Massachusetts ARP ESSER State Plan Highlights

Summary

A highlights summary of Massachusetts's ARP ESSER State Plan. It gives the total ARP ESSER allocation as $1,831,416,990, with $1,220,085,382 released on March 24, 2021 and $611,331,608 on July 7, 2021, and preliminary 2020-2021 statewide enrollment of 921,712. The top priorities are fostering belonging and partnership among students and families, providing culturally responsive support and expert instruction, and keeping students and educators healthy and safe. The plan says all districts and schools will be required to be in person, full time, five days a week in 2021-22, and describes collaboration with the Department of Public Health on vaccinations.

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                          Massachusetts ARP ESSER State Plan Highlights
Total ARP ESSER allocation for Massachusetts: $1,831,416,990
ARP ESSER funding released to Massachusetts on March 24, 2021: $1,220,085,382
ARP ESSER funding released to Massachusetts on July 7, 2021: $611,331,608
2020-2021 Preliminary Statewide Enrollment: 921,712


Top Priorities Within Massachusetts’ Plan:

   •   Fostering a sense of belonging and partnership among students and families
   •   Providing culturally responsive support and expert instruction to all students
   •   Continuing to keep students and educators healthy and safe

Highlights of Massachusetts’ Plan:
   •   Returning to In Person Learning in 2021: The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and
       Secondary Education (DESE) provided specific guidance on requirements related to the
       reopening and operation of school facilities. In the 2020-2021 school year, elementary schools
       returned to full-time, in-person learning in the spring. For the 2021-22 school year, all districts
       and schools will be required to be in-person, full-time, five days a week. Summer programming
       in 2021 will also operate in-person.

   •   Safely Reopening Schools and Sustaining Safe Operations: DESE has collaborated with the
       Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) to expand opportunities for vaccinations for
       faculty and students. Their joint effort led to prioritizing educators for vaccines during March and
       April with specific days set aside solely for them at mass vaccination sites. Most recently, the
       Department and DPH have launched an effort to provide on campus vaccination clinics for
       students, faculty, and family members. Such efforts will continue in the months ahead as vaccines
       become readily available for younger children and the state will encourage the use of American
       Rescue Plan ESSER funds for these efforts.

   •   Assessing the Impact of Lost Instructional Time: DESE plans to use assessment results to
       better understand the impact of COVID-19 on student learning. In addition to assessment results,
       DESE will review data on chronic absenteeism, student enrollment and attendance, advanced
       course completion, student discipline, student and educator surveys, and data from the Early
       Warning Indicator System. DESE intends to use this reporting to facilitate conversations with the
       public across the State to identify the groups of students most impacted by the pandemic and use
       ARP funds to target resources to support the accelerated academic achievement of these students
       and communities.

   •   Accelerating Learning for Students Impacted by the Pandemic: DESE has developed an
       Acceleration Roadmap designed to provide a focused and phased approach to supporting students
       as they begin the 2021-22 school year. The state is also considering using ARP ESSER funds for
       programs like Acceleration Academies, which will create small, hands-on learning environments
       for Early Literacy and Math.

   •   Investing in Summer Learning and Expanding Afterschool Programs: With a portion ARP
       ESSER funds, Massachusetts will expand evidence-based programming that builds on existing
       summer programming this year and in future years. New opportunities could include partnerships
       between districts and community-based organizations (CBOs), partnerships with the state’s Early
       Learning initiatives, and expanding family engagement initiatives. One such program is the
       Summer School Matching grant program, which would offer grants with ARP ESSER funds to
       school districts to offer 4 to 6 week in-person programs to enhance or expand existing summer
       programs. Another is Summer Step Up, a program designed to engage young learners and
       accelerate learning for students entering school in the fall, particularly pre-school and
       kindergarten students.

   •   Re-Engaging Students: DESE has partnered with The New Teacher Project (TNTP) to create a
       resource targeted specifically at evidence-based strategies for reengaging students called The
       Academic Excellence Roadmap (Roadmap). The Roadmap is a tool created for the coming 2021-
       2022 school year for LEA and school leaders to provide focused and phased supports for
       students, especially those experiencing the greatest impact from the pandemic as they return to
       school. In addition to the immediate supports provided to students, the Roadmap contains
       materials and strategies that will promote accelerated learning over the next 3-5 years for these
       students.

Community Engagement and Consultation:

   •   In developing its plan, DESE met with over 50 stakeholder groups. It plans to continue to obtain
       stakeholder feedback to ensure opportunity for all to participate. The state also conducted an
       online interest survey for stakeholders (in six different languages) to aggregate recommendations
       on how to target resources and prioritize investments.

When Massachusetts’s LEA Use of Funds Plans will be due: October 4, 2021


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