The Louisiana Department of Education has released a plan aimed at gaining some of the ground lost during the pandemic.
The plan, "Louisiana Comeback," asks individual school systems to spend their relief funds on three primary areas:
Attendance and Well-Being
Recovery and Acceleration
Professional Learning
The plan's website lists how much money each district or private school got in relief funding. Below are the figures posted there for Acadiana's parishes. NOTE: ESSER stands for Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund. It is federal funding.
Each round of ESSER funding will be released to systems over two action periods in order to meet federal requirements for awarding funds to Local Education Agencies (school boards) and support response efforts through 2024. The state also wants to ensure school systems are spending the first round of relief funding first.
ESSER I funds were received in April and June of 2020, while the first 50% of ESSER II funding was allocated in March 2021. The remaining 50% will be sent in January 2022. 20% of ESSER III funds was allocated in March 2021 as well, and the remaining 80% is yet to be determined.
The state is obligated to allocate ESSER II funds within a year of receiving them, which will be January 2022; ESSER III funds should be awarded no later than 60 days after the state receives them.
The state has a set obligation period, a planned timeline, for which each round of funding is to be expended. ESSER I: September 30, 2022; ESSER II: September 30, 2023; ESSER III: September 30, 2024.
Acadia Parish
Acadia Parish School Board
ESSER I Allocation
$4,714,739
ESSER II Allocation
$16,836,251
ESSER III Allocation
$37,811,829
Calcasieu Parish
Calcasieu Parish School Board
ESSER I Allocation
$10,108,849
ESSER II Allocation
$34,774,680
ESSER III Allocation
$78,098,991
Lake Charles Charter Academy
ESSER I Allocation
$350,463
ESSER II Allocation
$1,463,864
ESSER III Allocation
$3,287,631
Lake Charles College Prep
ESSER I Allocation
$156,101
ESSER II Allocation
$557,436
ESSER III Allocation
$1,251,922
Southwest Louisiana Charter Academy
ESSER I Allocation
$296,388
ESSER II Allocation
$1,058,396
ESSER III Allocation
$2,377,007
Evangeline Parish
Evangeline Parish School Board
ESSER I Allocation
$2,794,120
ESSER II Allocation
$9,977,756
ESSER III Allocation
$22,408,622
Iberia Parish
Iberia Parish School Board
ESSER I Allocation
$4,670,286
ESSER II Allocation
$20,057,162
ESSER III Allocation
$45,045,538
Jefferson Davis Parish
Jefferson Davis Parish School Board
ESSER I Allocation
$1,405,721
ESSER II Allocation
$5,019,804
ESSER III Allocation
$11,273,766
Lafayette Parish
Lafayette Parish School Board
ESSER I Allocation
$10,299,336
ESSER II Allocation
$36,753,379
ESSER III Allocation
$82,542,868
Jcfa - Lafayette
ESSER I Allocation
$21,569
ESSER II Allocation
$74,675
ESSER III Allocation
$167,710
Acadiana Renaissance Charter Academy
ESSER I Allocation
$297,422
ESSER II Allocation
$1,083,666
ESSER III Allocation
$2,433,760
Lafayette Renaissance Charter Academy
ESSER I Allocation
$325,942
ESSER II Allocation
$1,307,037
ESSER III Allocation
$2,935,418
Willow Charter Academy
ESSER I Allocation
$325,781
ESSER II Allocation
$1,123,952
ESSER III Allocation
$2,524,235
St. Landry Parish
St. Landry Parish School Board
ESSER I Allocation
$6,652,721
ESSER II Allocation
$31,977,023
ESSER III Allocation
$71,815,851
J. S. Clark Leadership Academy
ESSER I Allocation
$121,965
ESSER II Allocation
$427,462
ESSER III Allocation
$960,020
St. Martin Parish
St. Martin Parish School Board
ESSER I Allocation
$2,616,469
ESSER II Allocation
$9,343,366
ESSER III Allocation
$20,983,874
St. Mary Parish
St. Mary Parish School Board
ESSER I Allocation
$3,030,957
ESSER II Allocation
$10,670,526
ESSER III Allocation
$23,964,485
V. B. Glencoe Charter School
ESSER I Allocation
$127,594
ESSER II Allocation
$455,638
ESSER III Allocation
$1,023,297
Vermilion Parish
Vermilion Parish School Board
ESSER I Allocation
$2,629,062
ESSER II Allocation
$9,576,942
ESSER III Allocation
$21,508,452
We've reached out to superintendents for updates on plans for the funds. All districts are in the process of finalizing plans, which are due to the state by September. We'll update this story as we receive responses.
St. Mary Parish: The St. Mary Parish School Board adopted a Strategic Plan initiated in the 2021-2022 school year that outlines our priorities and as a result, the use of funds to accomplish these priorities.
The LDOE will be providing school systems with a template for the development of a local “Comeback Plan” in the coming week, which will potentially further adjust district actions and allocations of federal dollars.
"I'm excited to see the tremendous progress our students will make by school systems collectively focusing their funds, time and effort into areas that bolster student achievement," said Dr. Cade Brumley, State Superintendent of Education. "Louisiana school systems have received about $4 billion dollars of stimulus funds to support efforts like these, and we need to use our one-time resources well. We must utilize the dollars to get us through this tough time and prepare our state to be better post-pandemic."
A release states that "Louisiana Comeback" aims to encourage the creation of engaging, belonging, and risk-free environments for students. LDOE believes that instituting well-being policies enhances intrinsic motivation, decreases disciplinary problems, increases academic achievement, improves school satisfaction, and leads to thriving individuals, communities, and nations. Simply stated, those who feel better can learn better.
The release states that "Louisiana Comeback'' incentivizes schools to invest in activities that recover and accelerate student learning, reducing instructional loss from the past two school years and helping put students back on track. For example, the campaign promotes massive efforts around tutoring, literacy intervention, graduation planning, and afterschool and summer programs.
The plan also suggests schools implement policies that allow teachers to have regular and devoted time to collaborate around their craft as well as professional learning opportunities.
The plan says schools that make gains in certain areas will be given the label of "Comeback Campus."
Those areas include:
Increases in percent of students scoring mastery and above on the statewide assessment
Decreases in percent of students scoring unsatisfactory on the statewide assessment
Increase in student ACT scores
Schools that receive the "Comeback Campus" designation gain a variety of benefits, such as: will funds for evidence-based activities, the chance to be part of research studies, the chance to be part of discussions with the state superintendent, the chance to lead sessions at state and national education conferences, and a ceremony with a banner.
LDOE is developing a fiscal dashboard to report how the state and school systems are budgeting and spending pandemic relief funds. The aim, officials say, is to ensure:
Investments have a collective impact - from the state to classrooms
Planning is outcomes, strategic and priorities-based
Transparency and accountability remain the top priority
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