Updates from MDE: 04-16-2021

department of education

April 16, 2021

Updates in this email:

ESSER III Allocations Released

In March 2021, the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) was signed into federal law. The ARPA included a third round of Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funding.

ESSER funds must be allocated according to the federal Title I, Part A formula. MDE does not have authority to ignore or change the federal formula requirements for these federal funds.

Title I, Part A allocations (and now ESSER I, ESSER II, and ESSER III allocations) use traditional geographic school district population poverty estimates from the U.S. Census Bureau and are based on a statistical model that incorporates information from:

  • Census Bureau’s American Community Survey,
  • Administrative records taken from Federal income tax returns,
  • Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program,
  • The most recent decennial Census and recent updates to population estimates,
  • Data on Supplemental Security Income recipients, and
  • Economic data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis.

Updated in 2017, 34 CFR 200.70 and 34 CFR 200.78 outline the additional information included in a local educational agency’s (LEA) allocation of Title I, Part A funds and the four grants (basic, targeted, education finance incentive (EFIC), and concentration) that comprise these awards. The short version is:

  • Districts with a poverty percentage less than 2% are not eligible for Title I, Part A awards.
  • Districts with a poverty percentage of at least 2% eligible for the basic component.
  • Districts with a poverty percentage of at least 5% eligible for basic, targeted, and EFIC components.
  • Districts with a poverty percentage of at least 15% are eligible for basic, targeted, EFIC, and concentration components.

View the ESSER III allocations.

Other Federal Funds Updates

ESSER II

  • Some allocations have been posted to MDE’s CARES funding page.
  • The application and budget worksheet are now available in SERVS.
    • 115 applications have already been approved! 
  • Schools must complete the summer program planning form by April 23 (see section below for more information). We need this form completed by April 23. After that, preliminary summer school allocations and applications will become available.

GEER/ESSER Round 1

  • Districts should focus on getting Round 1 applications and budgets approved and drawing down Round 1 funds first.
    • Almost 30% of these funds have been drawn thus far.

Deadline: Summer Programming Information Needed by April 23

MDE has approval to allocate federal funding from the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSA) to districts and charter schools to expand and enhance summer programs. Schools offering in-person state approved programming qualify. Funding can be used in the following ways:

  • To hire more staff in order to offer expanded eligibility to all students for summer learning and enrichment.
  • To enhance the effectiveness of programs by allowing smaller class sizes.
  • To expand programming: offering more hours per day or by increasing the number of days.
  • To offer enrichment that supports the academic portion of the program by partnering with community organizations.
  • To provide student transportation to and from summer programs.
  • To purchase personal protective equipment (PPE) for staff providing direct support services.

Initial estimates indicate that the allocations will equate to approximately $4 per student membership hour. The program will submit final student enrollment at the end of the program in order to determine total membership hours, as well as information on how the funds were spent, to determine final allocations. These funds must be spent on summer programs. A membership hour is every hour a student is enrolled in the program. In order to estimate how many hours of summer programming there might be, and to allow us to provide a partial payment based on this information, superintendents and charter school directors (or a designee) must complete the Summer Program Planning Form by April 23, 2021.

For more information, contact Mary Barrie, mary.barrie@state.mn.us or Sally Reynolds at sally.reynolds@state.mn.us.

Resource: Vaccines for 16- and 17-year-olds

The Minnesota Department of Health has created a resource with information about COVID-19 vaccines for 16- and 17-year-olds.

At this time, the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine is the only COVID-19 vaccine that has been studied and authorized for use by 16 and 17 year olds. Data from Pfizer vaccine studies show the vaccine is safe and effective for this age group. Other vaccine manufacturers are also studying their vaccines in younger age groups but have not yet received authorization from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.

Please share this resource with families in your high school communities.

Reminder: Case Reporting and Quarantining

Thank you for your work throughout this school year to continue reporting COVID-19 cases in your school buildings through the red cap surveys. Please continue with this reporting, as it is critical in keeping track of the virus throughout the state.

Please also remember that the quarantine guidelines are still in place and must continue to be followed.

Related resources:

Training Opportunities, Important Dates and Announcements

U.S. Department of Agriculture's Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program (FFVP) Application Now Open 

Applications for the FFVP are now open in the Cyber-Linked Interactive Child Nutrition System (CLiCS). Applications are due April 29, 2021, at 11:59 p.m. The award period is anticipated to be July 1, 2021, through June 30, 2022. Eligible applicants must: 

  • Be an elementary school; and
  • Traditionally participate in the National School Lunch Program; and 
  • Have at least 50 percent or more of its students eligible for free or reduced-price meals. 

Funding priority will be given to schools with the highest level of free and reduced-price eligibility. The application instructions, supplemental documents and more program details are available on the Minnesota Department of Education’s FFVP website. School Food Authorities can begin their application by logging into the CLiCS website. If you have questions, email Sami Burington.

Learning Acceleration Webinar Series 

The COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated learning gaps for many students. To close these gaps, systems must accelerate learning for all students. Learning acceleration is essential for student academic success, especially as many students return for learning in the fall with interrupted instruction. In partnership with TNTP and Regional Centers of Excellence, MDE is excited to offer a training series designed to support all Minnesota districts in planning for the school year ahead. Trainings will be anchored in TNTP’s Learning Acceleration Guide and focus on critical skills, including setting a vision for acceleration and investing the whole school community, creating a responsive data plan that allows for strong accelerated unit planning, creating a community of planners that can adjust scope & sequence to keep the assignments in front of students on grade-level, and practicing applying and coaching the skill of just-in-time instruction. This work has already begun in districts across the country, some of which was featured in a recent article in the Seattle Times.

This series is designed for teams of district leaders, school leaders and curriculum leads.

Beginning April 28th, 2021 sessions will be held every Wednesday from 9:30-11:30 a.m. CST.

You can access the webinar series flyer for more information and to review session titles, dates, and outcomes.

Register for this training opportunity here. Register early as a limited number of seats are available for this training series.

If you need reasonable accommodations to register or participate in this opportunity, please contact angela.maldonado@tntp.org.

Teacher Development and Evaluation/Q Comp Network

In May, MDE will host additional networking sessions supporting the implementation of Teacher Development and Evaluation (TDE) and Q Comp. These optional sessions are intended to provide spaces for local coordinators or members of local leadership teams to trouble-shoot and collaborate as we navigate different school scenarios.

Come join other coordinators to discuss TDE/Q Comp implementation topics, including, but not limited to, professional learning communities, summative or high cycle evaluations, or observation practices, and how these TDE/Q Comp activities are being modified to suit distance learning or hybrid scenarios. Please bring questions, ideas, and any resources to share as this will be a format in which we can all problem solve and learn from each other. MDE will also announce any updates relevant to TDE/Q Comp for coordinators to bring back to their leadership teams.

Intended Audience – Local coordinators and leaders of Q Comp or teacher development and evaluation (TDE). Space is limited to 100 participants, and facilitators will create smaller groups for discussion.

May Session Registrations – Use the links below to register.

Tuesday, May 4, 9:30 - 10:45 a.m.

Thursday, May 6, 2:00 - 3:15 p.m.

Agenda – This is a participant-driven agenda, so no session will be entirely alike. The only limit on the conversation is a focus on local coordinators' work to support the educator workforce through the implementation of TDE/Q Comp.

Please note: These Q&A offerings will not be recorded. However, we will publish key messages and resources following the sessions.

If you have any questions or would like to request a reasonable accommodation, please contact us at: mde.q-comp@state.mn.us.