Proposed ESSER Expenditures for 2023-24 

In April 2023, Sloan Presidio, chief academic officer for FCPS, presented the proposed ESSER expenditures for the 2023-24 school year, the last year of ESSER funding. The proposed plan has nearly 80% of ESSER funds allocated to support student learning needs. 

Some of the recommended projects for remaining funding include the continuation of special education teacher contract funding; funding school-based wellness and Social and Emotional Learning staff; academic interventions both at the school-level and through centrally assigned academic tutors; summer learning programs; school health coordinator; and a provider to address chronic absenteeism.  

To date in FCPS, funds have been used toward expanded summer learning and tutoring services directed to the students with greatest academic need. More than 30,000 students participated in summer learning programs the last two years. And in a single year, about 40% of students deemed to need the highest degree of intervention saw marked improvement through high impact tutoring—a tutor working with small groups of students over a prolonged period of time.

Learn more in May 3, 2023, news release. 

Background - Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER III)

In the fall of 2021, FCPS received $188.8 million in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER III) funding to support the safe operation of schools and address the impacts of COVID-19 on students. FCPS has an intentional multi-year plan to ensure maximum value from the ESSER funding it received to assist with the post-pandemic recovery. 

FCPS' Revised ESSER III Spending Plan (May 2023)

ESSER III focus areas include:

• Prevention and mitigation strategies to help keep schools open and safe.
• Academic services such as tutoring, after-school programs, and summer learning programs.
• Multilingual engagement to ensure all families are informed about their students and schools.
• Support for students’ social emotional needs, such as counselors, psychologists, social workers, and family liaisons. 

See how ESSER funds are impacting students

TV Coverage

See story from WUSA with Glasgow MS Saturday School

FCPS Stories

Small Group Work 

Roughly 35 students at an elementary school are receiving intervention services in reading; 40 or so receive similar small group help in math. The teachers are trained in instruction techniques to help students overcome any learning gaps that may have been exacerbated by the pandemic.

Educators say the program is paying off. For example, one student made more than two years of progress in his reading skills in one academic year.

Read more of the story: I Can Feel My Brain Getting Stronger:” ESSER Funds Help Students Make Big Gains In Small Group Work

Steam Lessons

At one elementary school, students in pre-K through 6th grade are engaged in similar hands-on activities on STEAM Day. STEAM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, Art and Math.

The goal of this special day is to expose students to the engineering design process, using their critical thinking and problem solving skills while collaborating and communicating in their teams. For example, kindergarten engineers design tiger shelters to give a tiger enough shade to keep them cool. Older students test soil composite to determine the best location to build skyscrapers on, shaking their model landscapes to mimic an earthquake.

Learn more: Full STEAM Ahead with ESSER Funding

No-Cost Tutoring

Students have unlimited access to 24/7, on-demand, online tutoring support services through Tutor.com at no cost to families.  Students can connect online any time, any place, and in most K-12 subjects for however long they need. Tutoring may be on-demand and/or scheduled at a time convenient for the student and/or family.

Learn more: Tutor.com - Online Tutoring Services: Online tutoring by professional tutors at no cost to families

*Tutor.com is funded through a Virginia Department of Education ESSER III (rather than federal funding.

Board Games and More

In the library at Rocky Run Middle School in Chantilly, some students are playing new board games designed to boost critical thinking. Down the hall, five students go over how to add fractions, using magnetic fraction tiles. Others meet after hours with staff who help them organize their backpacks and binders to boost executive function skills that may have lapsed during the pandemic.

Read more of the story: Board Games, Backpacks and Boosting Academics: Rocky Run Middle School Taps Pandemic Funds to Assist All Students

Video - Game Room in Middle School 

At one middle school, staff created a game room as a reward for students in connection with the school’s Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS) program. When students demonstrate PBIS attributes, such as respect, engagement, accountability, and positivity, they earn rewards. Funding for some of the game room equipment and staffing support for the room was provided by the ESSER III grant.

Section 1: Introduction

The purpose of the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) III Fund is to help safely reopen and sustain the safe operation of schools and address the impacts of COVID-19 on the nation’s students by addressing students’ academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs. This plan describes how Fairfax County Public Schools (FCPS) will maintain the health and safety of students, educators, and other school and division staff during the 2022-2023 school year. 

For more information on the ESSER III grant, please watch this explanation video.  

Section 2: Maintaining Health and Safety

FCPS has taken and will continue to take actions to ensure the health and safety of students, educators, and other school and division staff throughout the 2022-2023 school year.  

Steps to maintain health and safety during full in-person instruction are listed on the Health and Safety Guidance Document including, but not limited to, health hygiene, cleaning and disinfecting, and student isolation guidance. This guidance is established in coordination with state and local health officials.  The following additional supports and resources are also available.

Section 3: Continuity of Services

FCPS has taken and will continue to take actions to ensure continuity of services, including but not limited to services to address students’ academic needs and students’ and staff's social, emotional, mental health, and other needs. FCPS is committed to continuity of learning during the 2022-23 school year and the school division is using layered prevention strategies to do everything possible to ensure our schools remain safe, healthy and open. Our plan is to remain open using these strategies unless directed otherwise by health officials or Executive Order. A plan is in place to ensure continuity of learning in the event health authorities or an Executive Order require a temporary closure to protect the health of students, staff, and the community.

FCPS describes academic plans in detail here.

Details for services are described below:

Section 4: Opportunity for Public Comment

The first opportunity was a community feedback form that closed October 10, 2022. The second opportunity was an in-person public hearing November 3, 2022.  A community conversation was held on December 13, 2022.

For more information on previous public input opportunities offered to the community on the ESSER III plan, please contact [email protected].

Section 5: Periodic Review and Revision of Plan

During the period of the ARP ESSER award (until September 2023), FCPS will periodically review and, as needed, revise its plan for the safe return to in-person instruction and continuity of services. The plan will be reviewed at least every six months, and FCPS will seek and take into account public input during the review process. Plan revisions will address updated CDC guidance on safely reopening schools, if any are issued.

Section 6: Making the Plan Available to the Public

FCPS has taken the following steps to make this plan available to the public:

• The plan is available in other languages by using the orange translation buttons at the top of the web page. This service is through machine translation using Google Translate. [Disclaimer]
• The plan may be orally translated for parents. Contact the Office of Communication and Community Relations at 571-423-1200 to request translation; and
• Upon request, a parent who is an individual with a disability as defined by the ADA may be provided with the plan in an alternative format accessible by contacting the Office of Communication and Community Relations at 571-423-1200. 

Questions?

For answers to questions on this grant, contact the ESSER III project team at [email protected].