ESSER III – ARP Funding Plans

The 2021-22 New York State budget requires schools that receive federal ARP-ESSER funding to post on its website a plan on how such funds will be expended and how the school will prioritize spending. To address the impact of Covid-19 on our school community, Coney Island Prep (“CIP”) plans to utilize this funding on non-recurring expenses in the following areas:

Safe Return to In-Person Instruction: While CIP has operated a hybrid learning model (remote and in-person) since Spring 2021, we intend to serve the vast majority of scholars in person for the coming 2021-22 school year. The School will require expenditures to procure additional personal protective equipment (“PPE”) and sanitation supplies to ensure a safe return to the classroom. To facilitate potential social distancing protocols and accommodate a growth in the number of students served, CIP has leased an additional facility that will serve as our upper elementary school campus. Our current elementary school space will house our lower elementary school. To accommodate those students and families who choose not to initially return in person, we plan to invest in technology to allow teachers to stream their classroom so that it can be accessible to everyone.
Additional Staffing: CIP acknowledges the impact Covid-19 has had on students, including the impacts of interrupted instruction and learning loss and the disproportionate impact on low-income students, children with disabilities, English language learners, and students experiencing homelessness. To meet these challenges, we will be hiring 30 additional staff schoolwide, with an emphasis on more teachers and social workers. CIP will build tutoring blocks into the daily schedule, and continue to invest in educational technology, where appropriate.
Investment in External Resources: CIP plans to continue to work with an outside consultant, Dr. Lisa Martin, to address students’ social, emotional, mental health, and academic needs, and implement strategies for trauma-informed practices. The School will also increase offerings in evidence-based summer, afterschool, and other extended learning and enrichment programs, including plans to hire an after-school program director.

CIP has been seeking input from teachers, parents, the School’s Board, and other external advisors in the development of this plan. The School will reserve at least 20 percent of funds to address learning loss through the implementation of evidence-based interventions and ensure that those interventions respond to students’ social, emotional, and academic needs and address the disproportionate impact of COVID-19 on underrepresented student subgroups.