Telluride School District  
Use of Funds Plan 

American Rescue Plan 
Elementary and Secondary Education Relief (ESSER III) 

Emergency Pandemic Relief Aid 

Telluride School District (TSD) has been awarded $601,288 under the ESSER III legislation and these funds must be spent by September 30, 2024. ESSER III has a heavy emphasis on addressing the learning impacts of COVID-19 and requires TSD to use at least $120,258 of the funding for this purpose including interventions, summer programming, and after-school opportunities. 

COVID-19 has impacted learning at TSD in a variety of ways, resulting in decreased student achievement. A number of factors contributed to learning loss such as the impact of remote and hybrid learning, disruptions caused by quarantines, inability of students to work collaboratively due to physical distancing requirements, inability to have focused "What I Need" (WIN) groups due to cohort restrictions, and the difficulty with communication and relationships due to masks, distancing, quarantines, and remote and hybrid learning. 

TSD will use the ESSER III funds to fund a Board-Certified Behavioral Analyst (BCBA) Fall Semester of 2021 to address the social, emotional, and behavioral needs of students throughout the district. The goals of this position are to provide Tier I (universal), 2 (targeted), and 3 (intensive) support district-wide. This is to be achieved through supporting: social competence and academic achievement, decision-making; student behavior, and staff behavior. Additionally, TSD will use the ESSER III funds to pay for 1.8 teachers to work as math and literacy Interventionists and as a coach/mentor to other teachers in the Elementary Schools. This will increase to 2.0 FTE in the 2022-23 school year. The Elementary and Secondary Schools will also provide additional literacy and math intervention support to students outside of this ESSER III funding. 

In addition to the ESSER III funds earmarked above for providing support to students for learning loss resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic, TSD has also allocated a portion of the ESSER III funds for the (i) hiring of a health care technician to support the school nurse in contact tracing and related protocols to keep the maximum number of students in school to the greatest extent possible; (ii) engaging an air quality consultant and purchasing replacement air filters to ensure good indoor air quality; (iii) purchase protective face masks and hand sanitizer for student and staff use; and (iv) provide additional custodial cleaning as needed. 

Based upon the review of a variety of performance indicators and diagnostic metrics, TSD has determined that achievement of minority, FRL (Free & Reduced Lunch), English learners, and IEP students continues to lag behind the general population. In ELA, minority and FRL students had mean scale scores about 30 points below non-minority and non-FRL students, respectively, while English learners and IEP students had mean scale scores about 40 points below non-English learners and non-IEP students. In Math, minority and FRL students had mean scale scores about 20 points below non-minority and non-FRL students, respectively, while English learners and IEP students had mean scale scores about 30 points below non-English learners and non-IEP students. 

Literacy and Math intervention meetings were held at the Elementary level for grades K to 2 and grades 3 to 6 which included the respective principals, interventionists, and coaches to determine the strategy, curriculum, and tools selected.  External coaches were also contacted for data on best practices.  Student achievement data and testing results were reviewed and relevant intervention programs were researched and selected based on best practice methodologies and evidence-based outcomes. In addition, two of the Elementary interventionists are National Board-Certified Teachers.  

TSD literacy interventionists use Orton-Gillingham techniques learned from the Institute of Multi-Sensory Education.  Depending upon the students, grade level, or instructional need, TSD has also implemented the following literacy interventions at the Elementary level: (i) Read Naturally Encore II; (ii) i-Ready; (iii) Voyager Sopris’ Language! Live Rewards; (Iv) Heggerty’s Bridge the Gap Phonemic Awareness, (v) Raz Plus and Raz Kids and (vi) Just Words by Wilson Language. 

TSD Elementary Math Interventionists use the Bridges intervention curriculum which is a supplement to the general education Bridges curriculum used in the classroom. The i-Ready toolbox is also used for targeted math intervention. 

With the establishment of the Behavioral Health department, the Board-Certified Behavioral Analyst has worked with the superintendent, principals, counselors, and teachers throughout the District to bring relevant evidence-based age-appropriate solutions to each of the schools.  This individual is mentored by peers at the Boulder Valley School District who have years of experience with the implementation and subsequent management of these programs.   

Social, emotional, and behavioral interventions have been implemented throughout the District, on an age-appropriate basis and include: (i) Second Step; (ii) Functional Behavior Assessment-based Interventions; (iii) Social Skills Training; (iv) Lovaas Model of Applied Behavior Analysis; (v) Pivotal Response Training (FCHD) (vi) School-wide Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (FCHD); and (vii) The Restorative Approach (FCHD). 

TSD will use its performance indicators and diagnostic metrics to review the effectiveness of its interventions and behavioral supports.   The following goals have been established. 

2021-22 Annual Performance targets: 

1.  Student performance on CMAS/PSAT/SAT ELA will recover to 2019 pre-COVID level, 

2.  Student performance on CMAS/PSAT/SAT Math will recover to 2019 pre-COVID level, and 

3.  Achievement Gap for minority, FRL, English Learner, and IEP subgroups will recover to the 2019 pre-COVID level 

2022-23 Annual Performance targets: 

1.  Student performance on CMAS/PSAT/SAT ELA will increase to an additional 5% meeting or exceeding compared to 2019 pre-COVID level, 

2.  Student performance on CMAS/PSAT/SAT Math will increase to an additional 5% meeting or exceeding compared to 2019 pre-COVID level, 

3.  Achievement Gap in ELA for minority, and FRL subgroups will decrease to 20 points in MSS. Achievement Gap in ELA for English Learner and IEP subgroups decrease to 30 points in MSS, 

4. Behavior Incidents will decrease by 20% in grades K-6 from 2021-2022 to 2022-2023 and 

5. Students will show a 15% increase in feeling safe and supported as measured by the Healthy Kids Colorado Survey. 
 
Updated: March 15, 2022 

Includes ESSER supplemental funds provided to districts. An acronyms glossary is available below. 

The federal stimulus dollars are a once-in-a-generation opportunity to support our students and to address the multi-year effects of the coronavirus pandemic. The decision on how to spend federal pandemic recovery resources is inherently and intentionally local as school communities are best equipped to  identify and address their most urgent local needs in order to: 

• Create safe and healthy learning environments 

• Address lost instructional time 

• Meet the mental health needs of students and staff 

• Support educators and staff stability and well-being 

In addition to mitigating the effects of the pandemic, the shortfall in state funding to Colorado schools during the 2020-21 school year doubled, and the one-time federal stimulus funds helped to mitigate the significant loss in funding to school districts temporarily. As Colorado spends less on education per student than most other states, a teacher shortage existed before the pandemic, making it difficult for school districts to recruit and retain highly qualified teachers. While all the one-time federal stimulus dollars will expire by September 30, 2024, they have supported local students and communities with the effects of the pandemic. 

ESSER I — Addressing the immediate crisis 

Expenditures allowed through Sept. 30, 2022 

In March 2020, the CARES Act established the Education Stabilization Fund, which initially provided funding for the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) I Fund. ESSER I Fund dollars were appropriated to states based on the 2019-20 Title I shares with 90% allocated to local education agencies (LEAs) that received a Title I allocation in the most recent fiscal year and the remaining 10% for a state reserve fund. ESSER I funding for Telluride R-1 was based on its Title I allocation and an ESSER I supplemental made by the Colorado Department of Education (CDE). View CDE’s Federal COVID Education Funding website for additional details. 

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, CDE administered the district and charter needs inventory from late March to early April. Statewide, the top four education supports identified as the top priorities across all state regions were student emotional support, technical support for delivering remote learning, online instructional support for teachers, and family engagement practices. While there was variability in the top community needs identified across regions, internet connectivity, and food access were the two community needs that commonly appeared as top needs in most regions across the state.1 The following chart summarizes the percentages of districts selecting the following education supports as top needs during March and April 2020. 

1 Colorado School District Needs Inventory, April 17, 2020 

Source: Colorado School District Needs Inventory, April 17, 2020      
 
It is also essential to recognize that the decision on how to spend federal pandemic recovery resources is inherently and intentionally local, as school communities are best equipped to identify and address their most urgent local needs. The following information demonstrates the top ESSER I investment priorities for Telluride R-1 based on March 2022 CDE data and is subject to change as local priorities evolve to meet student needs. 

INVESTMENT PRIORITY 1: Providing all students with access to a safe and inclusive learning environment 

School leaders, educators, and staff elevated the priority of physically safe communities to support their students during the pandemic. Several mitigation factors were employed, including cleaning and disinfecting buildings, ventilation of classrooms, handwashing and disinfecting stations, and other strategies. It was also essential to ensure that preexisting ventilation, roofing, and plumbing did not inhibit healthy learning environments to support student learning. 

Our district prioritized the following as one of our top investments with ESSER I funding: Cleaning ($48,500). Additional facility cleaning above and beyond normal cleaning services: specifically, HVAC duct cleaning, above and beyond what has been done pre-COVID, for the purpose 

INVESTMENT PRIORITY 2: Providing all students with access to a safe and inclusive learning environment 

Our district prioritized the following as one of our top investments made with ESSER I funding: SupportProgram ($5,537). Sanitizer for refill in new dispensers, plus other sanitizer supplies, above and beyond what has been used pre-COVID, to continue educational services during school closure and/or for implementing a plan for return to normal operation from Jan 2021 through May 2021. 

Future fact sheets will be available to provide additional details on ESSER II and III funding. Additional information and resources can be found on the Colorado School Finance Project ESSER website.

Students: 876 

Rural: Yes, Small rural 

Free and Reduced Lunch: 19% Special Education: 10% 

Gifted and Talented: 6% BOCES: Uncompahgre Other Funding Facts 

2019-2020 Total Program Funding: $10,393,878 ($11,306 Per Pupil Funding) 2020-2021 Total Program Funding: $9,789,253 ($10,783 Per Pupil Funding) 2021-2022 Total Program Funding: $10,911,448 ($12,053 Per Pupil Funding) Local Share: 61% 

State Share: 39% 

Loss in state share for the 2020-21 school year: -$1,433,059 
Loss in state share for the 2021-22 school year: -$687,784 
Cumulative loss in state share since 2009-10: -$12,969,482 

Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) 

The CARES Act established the Coronavirus Relief Fund (CRF) to support states with expenses due to the public health emergency concerning the COVID–19 incurred from March 1, 2020, to Dec. 30, 2020. In May 2020, Gov. Polis directed the transfer of $510 million from the State of Colorado’s CARES Act CRF to CDE to be awarded to school districts, the Charter School Institute, the Colorado School for the Deaf and the Blind, and facility schools on a per-pupil basis. Additionally, each BOCES in the state received $25,000. 

Governor's Emergency Education Relief Fund (GEER) 

The CARES Act included $3 billion for a Governor's Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Fund. Colorado was allocated more than $44 million from the GEER fund. The Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2020 added $4.05 billion to the Governor's Emergency Education Relief (GEER) Fund. GEER II included $2.75 billion for emergency assistance to nonpublic schools through the Emergency Assistance to Non-Public Schools (EANS) grants, of which $28,433,931 has been allocated to Colorado.