Painted Desert Demonstration Projects, Inc.

The majority of the ESSER III funds allocated to STAR School will be used to pay salaries and benefits for the Interventionist, School Wide Substitute Teacher and Summer Reading Camp Teacher. In Year 1, ESSER III funds will be used to purchase ELA curriculum for 1st-5th grade classrooms and special education. In all three years, supplies will be purchased for the Summer Reading Camp.

Because our school received a 5 year School Climate Transformation Grant (SCTG) that has a heavy emphasis on SEL, we are not using ESSER III funds for these programs. Our SEL-related SCTG programs include evidence-based strategies such as trauma-based counseling and the 4Rs. We hired a second school counselor with SCTG funds who provides equitable access to services for students in the low-income, SPED and Native American subgroups.

The budgeted expenses that are directly related to addressing student learning loss as a result of the pandemic have been identified. These expenses include the salaries for the Interventionist and Summer Reading Camp Teacher as well as curricula and supplies for the Summer Reading Camp. The total for the expenses related to learning loss is $248,635.71, which is 60.2% of our total ESSER III award amount, far exceeding the required 20% set aside.