COVID Resources and Grant Funding

GENERAL NOTE ON ILLNESS

The normal protocols for students who are ill for any reason are still in place. This means that students who are ill should not come into the school buildings. Anyone who has a fever is not permitted to go back to school until twenty-four hours, until after the fever breaks. We want to create a safe and healthy environment for our students and employees.

TESTING POSITIVE FOR COVID

Students or staff members who test positive for COVID must notify the school district as soon as possible. Notification must have the date when the individual first had symptoms or when they first tested positive and has to include a copy of the positive test results.

Regardless of vaccination status, if a student, teacher or staff member tests positive for COVID-19 they must isolate for 5 days. Isolation starts on the day after the individual first had symptoms or, if asymptomatic, on the day after the individual tested positive. On Day 6, students, teachers or staff members can return to school and work, as long as they have not had a fever within 24 hours and are asymptomatic or symptoms are resolving. For days 6 - 10, students, teachers and staff members continue to be required to wear a mask in school, including on the school bus.

There is no requirement for an individual who has tested postive for COVID to be retested before returning on day 6 or later. However, if an individual does get tested and the result of that test is positive, the isolation period for that individual will restart as of the date of testing and they will have to isolate for five days from that date.

EXPOSURE TO COVID

If a student, teacher or staff member has been exposed or potentially exposed to COVID-19, regardless of vaccination status, it is highly recommended that they wear a mask for 10 days. Additionally, it is recommended that the individual who was exposed be tested for COVID-19 as soon as the exposure is known, as well as on Day 5 after exposure.

Exposed individuals, regardless of vaccination status, may remain in school and may participate in school-based extracurricular activities. These individuals also may continue to ride the school bus.

AVAILABILITY OF RAPID TESTS

The school district still has rapid tests available if needed. Parents or employees who would like a rapid test should contact their school nurse to request one. 

CONTACT INFORMATION FOR COVID REPORTING OR QUESTIONS

To report a positive COVID test result for a student or staff member, please send an email to one of the following email addresses:

For the Bruno M. Ponterio Ridge Street School - covidrss@blindbrook.org 
For the Blind Brook Middle School - covidms@blindbrook.org 
For the Blind Brook High School - covidhs@blindbrook.org 

For questions on COVID please contact the your school nurse.

Below is information about the various grants that are available as well as how Blind Brook is using this funding. The information provided here is being shared for the community's awareness of what the plans for these funds are. Any feedback or suggestions may be submitted to the Superintendent's Office at balm@blindbrook.org.

SUMMARY

In December of 2020 the Federal Government allocated funds for school districts to help address the impact of COVID on our schools. Two specific grants were issued to help support schools in recovering from the negative impacts of COVID.

The Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations (CRRSA) Act was created to provide "emergency relief funds to address the impact that Novel Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) has had, and continues to have, on elementary and secondary schools across the nation." Blind Brook was eligible for $108, 675. The District has gotten approval for the following planned expenditures:

• The District created a summer program in the summer of 2021 to provide additional learning support for Bruno M. Ponterio Ridge Street School students who needed it due to the effects of COVID. The following items were allocated to the CRRSA grant:
  • Principal - $4,750
  • Kindergarten Teacher - $3,135
  • First Grade Teacher - $2,448
  • Second Grade Teacher - $3,135
  • Fourth Grade Teacher - $2,426
  • Fifth Grade Teacher - $2,426
  • Security Monitor - $1,056
  • Teacher Aide - $1,025
  • Teacher Aide - $1,025
  • Nurse - $2,065 
• There was also $1,975 set aside for materials and supplies for the summer program. $251 of this money was spent. The remainder of the funding is being made available to purchase any necessary supplies and materials for the 2022 summer program.
• To provide equity of devices at the Middle School level, 60 iPads were purchased for 6th grade students. Additionally, 7 Apple Pencils were purchased to help students more easily interact with the iPads. Additional Pencils were purchased through other funds. The total cost of these items was $23,003.
• The District contracted with the educational consulting company, Innovative Designs for Education (IDE) to do monthly training and support work with teachers on differentiation of learning materials. This was done to help teachers meet the variety of learning needs that students developed as a result of the remote and hybrid learning models. The cost of this service was $30,000.
• The District also brought in a consultant from McTyghe & Associates to assist the teachers in writing formal unit plans. This was done in conjunction with the services listed in the previous bullet to help teachers create lessons that would meet the needs of students who had been working in remote and hybrid learning. Although $5,000 was earmarked for this expense, $800 went unspent.
• The District enrolled in the Yale RULER program. This program is designed to help students recognize their emotions, name them and be able to manage them effectively. A team from each school building went through initial training during the 2021-2022 school year. The cost for this first year of training was $21,000. 
• In order to better support the needs of struggling readers at the Middle School, the District engaged with Southern Westchester BOCES to train teachers on the effective use of the Achieve3000 program. This online program tracks student reading levels and helps students improve on their literacy. This cost $4046.

A summary of these expenditures may be found in the worksheet that is linked at the bottom of this page.

The American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ARP ESSER) Fund was developed to address the needs arising from the COVID pandemic. The funds can be used for a wide range of activities to address needs arising from the coronavirus pandemic. The entire list of permissible funding activities can be found on page 2 of THIS DOCUMENT. Blind Brook's potential allocation of funds under this grant is $244,244. The District has received New York State approval for the following expenditures under this grant:

• The District is offering this summer an expanded version of the program that was offered last summer. The program will run for four weeks and will run a section for each grade level. The following expenses are planned to be charged against this grant. Listed amounts may not exactly match the amount to each individual as their payment is based on each individual's daily rate which is calculated on their annual salary.
  • Principal - $9,690
  • Kindergarten Teacher - $6,600
  • 1st Grade Teacher - $6,600
  • 2nd Grade Teacher - $6,600
  • 3rd Grade Teacher - $6,600
  • 4th Grade Teacher - $6,600
  • 5th Grade Teacher - $6,600
  • Security Monitor - $2,400
  • Teacher Aide - $2,400
  • Teacher Aide - $2,400
  • Teacher Aide - $2,400
  • Nurse - $4,400
• Innovative Designs for Education (IDE), the consultant who was listed in the CRRSA grant for providing teacher training on differentiation of instruction, provided additional support to our teachers in crafting lessons to engage learners at all levels. The cost of their additional support was $19,800.
• In an effort to support students who were quarantined but not ill in keeping up with their school work, the District contracted with iTutor to provide online tutors to work with students on their core subject content. The projected cost for this service was $70,523. However, the District did not find this to be the most effective solution to supporting our quarantined students and so ended the contract early. This led to $15,429 still being available for use.
• The District ordered supplies and materials designed to help prevent the spread of COVID in our buildings. This included face masks, disinfectants, air filters, and sanitizer. The amount in the grant that had been allocated for this expense was $90,631. After ordering what has been needed for this year there is $71,390.61 still available in this area.

Details of all of these expenditures may be found in the worksheet that is linked at the bottom of this section.

DOCUMENTS AND RESOURCES

The Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations (CRRSA) Act 
This site contains the general information about how the CRSSA act came about, how the funds can be used and how districts can apply for the funds.

CRRSA Act Allocations
This file shows the amount of CRRSA funding that each school district in New York was entitled to.

American Rescue Plan Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ARP ESSER) Fund 
This site contains the general information about how the ARP ESSER fund came about, how the funds can be used and how districts can apply for the funds.

District Use of COVID Funds Worksheet
This worksheet lists the current spending plan for the CRRSA and ARP ESSER fund allocations. This plan has been New York State approved. Spending can be adjusted if a need arises that falls within the parameters of the grants.