American Rescue Plan
Stay tuned here for stories about the various ways Michigan districts are spending federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) money – including the largest amount allocated by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden in the American Rescue Plan to address challenges in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
ARP News
Traverse City Area Public Schools health clinic open to students
Ribbon-Cutting for the Health Center: TCAPS Superintendent Dr. John R. VanWagoner prepares to cut the ribbon with help from Heidi Britton, CEO of NMHSI Traverse City Area Public Schools educators recently tapped into federal American Rescue Plan Relief funds to launch the TCAPS Student Health Center, a medical and behavioral health services clinic serving local students and their families. Through…
Federal funds aid both Wyoming educators and students
Jeremy Schnotala- Wyoming Education-Association President In Wyoming Public Schools, union leaders and district officials found a way to spend federal COVID-relief dollars that altogether honors the expertise of local educators, promises dynamic instruction for students, and offers a foothold in the profession to early career educators for years to come. The Kent County district used a portion of its federal…
Eastern UP internet connectivity supported by ARP funding
In the best of times, Michigan’s rural public-school districts face major hurdles in accessing reliable internet service to provide instructional technology that helps students succeed in remote parts of the state. This is particularly true in the Eastern Upper Peninsula Intermediate School District (EUPISD), where educators realized early on during the COVID-19 pandemic that a community-wide plan of action was…
Six months until spending deadline for more than $1 billion in federal funds
With only six months left to spend ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief) funds, Michigan schools have just over one billion dollars remaining to address the changing educational landscape and unique needs brought about by the pandemic. The spending deadline for ESSER funds is September 30, 2024. Michigan schools received $5.62 billion in school rescue funds, with the biggest…
Midland Public Schools invests COVID-19 School Rescue Funds in classroom libraries
The Biden administration’s school rescue funds have benefited classrooms like those of Becca Budka, a fourth-grade teacher in Midland Public Schools. Thanks to federal stimulus funds, she and other Midland educators have been able to upgrade their classroom libraries. In total, Michigan schools have received $5.62 billion in school rescue funds. In the heart of Michigan’s landscape, a recent decision…
Three Years In, American Rescue Plan Buoys Students and Educators
President Biden at the National Education Association in Washington, DC in September 2022. President Biden faced deeply complicated problems from the day he took office in January 2021. Many Americans were struggling and suffering at the height of the pandemic. But even as the administration worked to jump start life-saving medical research, keep businesses afloat, and help vulnerable families and…
Michigan’s educators prioritize student health, success in school rescue fund plans
Michigan’s dedicated public school educators prioritized the safety, health, well-being and success of their students when planning use of federal Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funding. The funds, distributed district by district, include the largest amount allocated by Congress and signed by President Joe Biden in the American Rescue Plan to address learning challenges in the wake of…
Rural Michigan students travel the world and solar system in immersive room
By Heather Palo MEA ARP Organizer Last year MEA member Marissa Rodriguez took ninth graders on a tour of World War I trenches, and she transported sixth graders to countries where certain products began the manufacturing process – then brought them across the globe to watch those consumer items journey to store shelves. A social studies teacher in Scottville’s Mason…
Great things happening with federal school rescue funds, but deadline looms
By Chandra Madafferi Michigan educators and communities are doing amazing things with the billions of dollars our state has received in federal school rescue funds. While there’s still plenty of great work to be done, time is running out for school districts to put this one-time funding to good use. Our state received $5.6 billion in federal school rescue funds…
NEA president’s school visits spotlight Michigan successes: ‘I will tell your stories everywhere I go’
By Brenda Ortega MEA Voice Editor NEA President Becky Pringle and MEA President Chandra Madafferi serve free breakfast to students at Dublin Elementary in Walled Lake, the first stop of a two-day, four-district tour. NEA President Becky Pringle visited four school districts in Michigan last week to see what change looks like when a governor and state Legislature prioritize public…