system to address the equity gaps in your school system to ensure you are pulling the policy levers that will have the most impact for students.

• Diagnostic Tools and Supports - Alliance for Resource Equity

  After completing a review of the SEAs internal and external support, use the Alliance for Resource Equity’s tool to understand the current state of education equity and excellence for students in your school system.

• Guidebooks - Alliance for Resource Equity

  Use the Resource for Equity guidebooks after reflecting on the current state of your education equity in relation to your internal and external supports. The Guidebooks provide a structure for identifying the root causes of your school system’s challenges and choosing promising actions that are based on the distinct needs of students in your community. 

   

• Professional Growth & Support System Self- Assessment - Education Resource Strategies

  This ERS Professional Growth & Support System Self-Assessment can be used as part of the SEAs reflection process. Use the Self-Assessment to determine the internal and externa supports available to help school systems evaluate their current Professional Growth & Support strategy against the Eight Principles of Strategic Professional Growth & Support.