In-Person Learning 5 Days a Week
The Bellaire Local School District plans to return to pre-COVID protocols for the upcoming 2021-2022 school year, including athletics and extracurricular activities with spectators.
As the State of Ohio lifts mask mandates inside buildings and outdoors, as COVID rates fall and more children become eligible for vaccinations, so too will come changes for the District’s staff and students.
Changes include:
Masks are permitted but not required
No social distancing
No sneeze guards in classrooms
No lunchroom restrictions
No restroom restrictions
No staff break room restrictions
No restrictions on entering or exiting the building
Interscholastic athletics for fall sports will return, including spectators for home and away games, marching bands, and drill teams. In addition, all art enrichment activities, including visual and performing arts events, will be scheduled with live spectators like they were before the global pandemic.
ESSER Funding
Congress has authorized three relief packages since the onset of the pandemic with ESSER funds in each identified to assist local school districts address needs and recover student learning loss. ESSER I was included in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act; ESSER II in the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSAA); and ESSER III in the American Rescue Plan (ARPA).
Amount of Funding The Bellaire Local School District Expects to Receive
The amount of federal funds that were allocated to school districts is based on the percent of total federal Title I funds each entity receives. Each of the three types of ESSER funds includes a spending deadline. The Bellaire Local School District expects to receive:
ESSER I - $392,603.75
Must be spent by September 2022
ESSER II - $1,449,038.57
Must be spent by September 2023
ESSER III - Anticipated $3,200,000.00
Must be spent by September 2024
20% of the funds must be spent on learning recovery strategies
The District will invest in strategies supporting five priorities with its ESSER funds:
Learning Recovery and Supports for Schools
Infrastructure Improvements
Technology
Development and Professional Learning
Additional Guidance and Counseling Services
The Bellaire Local School District has already spent ESSER funds on the following:
1. Custodial staff for additional sanitization.
2. Additional cafeteria tables to promote social distancing
3. HVAC upgrades with bi-polar ionization in all school buildings.
4. Remote learning tools and resources for teachers.
5. Remote learning tools and resources for students.
6. Personal protective equipment (masks, gloves, barriers) for staff and students
7. Bottled water to replace drinking fountains.
8. Hand sanitizing stations in all classrooms.
9. School vans to reduce congestion on buses.
10. Nursing supplies to bolster clinics in each building