ESSER Newsletter: December 2022
- Tue, Dec 13 2022
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Greetings, school leaders!
As we close out the 2022 year, our ESSER team would like to thank our district, school, and community partners who dynamically invested in unprecedented federal funding to support students and their academic success. We are grateful for these life-changing partnerships.
As we enter the new year, the Arizona Department of Education will have newly elected leadership under State Superintendent-elect Tom Horne. As the Department undergoes this transition, there may be some alterations to this monthly communication. However, you may still use the following individuals and websites for up-to-date information:
- For LEAs using their allocation of ESSER I, II, and III monies, please continue utilizing the website: https://www.azed.gov/esser-overview. You may reach any ESSER specialist at [email protected], or contact our ESSER Director at [email protected].
- For LEAs or community partners that received a portion of ADE’s ESSER set-aside funding, please continue communicating with [email protected]. You’ll continue to see our ESSER investments on our website: https://www.azed.gov/esser-setaside.
We wish you a safe and healthy New Year – and appreciate your patience as we transition to a new administration.
ESSER Set Aside Opportunities
The following opportunities are funded and supported by the Arizona Department of Education’s ESSER I, II, and III (ARP) set-aside investments:
Free Math Mentoring and Tutoring
Are your students struggling with unfinished learning in mathematics? Did you know they can get one on one support from a dedicated math mentor? There is no registration necessary. As part of the ESSER-funded partnership with the UArizona Center for Recruitment and Retention of Mathematics Teachers and the UArizona STEMM AmeriCorps program, all AZ K 12 students can access math mentoring and tutoring Mon-Sun over Zoom. The schedule and links can be found at: https://crr.math.arizona.edu/zoom-tutors
Free Math Education Conference
Registration for the CRR’s 19th Annual MEAD Conference is now OPEN! The UArizona Center for Recruitment and Retention of Mathematics Teachers (CRR) is hosting this year's Mathematics Educator Appreciation Day Conference (MEAD) on Saturday, January 21, 2023. MEAD will be HYBRID with options to participate either in person or virtually. The keynote speaker will be Peg Smith, a national leader in mathematics education and recipient of NCTM’s Lifetime Achievement Award!
This year’s event will be FREE for all Arizona educators and $125 for everyone else. Please help us spread the word about MEAD so that more teachers can benefit from this unique event. You can download and share the flyer from the conference webpage.
ESSER Set-Aside Spotlight: Million Dollar Teacher Project
At Million Dollar Teacher Project, the Recognition pillar programs include Take a Teacher to Lunch & One in a Million/Feel Like a Million Dollars initiatives. This pillar is about ensuring teachers feel recognized, appreciated & uplifted by their students, school community, community partners & sponsors & the MDTP Team.
One of the many ways the Million Dollar Teacher Project loves recognizing phenomenal teachers is through our One in A Million Program (OIAM)! Each month, we feature one extra-amazing teacher nominated by a member of their school community & highlight their achievements as an educator! Our OIAM Featured Teacher is interviewed by Priscilla & Joey of Mix 96.9 on air and receives an extensive gift package with a presentation at their campus & several other special perks so that they feel like a celebrity the whole month-long!
With Madrid Neighborhood School as our Focus School for this academic year, our OIAM winners will be chosen from this campus. The MDTP Recognition Team created an OIAM bulletin board in the teacher’s lounge at Madrid that features the winner’s photo & places for others to write congratulatory remarks to show their gratitude for their fantastic coworker! November’s One in A Million is 2nd-grade teacher Jenny Hansen!
On Mon, Nov. 14, the MDTP Recognition Team presented Ms. Hansen with a red-carpet OIAM certificate & gift presentation with all her students, her assistant principal, her nominator & many others present, cheering her on! We are honored to celebrate this extra-amazing teacher who provides the utmost dedication to her students, school & community!
Interested in donating or sponsoring an MDTP Recognition event? Just click on the link to learn more & donate!
Teacher Support Program Highlight
The support pillar at Million Dollar Teacher Project includes the Classroom Support Team (CST), the Million Dollar Teacher Tree Classroom Supply Drive, and Spruce the Lounge. The purpose of all of these is to lighten the load of teachers in and out of the classroom and allow them to exhale. Imagine being a teacher in 3rd classroom alone with 30-plus students. Now add that they haven't been in the classroom since they were in 1st grade due to a pandemic. Imagine having to work a side job to pay your bills and get the supplies you need to do your job. This is an issue that the CST Program addresses. We are always excited about the students and volunteers the join our team. This last year though, we were blown away by a young lady named Isabella. A Sophomore at ASU, she came to us wanting to work with children and get in the classroom. She loved we were focused on supporting the teacher. When she got started with us, she gave us two days a week. What made her different was she did not need this for school. She was here to give. Once she was in the classroom, she quickly saw how amazing her teacher was and how overloaded she was. Isabella spent her time grading and filing papers, running small groups or 1:1s, and being an extra set of ears, eyes, and hands. She contacted me a week in and asked if she could add a third day. She explained the teacher and students needed the support. We found out that her teacher worked a second job to make ends meet. Isabella's time in the classroom profoundly impacted our 3rd-grade teacher. She was taking less work home, was able to give more individualized attention to students, and was able to implement more lessons for students. Isabella was not an education major. She did, however, set up her Junior year to be online and has accepted a part-time Teaching assistant position with our school. She is still in school to be a counselor, but she is also determined to make a huge impact on our teachers, students, and in our community. This is just one of the many reasons we do what we do.
Check us out and become a Teacher Fan Today and let's celebrate teachers. https://mdtproject.org/teacher-fan-club/
