📢 Da Schools Stay Receiving Billions in Stimulus Funds. Maybe No Doing Eno’ Yet. 🏫💰🚫🩹

Wen da pandemic shut down schools all ova da country, da federal government responded with billions of dollars 💰 to help districts support remote learning, serve free meals to students, and safely reopen schools.

In 2021, da Biden administration gave districts another $122 billion through its $1.9 trillion stimulus package, an amount dat far surpassed previous rounds. Districts were required to spend at least 20 percent of dose funds on helping students recover academically, while da rest could be used on general efforts to respond to da pandemic.

Yet, while most schools have since deployed various forms of interventions and some have spent more on academic recovery than odders, dey still face challenges in effectively addressing da needs of all da students lagging behind. 📚😕🚀

Recent test scores underscore da staggering effect of da pandemic, which thrust much of da nation’s students into remote learning for extended periods of time. Students in most states and across almost all demographic groups experienced major setbacks in math and reading 📖 after many schools closed dea doors. In 2022, math scores underwent da largest declines ever recorded on da National Assessment of Educational Progress 📉, which tests a broad sampling of fourth and eighth graders dating back to da early 1990s.

Education researchers and advocates say recovering from da effects of remote learning should be da top priority, but it is unclear how much of da funding is effectively helping students catch up. 📚💪🔍

Plans for da relief funds have varied across da country. Some districts have invested more in extending learning time or offering intensive small-group tutoring focused on math or English, which research has shown to be among da most powerful interventions. Others have used much of their funds on facility upgrades, online tutoring services, across-the-board bonuses for employees, and odda measures dat education experts have argued are less effective for helping students catch up. 📝🏫💡

National data on how da money has been spent is scarce. Da federal government does limited tracking of da relief funds, which were sent directly to states. Many states, which dole out da money to districts, do not provide detailed breakdowns of expenditures. 💸📊

Some education experts who have closely monitored da relief money said da federal guidelines should have been more focused on addressing learning loss, and were skeptical that many districts’ recovery plans were robust enough. Although schools were initially slow to spend da money, dey are now on track to exhaust da funding by da September 2024 deadline for budgeting da money. 📅💼

Robin Lake, da director of da Center on Reinventing Public Education, said da impact of da funding has been a “bit of a black box,” and she expected to see different recovery rates across districts. Ms. Lake said giving across-the-board bonuses, completing maintenance projects, and plugging holes in budgets were less effective interventions.

“In some districts, I think we’re going to see dat da money was well spent,” Ms. Lake said. “And in many — maybe most — it won’t have been spent as well as it should have been, in terms of addressing da urgent need right in front of us.” 😔💼💡

She pointed to data showing that many students still did not have access to da kind of intensive tutoring programs dat have proved effective, with demonstrated large positive effects on math and reading achievement. 📚💪😊

A federal survey conducted in December found that most public schools offered some form of tutoring, but only 37 percent provided students more intensive “high dosage” tutoring, which is typically done in smaller groups, takes place for at least 30 minutes, and includes at least three sessions a week. Out of all public schools, just 10 percent of students participated in dat type of tutoring.

Early reports show that schools have had difficulty setting up academic recovery programs. A recent paper from Harvard University’s Center for Education Policy Research found that schools struggled last year to carry out recovery programs at their intended scale because of staffing shortages and lower student engagement. The researchers, who sampled 12 districts, found dat some of da estimated effects were positive, but even if da programs were fully set up, dey would still not be enough to help all students catch up by 2024. 📚💼📊

Thomas Kane, da center’s faculty director and co-author of da papers, said implementation has since improved but remains far below da necessary levels. He expected to see some gains dis year but said a “significant gap” will remain, since not enough schools were extending da academic year or placing most students in summer school.

“Every district can describe how dey’re spending da money,” Mr. Kane said. “But few, if any, districts have a recovery plan dat’s specifically sized to their students’ losses.” 🎓💡💪

Education Department officials said dey were confident much of da stimulus money was being spent on academic recovery.

“The department’s ongoing technical assistance and communication with states indicate dat investments in academic recovery, staffing, and student mental health comprise da majority of local spending,” Adam Schott, a deputy assistant secretary, said in a statement. 💼💪🏫

Sasha Pudelski, a director at AASA, da School Superintendents Association, said districts were prioritizing spending on additional learning time. According to July data from AASA, 68 percent of districts were spending some funds on expanded summer learning, 42 percent were adding learning time by compensating staff, and 39 percent were providing high-intensity tutoring.

In Tennessee, 87 districts are participating in a program dat provides matching grants using federal dollars to districts offering small-group tutoring in reading or math. 📚💼💪

One of da participating districts, Elizabethton City Schools, hired 14 full-time staff members to administer English language arts tutoring to 404 elementary and middle school students dis year. Students attended sessions during da school day twice a week for 45 minutes each. 🏫📖👩‍🏫

Myra Newman, da assistant director of schools for academics, said da district was spending 56 percent of its $5.6 million in relief funds on academic recovery. The district has already seen significant gains: In 2022, 45.6 percent of third to eighth graders were proficient in English, up from 33.9 percent in 2021 and 43 percent in 2019. 📊📈📚

Otha districts have spent more relief funds on facility upgrades. Researchers at Georgetown University’s Edunomics Lab estimate dat a quarter of da last round of relief funds would be spent on facilities.

Oregon’s Klamath County school district plans to use about 30 percent of its $16.1 million federal share on academic recovery programs and 70 percent on facilities projects. Those include buying new turf fields, replacing HVAC systems, upgrading flooring, renovating bleachers in baseball fields, constructing a gym, and surfacing an elementary school parking lot. 🏫💼🚧

Glen Szymoniak, da district’s superintendent, said da projects would help improve student safety and wellness. Some bleachers had “nails popping up” and boards dat were cracking. Without a new turf field, some students would not have a place to play during recess, and one of da football teams would need to travel half an hour to practice. Officials chose not to spend da funds on hiring staff because da money would eventually run out.

“We would have to fire them in three or four years,” Mr. Szymoniak said. “It’s not a way to treat people.” 💪💼🏈

Officials instead tapped millions in annual state funding to hire reading specialists, add counselors, and expand small group and project-based instruction, which Mr. Szymoniak said has already led to improved proficiency in math among elementary school students dis year, according to early assessments. Last year, 36 percent of third graders met state grade-level expectations for English, down from 42 percent in 2019. 📖📊🎒

Wisconsin’s Cudahy School District is spending about 80 percent of its $4.7 million in relief funds on facilities upgrades and 20 percent on academic recovery, which includes professional development for staff members and employing literacy specialists. Among da district’s third graders, 29.8 percent were proficient in reading in 2022, up from 23.6 percent in 2021 and down from 35.9 percent in 2019. 📚📈🏫

Tina Owen-Moore, da district’s superintendent, said officials were worried about sustaining salaries, so dey spent more on upgrading HVAC systems and remodeling classrooms to allow for social distancing.

“If we only did high-dosage tutoring while we had those funds there, well as soon as those funds go away, we wouldn’t be able to continue to support students,” Ms. Owen-Moore said. 💼💡🚀

Marguerite Roza, da director of da Edunomics Lab, said some facility projects like new HVAC systems were reasonable, but others, such as parking lot renovations, would not do much to help students catch up.

Although she said she wanted to see improved academic recovery efforts, she did not expect many districts to revise their plans. With da looming funding deadline and steep enrollment declines expected to hurt some districts’ budgets, she said officials were more focused on preventing school closures and widespread layoffs. 💼🏫💪

“Pretty quickly, dey’re starting to panic,” Ms. Roza said. “Dere’s less and less energy on how to leverage dese limited dollars.” 📊🚨📉

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NOW IN ENGLISH

📢 The Schools Have Received Billions in Stimulus Funds. Maybe Not Doing Enough Yet. 🏫💰🚫🩹

When the pandemic forced schools to shut down across the country, the federal government stepped in with billions of dollars 💰 to help districts support remote learning, provide free meals to students, and facilitate the safe reopening of schools.

In 2021, the Biden administration allocated an additional $122 billion through its $1.9 trillion stimulus package, a staggering amount surpassing previous rounds of funding. Districts were mandated to spend at least 20 percent of these funds on academic recovery for students, while the remaining amount could be utilized for general pandemic response efforts.

However, despite many schools implementing various interventions and some districts allocating more funds towards academic recovery than others, challenges persist in effectively addressing the needs of all students who have fallen behind. 📚😕🚀

Recent test scores highlight the profound impact of the pandemic, which forced a significant portion of the nation’s students into prolonged periods of remote learning. Students across various states and demographic groups experienced substantial setbacks in math and reading proficiency 📖 after numerous schools shut their doors. In 2022, math scores witnessed the largest decline ever recorded on the National Assessment of Educational Progress, a comprehensive assessment conducted since the early 1990s on a broad sample of fourth and eighth-grade students. 📉

Education researchers and advocates emphasize that recovering from the detrimental effects of remote learning should be the top priority. However, it remains unclear how much of the allocated funding is effectively helping students catch up. 📚💪🔍

Recovery plans for the relief funds have varied nationwide. Some districts have invested more in extending learning time or providing intensive small-group tutoring focused on math or English, which research has shown to be among the most impactful interventions. In contrast, other districts have utilized a significant portion of their funds for facility upgrades, online tutoring services, across-the-board employee bonuses, and other measures that education experts argue are less effective in helping students make up for lost ground. 📝🏫💡

Unfortunately, there is limited national data available regarding the specific allocation of these funds. The federal government’s tracking of the relief funds, which were directly distributed to states, is minimal. Moreover, many states, responsible for distributing the funds to districts, do not provide detailed breakdowns of their expenditure. 💸📊

Education experts who have closely monitored the use of relief funds contend that the federal guidelines should have placed a stronger emphasis on addressing learning loss. They remain skeptical that many districts’ recovery plans have been sufficiently robust. Although schools initially faced delays in utilizing the funds, they are now on track to exhaust the funding by the September 2024 deadline established for budgeting purposes. 📅💼

Robin Lake, the director of the Center on Reinventing Public Education, describes the impact of the funding as a “bit of a black box.” She anticipates varying rates of recovery across districts. Lake believes that allocating funds towards across-the-board bonuses, maintenance projects, and budgetary fixes are less effective interventions.

“In certain districts, we may witness effective utilization of the funds,” Lake remarked. “However, in many—perhaps most—cases, the funds may not have been spent as effectively as they should have been to address the urgent need right in front of us.” 😔💼💡

She cites data demonstrating that many students still lack access to intensive tutoring programs that have proven highly effective in improving math and reading achievement. 📚💪😊

A federal survey conducted in December revealed that while most public schools offer some form of tutoring, only 37 percent provide students with more intensive “high dosage” tutoring. This type of tutoring, typically conducted in smaller groups for at least 30 minutes, with a minimum of three sessions per week, was participated in by just 10 percent of students across all public schools.

Initial reports indicate that schools have encountered challenges in establishing academic recovery programs. A recent paper from Harvard University’s Center for Education Policy Research discovered that schools faced difficulties last year in implementing recovery programs on the intended scale due to staffing shortages and decreased student engagement. The researchers, who examined 12 districts, found some positive effects from the programs. However, even if these programs were fully implemented, they would still fall short in helping all students catch up by 2024. 📚💼📊

Thomas Kane, the faculty director of the center and co-author of the research papers, states that implementation has improved since then but remains significantly below the required levels. While he expects some progress this year, he anticipates a “significant gap” will persist since not enough schools have extended the academic year or enrolled most students in summer school.

“Every district can outline how they are spending the funds,” Kane commented. “However, only a few, if any, districts have recovery plans specifically tailored to address their students’ learning losses.” 🎓💡💪

Officials from the Department of Education express confidence that a substantial portion of the stimulus money is being allocated to support academic recovery.

“The department’s ongoing technical assistance and communication with states indicate that investments in academic recovery, staffing, and student mental health constitute the majority of local spending,” stated Adam Schott, a deputy assistant secretary. 💼💪🏫

Sasha Pudelski, a director at AASA, the School Superintendents Association, notes that districts are prioritizing additional learning time. According to July data from AASA, 68 percent of districts are allocating some funds to expand summer learning, 42 percent are extending learning time by compensating staff, and 39 percent are offering high-intensity tutoring.

In Tennessee, 87 districts are participating in a program that provides matching grants using federal dollars to districts offering small-group tutoring in reading or math. 📚💼💪

One of the participating districts, Elizabethton City Schools, has hired 14 full-time staff members to provide English language arts tutoring to 404 elementary and middle school students this year. Students attend sessions twice a week for 45 minutes each during the school day. 🏫📖👩‍🏫

Myra Newman, the assistant director of schools for academics, reveals that the district is allocating 56 percent of its $5.6 million in relief funds to academic recovery. The district has already observed significant improvements, with 45.6 percent of third to eighth-grade students achieving proficiency in English in 2022, up from 33.9 percent in 2021 and 43 percent in 2019. 📊📈📚

In contrast, other districts have directed a larger portion of the relief funds towards facility upgrades. Researchers at Georgetown University’s Edunomics Lab estimate that approximately a quarter of the previous round of relief funds will be allocated to facility improvements.

Oregon’s Klamath County school district plans to allocate around 30 percent of its $16.1 million federal share to academic recovery programs and 70 percent to facility projects. These projects include the purchase of new turf fields, replacement of HVAC systems, upgrading flooring, renovating bleachers in baseball fields, constructing a gym, and improving an elementary school parking lot. 🏫💼🚧

Glen Szymoniak, the district’s superintendent, expressed that the facility projects would significantly enhance student safety and well-being. Some of the bleachers had nails popping up, and there were cracked boards that needed attention. Without a new turf field, some students would be left without a designated area to play during recess, and one of the football teams would have to travel for half an hour to reach their practice field. Consequently, the decision was made not to allocate funds towards hiring additional staff due to the eventual depletion of funds.

“If we were to hire staff, we would have to let them go in three or four years. That’s not a fair way to treat people,” Mr. Szymoniak emphasized. 💪💼🏈

Instead, officials decided to utilize millions of dollars from the annual state funding to recruit reading specialists, employ counselors, and expand small group and project-based instruction. According to early assessments, these efforts have already resulted in improved math proficiency among elementary school students this year. In 2022, 36 percent of third graders met the state grade-level expectations for English, which was a decrease from 42 percent in 2019. 📖📊🎒

Wisconsin’s Cudahy School District is allocating approximately 80 percent of its $4.7 million in relief funds towards facility upgrades, while the remaining 20 percent is dedicated to academic recovery. This includes providing professional development opportunities for staff members and hiring literacy specialists. Among the district’s third graders, 29.8 percent demonstrated proficiency in reading in 2022, showing improvement from 23.6 percent in 2021 but a decline from 35.9 percent in 2019. 📚📈🏫

Tina Owen-Moore, the district’s superintendent, expressed concerns about sustaining salaries, which influenced the decision to allocate more funds towards upgrading HVAC systems and remodeling classrooms to accommodate social distancing measures.

“If we solely focused on high-dosage tutoring while the funds were available, we wouldn’t be able to provide ongoing support to students once the funds are depleted,” Ms. Owen-Moore explained. 💼💡🚀

Marguerite Roza, the director of the Edunomics Lab, acknowledged that certain facility projects, such as installing new HVAC systems, were reasonable investments. However, she questioned the impact of other projects, such as parking lot renovations, on helping students catch up academically.

Although she expressed a desire to witness improved efforts in academic recovery, Roza did not anticipate significant revisions to existing plans in many districts. With the imminent funding deadline and the anticipated enrollment declines that are expected to affect district budgets, officials are primarily focused on preventing school closures and minimizing widespread layoffs. 💼🏫💪

“Districts are quickly becoming overwhelmed, and there is a decreasing level of energy devoted to maximizing the impact of these limited funds,” Ms. Roza remarked. 📊🚨📉