• ESSER 1

  • ESSER 2

  • ESSER 3

  • ESSER 2 Summary

    ESSER 2 was granted through the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act, which was signed into law on December 27, 2020, exactly nine months after the CARES Act that provided ESSER 1. The School District of Fort Atkinson was awarded $1,301,543 under the ESSER 2 program. These funds were available to cover costs during the timeframe between March 13, 2020 through September 30, 2023, or a year longer than ESSER 1 was available.

    Since this program was approved nine months into a pandemic that many thought would have been over already, the US Department of Education encouraged local schools to focus these funds “to take comprehensive action to mitigate learning loss, to restore and maintain high-quality learning environments, and to safely reopen elementary and secondary schools as soon as possible.” (WI DPI)

    Given the increased use of technology following the pandemic, a portion of these funds have been allocated towards educational technology such as Chromebooks to provide one-to-one devices Districtwide and interactive TV’s to replace failing Smartboards. In addition, to focus on learning loss, funds have also been allocated towards new four-year-old kindergarten curriculum materials, behavior interventionists, and training for our literacy interventionists.

    In addition, after gathering feedback from our community, the remainder of these funds will be utilized to offset operating deficits and provide mental health services and supports in alignment with that community feedback. This will be accomplished by covering the costs of positions that were approved by the Board of Education in April, 2021 which at the time were to be paid for through the regular operational budget. These positions include an Academic Advancement Coordinator, a Special Education and Student Services Coordinator, an Elementary Social Worker and a Secondary School Psychologist.

    Click on the chart below to learn more and to see examples of this funding in action.

    Thank you for taking the time to learn more about how the School District of Fort Atkinson is leveraging these one-time federal funds to meet the needs of our 1Fort community.