DOUGLASS

Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER)

As of June 30^th, 2024, Douglass USD 396 allocated the remaining of 

the district’s Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds.

These funds gave Douglass Public Schools additional resources to combat the learning loss

and social emotional needs of our children within our attendance centers resulting from the 2019 Coronaviras Pandemic.

The district implemented projects that included additional staff, provided technology for home instruction,

installed protection to attend in person once again, additional counselors,

training district wide as well as surrounding districts on emotional poverty, and adopted a reading curriclum at our primary level. 

“The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act was enacted on March 27, 2020, and included Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Funds for K-12 schools. These ESSER grants will provide school districts with emergency relief funds to address the impact COVID-19 has had elementary and secondary schools.” (KSDE School Finance)

KSDE ESSER Informational Page

Below is a breakdown of the amount of ESSER funds Douglass USD 396 is eligible to receive. ESSER investments are made under the guidance and review of the Kansas State Department of Education, which has authorized specific uses for the ESSER funds. 

ESSER I Allocation and Expenses

ESSER I funds were released to Douglass USD 396 in the summer of 2020. As the District navigated the change to remote instruction and the necessary changes to facilities to keep everyone safe, supplies and technology were purchased with the help of federal disaster funds. Of the $63,849 in ESSER I allocation, 20% was spent on the purchase of personal protection equipment (PPE). Some items that were purchased included masks for staff and students, thermometers for monitoring entrances, disinfectants, foggers and solution, sanitizing materials as well as numerous other safeguards to ensure a safe return of staff and students. 13% of ESSER I funds were spent on internet access to staff and students to facilitate remote instruction. The biggest piece to the pie of ESSER I allocation was spent on the software and technology needed to provide the most effective remote instruction possible. As the classroom transitioned into the home, additional computers, iPads, chargers, as well as software was necessary to attempt to provide our kids with the best instruction possible.

Detailed Report Here

ESSER II Allocation and Expenses

ESSER II funds have given Douglass USD 396 the opportunity to expand successful Multi-Tiered Systems (or MTSS) to our Middle School and Secondary educational level, add staff at our Elementary level to reduce classroom sizes, and also to support the school in coverage of classrooms due to COVID-related absences. The cumulative total spent to date as of June 30^th, 2023 is $255,440.00. This concludes the funds for ESSER II.

Positions that were added:

Elementary Teacher

Additional Elementary Counselor

Elementary Paraeducator

Elementary MTSS Paraeducator (2)

MS/HS MTSS Coordinator

Middle School Social/Emotional Counselor

 ESSER III Allocation and Expenses

A survey was deployed in May of 2022 to collect the opinions of stakeholders on how best the opportunities of ESSER funds should be spent and targeted within our school district. Of the 187 participants, 65% were parents/guardians, 33% were school staff members and the remaining included students, local tribe members, as well as other organizations within our district boundaries. 

It is through these results that we are assured our goals with the utilization of the additional federal funds match up to goals of our stakeholders. The district has utilized ESSER III funds to provide summer school for the summer of 2022 and 2023, provide training district wide as well as surrounding district invitations for emotional poverty, purchase HVAC equipment for safer facilities, adopt curriculum geared toward the learning loss resulting from the pandemic as well as continue to fund the plan that ESSER II funds supported. Below is a expense pie chart depicting the ESSER III plan by category.

If you have questions or concerns about the information on this page, please reach out to LaChelle Prather at

lprather@usd396.net

or

316-747-3300