Center Grove schools will spend almost $3 million in federal relief funds to improve air quality in some of its buildings, address student safety and try to recover student learning loss that occurred when schools went virtual during the coronavirus pandemic.
The $2.96 million Center Grove schools has to spend over the next three years is part of the third installment of the CARES Act, also known as the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021. Signed into law in March, it also provided $1,400 direct payments to most adults making less than $75,000, and provided money to private businesses and public institutions, such as schools.
Local school districts received anywhere from $1.4 million to $4.8 million from the federal relief package, according to the Indiana Department of Education.
Of the almost $3 million, $1.75 million will go toward upgrading HVAC systems at Pleasant Grove and Sugar Grove elementary schools, said Paul Gabriel, the district’s chief financial officer.
“We’re really focused on air quality. The new HVAC units and technology will provide healthier air by pretreating incoming air before it is conditioned,” Gabriel said. “It’s also better at removing humidity and takes the air through a set of UV lights that kill germs and allergens.”
Center Grove schools will spend $289,000 on salary and benefits for three school safety officers, who serve in secondary roles to school resource officers, and will help monitor security footage at Center Grove’s Emergency Operations Center, he said.
About $591,000 will go toward helping students recover from pandemic-related learning loss, said Marcy Szostak, Center Grove’s grant manager and director of elementary teaching and learning.
The money will pay for eight response to instruction interventionists, with one at each elementary school and middle school, Szostak said.
“Our buildings identify students who need extra support and we’ll work through targeted programs to address the need,” she said, noting English and math would be the primary target areas. “Those are the areas we have the most data in to show the most learning loss from COVID.”
The response to instruction interventionists have been at Center Grove schools since last year, funded by previous CARES Act funds, Szostak said.
The interventionists will also work with student groups who underperformed on the ILEARN exam compared to their peers, including students in special education, low-income students and English Language Learners, she said.
The money also paid teachers who participated in the Ready Set K kindergarten readiness program, and expanded summer learning opportunities, Szostak said.
“At the elementary level, we more than doubled the number of students enrolled in summer school and we will continue that through the grant,” she said. “It pays for materials, assistants and teacher benefits.”
The rest of the money has not been allocated yet, Szostak said.
“We want to look at more data and make sure we intentionally allocate it, quickly and meaningfully,” she said.
