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ESSER III Use of Funds Plan

Forney ISD ESSER III - Use of Funds Plan

Forney ISD ensures that its ARP Funds meet all the required elements and are spent in an allowable manner.  

  1. ARP ESSER funds will be used to implement prevention and mitigation strategies that are, to the greatest extent practicable, consistent with the most recent County Health Department guidance on reopening schools, in order to continuously and safely open and operate schools for in person learning.  

Forney ISD Healthy Practices

  • Hand Hygiene
    • Hand sanitizing stations are available at all district facilities.
    • Staff are expected to regularly wash or sanitize their hands.
    • Students are required to regularly wash their hands throughout the school day.
  • Classroom Cleaning
    • Frequent cleaning and disinfecting will promote a healthy learning and work environment for students and staff.
    • Each classroom will have a hand sanitizer station
    • Each classroom and restroom, as well as all high-tough areas, will be disinfected regularly.
  • Cough Etiquette
    • We ask that everyone cover their nose and/or their mouth when they cough or sneeze.
    • Students are socially distanced when possible.
    • Face coverings for all students are encouraged, by remain optional.
    • Wash hands frequently.
  • Stay Home if Sick
    • Staff are required to self-screen for symptoms of illness, such as fever or vomiting, prior to reporting to work each day.
    • Parents are expected to screen their children for symptoms of illness, such as fever or vomiting, prior to sending their child to school.
    • Students who are ill will be separated from their peers and should be picked up within 30 minutes from the time the campus contacted the student’s parent or guardian.
  • Staff are required to report any positive COVID test results for themselves or a same household family member to their campus administrators.
  • Additional cleaning measures have been implemented in our specialized classrooms, such as motor labs.
  • Additional manipulatives have been purchased to minimize sharing between students.

Forney ISD Weblink: Forney ISD Healthy Practices

  1. The District will address the academic impact of  lost instructional time through the implementation of evidence-based interventions, such as summer learning or summer enrichment, extended day, comprehensive afterschool programs, or extended school year.  

Instructional aides and teachers will be hired to provide additional instructional support for students with unfinished learning.  Campuses have embedded intervention time into the school day, and these instructional aides help provide interventions in accordance with the 4:1 ratio required by HB4545.

Campuses have created Accelerated Learning Plans for all students that did not pass STAAR in 2020.  Teachers, administrators and instructional aides are assigned to specific students to satisfy the continuity of services recommendation of HB4545.

Students that did not take STAAR in 2020 were provided the opportunity to take a test that is fully aligned to the previous year’s grade level TEKS.  This data is being used to design individual intervention plans for students requiring extra supports.

Summer learning for the 2021 school year focused on literacy in our youngest students.  Summer learning for the 2022 school year will address the ELAR and math learning needs for grades 3-8, and high school courses with corresponding End of Course assessments.

Extended School Year services are provided for special education students as required by individual education plans designed by the ARD committee.  There was an increase in the number of attendees during summer 2020, and it is expected there will be an even greater increase in attendees for the summer of 2021.

ESSER funds will be used to support retention and recruitment of teachers and staff through retention pay.

Supplemental Educational Resources Used for Interventions

  • Materials used for reading interventions include:
    • Education Galaxy
    • Flocabulary
    • Readworks
    • Fountas & Pinnell
  • Materials used for math interventions include:
    • Math Acadience
    • Internally created resources*
    • Education Galaxy
    • Flocabulary
    • Prodigy

*Internally created resources include scaffolding, the use of manipulatives and pictorial models to support understanding of mathematical concepts, the provision of time for students to justify their thinking and to turn and talk to each other about their work and the ways in which each concept is taught and/or explored.

  1. The District will spend its remaining ARP ESSER funds consistent with section 2001(e)(2) of the ARP Act. 

Forney ISD is committed to supporting all students in their learning journey, and mitigating the effects of COVID is no exception.  We have created opportunities during the school day to work with students on their learning gaps.

In addition, we provide Chromebooks at a ratio of 1:1 in grades 3-12, so all of these students have access to learning activities in Canvas, even when they are unable to attend face to face classes.  During the spring of 2020, we also provided devices for students in grades K-2.  Accordingly, some of ESSER III funds will be spent on Chromebooks, some of which will replace devices used by our younger learners.

  1. The District will ensure that any implemented interventions, including those implemented  under ARP section 2002(e)(1) to address the academic impact of lost instructional time,  will respond to the academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs of all students, and particularly those students disproportionately impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic,  including students from low-income families, students of color, English learners, children  with disabilities, students experiencing homelessness, children in foster care, and  migratory students.

The district hired a learning specialist to design and create intervention activities that are directly aligned to pre-teach learning gaps in the upcoming lessons. In addition, she provided professional learning for teachers and aides that implement the lessons.  Forney ISD has provided virtual and face to face language interventions for struggling ELs.

Additionally, Forney ISD is a Capturing Kids Hearts district.  Classrooms create social contracts, teachers greet students at the door upon arrival, and other measures to address the social and emotional needs of the students.

Out of concern for our neediest families, Forney ISD provided meals to students and other community members during the COVID shutdown and the summer of 2020.

  1. The District made its plan available to the public and provided an opportunity for feedback that was collected and incorporated into the plan.  

The District Education Improvement Committee reviewed prior years’ District Improvement Plans and made suggestions for the current year’s plan that embeds extra supports for unfinished learning.  Additionally, campuses have their own improvement committees that have provided recommendations and input that was shared with central office.

  1. The District engaged in timely and meaningful consultation with students, families,  school and district administrators (including special education administrators), teachers,  principals, school leaders, other educators, school staff and their unions, tribes, civil  rights organizations (including disability rights organizations); and stakeholders  representing the interests of children with disabilities, English learners, children  experiencing homelessness, children in foster care, migratory students, children who are  incarcerated, and other underserved students. 

While Forney ISD was closed due to COVID, Virtual Parent Academies were provided to assist families with technology and academic needs.

The district has also provided virtual trainings and collaboration opportunities with parents.  Additionally, the district has conducted virtual ARD meetings and conferencing with parents.

ESSER III 6-Month Review Minutes - August 2022

ESSER 6-Month Review Committee Summary - February 2022

Assurances

In addition, Forney ISD provides the following assurances: 

  • The District engaged in meaningful consultation with the following groups:  
    • Students, families, school and district administrators (including special education administrators), teachers, principals, school leaders, other educators, school staff, and their unions.  
  • The District engaged in meaningful consultation with each of the following groups, to the extent present in or served by the LEA:  
    • Tribes, civil rights organizations (including disability rights organizations); and stakeholders representing the interests of children with disabilities, 
    • English learners, children experiencing homelessness, children in foster care, migratory students, children who are incarcerated, and other underserved students. 
  • The District has created its plan in an understandable and uniform format.  
  • The District’s plan is, to the extent practicable, written in a language that parents can understand, or if not practicable, orally translated. 
  • The District will, upon request by a parent who is an individual with a disability, provide the plan in an alternative format accessible to that parent. 
  • The District provided the public an opportunity to provide input on its plan and took such input into account. 
  • The District has made its plan publicly available on its website. 
  • The link to the plan is here: https://www.forneyisd.net/Domain/427