Due to learning loss and disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, an increasing number of high school students now need academic supports, accelerated learning, and interventions. Course failure rates have increased dramatically, and many students are feeling disconnected from school, adults, and classmates.
District leaders need to help high school students reconnect to school in ways that reaffirm their interests and identities.
Our downloadable guide explains how high school leaders can effectively design academic supports and strategically invest ESSER funding with long-term sustainability in mind.
Academic supports are educational services, such as additional instruction time or targeted attention, that schools must provide students to address gaps in the foundational skills they need to access Tier 1 instruction.
How to Spend ESSER Funds to Develop Academic Supports
Targeted academic supports will require investment across multiple components, including:
| Our strategy guide, “Using ESSER Funds for Targeted Academic Supports for High School Students," helps district leaders provide additional instructional time and targeted attention for students who require more intensive support. |
Download Our Guide on Targeted Academic Supports to:
Denver Public Schools and Anne Arundel County Public Schools provide powerful examples of how to implement ESSER-funded initiatives, like targeted academic supports, that not only address urgent crises but make significant strides in service of a long-standing goal: to create more effective and equitable high school environments, experiences, and outcomes. Learn more.
Organizing Resources to Support Inclusion Models for Students With Disabilities
The pandemic highlighted the importance of effectively serving students with disabilities—and exacerbated the inequities embedded in traditional models for doing so. District leaders need to know which resources to use and how to target them strategically in order to implement inclusion models that serve all students effectively and equitably. Learn more.
5 Ways High Schools Need to Look Different to Get and Keep Students on Track to Graduate
In this op-ed for District Administration, ERS CEO Karen Hawley Miles recommends a combined set of actions for addressing areas of student need—and the specific changes in scheduling and staffing needed to drive equity and excellence in high school recovery and redesign. Learn more.
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