Friendly House, Inc.

ESSER funds will support our ability to address both the academic impact of lost instructional time as well as respond appropriately to our students' social, emotional and mental health needs. We are basically 100% racial ethnic minority, many students at risk for homelessness, in poverty, and language learners. We needed a comprehensive system that would be able to tackle some of our challenges, and so we relied on stakeholder feedback and on a report from the National Center on Intensive Intervention to better understand how to structure our student interventions. Because of their demographics, our students and families were disproportionally impacted by COVID-19, mainly through job loss or work hours reduction. The MTSS approach is key because it provides interventions that are evidence-based and differentiated to best meet the needs of the individual student, regardless of which demographic is meaningful or impacting their learning (e.g., homelessness, EL, at-risk reader). Interventions are provided in both summer school, after school, and during school. Funds also support stabilization classroom teachers which allows for smaller classroom sizes allowing for optimal learning environments to address learning loss due to the pandemic. It also allows for an improved classroom safety environment, allowing for maximum social distancing, small group desk arrangements in a safe manner and improved airflow in the classroom. In addition, funds are requested for classroom furnishings to support these efforts at the middle school level. The new classroom furniture will enhance learning for MS students by providing, safe, flexible, and ergonomic seating, in order to promote a collaborative learning environment. In a collaborative learning classroom, students frequently interact with others located all around them. This type of seating will offer them more freedom and comfort to be more productive and efficient with their time while also allowing for social distancing. Passenger Transit vans for the safe transport of students to and from after school sporting activities, cultural field trips, Saturday school, intersession classes and special summer programming are requested, In partnership with surrounding charter schools, Academia del Pueblo offers the following sporting and enrichment activities that will require transport: 5th - 8th grade seasonal sports programs; Fall sports - Flag Football and Volleyball, Winter Sports - Boys and Girs Basketball, Spring Sports - Coed Soccer. In partnership with Eagle College Prep and Imagine Schools, the following sport offerings for grades K-5; Saturday Kickball League, youth basketball and youth soccer league. Academia del Pueblo will also offer a performing arts program (Ballet Folklorico), Cheerleading Program and STEM / Robotics program which will require transport to local competitions, clinics and showcase events. Additionally, an Outdoor Education Hiking Club Program will require transport to local hiking trails and camping expenditures and culturally centered field trips and weekend programming will require the safe transport of students to and from events. Academia del Pueblo will also be implementing a new program called Girls Who Code and the program will include weekend community service learning programs which will require safe transport of students. These are some of the interventions implemented to address student academic and EL needs. The school principal and leadership team are charged with overseeing implementation and monitoring/evaluation.