New portal launched to track DC's spending of federal stimulus education funds
WASHINGTON (FOX 5 DC) - D.C. education officials have launched a new web portal to keep the public informed about how the District is using nearly $1 billion of federal stimulus funds for students, education agencies and the early childhood education sector in D.C.
The Office of the State Superintendent of Education (OSSE) is responsible for overseeing the management of the nearly $1 billion dollars of federal stimulus funds.
The new portal offers transparent data and information. Visitors can view breakdowns of recovery funding by source and focus area, details on how OSSE is investing funds over which the agency has greater discretion and interactive dashboards that include data about local education agency (LEA) spending of Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER) money.
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"We are committed to keeping stakeholders informed about the sources and uses of these recovery funds" said State Superintendent Dr. Christina Grant. "The collective recovery and restoration work we are doing in the District’s public education and early childhood education sectors will allow us to strategically address student and educator needs now and in the future."
OSSE identified seven primary areas of focus for targeting state-led investments in recovery and restoration: accelerating learning, supporting safe reopening, promoting student and staff wellbeing, reimagining pathways to postsecondary success, stabilizing and strengthening early childhood education, improving outcomes for students with disabilities and investing in core infrastructure and operations. LEA spending of ESSER funds focuses on accelerating learning, supporting safe reopening and promoting student and staff wellbeing.
OSSE has also invested recovery funds to improve high-quality instructional materials in math and literacy, increase literacy training in the science of reading for teachers, supported extended learning time through our summer accelerator grant and enabled the launch of the DC Special Education Hub, a family resource center for students with disabilities.
"We’ll continue to focus our investments in areas that accelerate learning for all students, but especially for those who have been most impacted by the pandemic and interrupted instruction," said Superintendent Grant.
View the portal and learn more here.