DCPS finalizing plans for summer programming
Apr. 14—The Daviess County Public Schools Board of Education on Tuesday heard the district's plan for what assistant superintendent for teaching and learning Jana Beth Francis called the Accelerated Learning Plan.
The plan was developed by a 25-person committee made up of mostly teachers, and it encompasses what the district will be offering for summer programming. A lot of its content is based off research from the Carnegie Corporation out of New York.
That research indicates that reviewing missed content and skills that students have missed throughout the school year due to the pandemic may not be beneficial, Francis said.
"For schools serving the most vulnerable populations, though, this could mean good students fall behind their peers," she said, adding that this research was built on that which came out of the post-Hurricane Katrina approach to teaching and learning.
That research found that when schools backtracked and tried to fill in missed information, Francis said, "Instead of moving ahead with grade level assignments, the kids ended up further and further behind."
The district has plans in place to meet students where they are in learning, and move forward from there, Francis said.
Each grade level and school building will have offerings for students in need, with a priority going to high school students, and especially seniors in need of credit recovery, students who are English-language learners, and kindergarten through second-grade students.
The district will also have a "jump-start" option for students in kindergarten through second grade, and orientation programs for students entering sixth and ninth grades.
"We are also providing social emotional learning support, so there will be a counselor or someone who can provide that support to students throughout the summer," she said.
Transportation and lunch and a snack will also be provided.
Matt Robbins, DCPS superintendent, told the board that district officials are aware the summer programming won't be able to fix all of the issues students will have with education recovery, which is why there are also plans in motion for next school year to use some of the ESSER II federal funding to assist in that goal.
DCPS is slated to receive about $8.16 million for the second round of Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief federal funding, or ESSER II. Those are funds that can be used, according to the Kentucky Department of Education, to address learning loss due to the pandemic, including payment for methods of assessment and tracking; repairs and improvements to school buildings related to health needs and cutting disease transmission; to pay for nurses, mental health professionals and emergency leave days for employees; and as teacher salaries to support intervention and remediation services, along with substitute teachers when regular personnel are absent on COVID-19 isolation or quarantine.
The district has until 2023 to spend the funds, and there are plans in place to provide each school with $2.5 million to use toward an interventionist to help students next school year.
Board members will vote on this plan during its 4:30 p.m. Thursday board meeting, which will take place at the district central office, at 1622 Southeastern Parkway.
Bobbie Hayse, bhayse@messenger-inquirer.com, 270-691-7315
Bobbie Hayse, bhayse@messenger-inquirer.com, 270-691-7315
