As an education professional, we understand that you are committed to communicating effectively with your students and their families to support student success. Not only that, you’re aware of the legal obligations of presenting information in a language that all parents understand, including the parents of English learner (EL) students. After all, your goal is to build trust, share information, and show that you care about all students in your district  — regardless of which language they speak.

Educators and the news media pay a lot of attention to our current teacher shortage crisis. One of the oft-cited reasons relates to teacher pay. While not the entire solution, having teacher pay be commensurate with their education level would be a step in the right direction. 

The U.S. Department of Education (USED) released the Notice Inviting Applications for two grants funded by the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (BSCA). These grants are part of the Biden Administration's goal of “doubling the number of school-based mental health professionals.”  

The National Association of English Learner Program Administrators’ (NAELPA) Advocating for Multilingual Learners Committee recently posted a brief white paper, The Importance of an Asset-Based Mindset and Using Asset-Based Terminology when Referencing the ESSA Subgroup – ELs. The white paper summarizes the results of the committee’s research on this topic.

In response to guidance released by the U.S. Department of Education (USED), TransACT has updated documents in its ESSA ParentNotices Collection in two content categories:

The U.S. Department of Education (USED) recently issued new regulations for the federal grant program,Charter School Grant Program (CSGP), that include significant changes to what was originally proposed by the USED.

Background

In March of 2021, the U.S Congress passed the American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act, providing an additional $122 billion in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funding. This funding, coupled with the CARES Act (passed March 2020) and CRRSA Act (passed December 2020) ESSER funds brings the total ESSER funding to about $190 billion to help education agencies at the state and local level address the educational impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.  

After over a decade of working with charter school boards and nonprofits across the country to provide a powerful governance platform, BoardOnTrack has been acquired by TransACT Communications.

States, school districts, and schools have significant flexibility in spending federal COVID relief funds announced last spring.   

A lot of competition exists for the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds. There are many questions on how best to use these funds to support students and educators. One area where the use of these funds is especially urgent is student mental health.