HJSHS hosts community, family night

ROBOTICS – Sixth graders (from left) Carson McClanahan, Cortney Bufford and Demarion Emerson work together in the Humboldt Jr./Sr. High School library on a new set of robotic educational devices.

by Ariel McRae

Humboldt Jr./Sr. High School held a Family and Community Night, which included an ESSER (Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund) town hall meeting last Tuesday, August 29 for parents and students. The goal was to shed some light on how the money from the ESSER grants has been used in all three phases.

Humboldt Jr./Sr. High School is classified as a Title I school. This means that HJSHS receives funds from a federal level as well as a state and local level. These funds include money to spend on family engagement, professional development, additional staff, and supplemental supplies and materials. Jennifer Roten, federal programs director for Humboldt City Schools, works hard to utilize those funds awarded at the federal level both fiscally and programmatically. During the meeting last Tuesday, Roten gave a PowerPoint presentation that highlighted how those funds and the ESSER grants have been used since covid in 2020.

Currently, the school is using funds from the ESSER phase three. During this phase, the school was allotted $4.4-million. Within that large budget, the school decided to use some of the funds to do updates on the school via construction. New carpet was put down in the library, ceiling tiles were replaced and painting was done around the school to update the walls. New modern furniture for the library was purchased. This includes tall desk tables, chairs that swivel and rock to help with attention levels, and bookshelves that are currently still on the way to be installed.

With the ESSER 3 money, the library also received two standing touch tables that act as a computer. These touch tables will allow students to work together on projects. HJSHS librarian, Melissa Dittmer-Bennett, was thrilled to receive these touch tables for the students.

“The idea is to assist kids with research,” said Dittmer-Bennett.

The money from ESSER 3 also helped cover summer school costs, professional development for teachers, and audio enhancement equipment, which includes microphones for teachers and students to use. It was also used to fund more social workers for the school system.

Another big thing funded by ESSER 3 money are new desks and furniture for students and teachers. The idea is to do a few classrooms at a time as not to disrupt any learning. The first 20 classrooms will be updated during fall break. It funded the fast forward program started at the HJSHS as well. The fast forward program is a reading intervention program that takes where a student is currently and puts them on an individualized plan. The main goal is for each student to move at their own pace and with this money Humboldt City Schools is looking to move the program school system wide.

Previous phases of the ESSER grants were also discussed. In ESSER phase one the school system received $423,000. With this money, the school paid for all students in Humboldt Jr./Sr. High School to receive their own laptop due to virtual learning at the time. They also paid to ensure all students had access to internet during covid. ESSER 1 also purchased a large amount of sanitation supplies to keep the schools clean and free of covid. It also funded professional development with an instructor as well as an additional school nurse.

In ESSER phase two, the school was allotted $1.9-million. With this money, it provided the school the ability to hire additional staff. These positions included a learning loss coach, communications director, safety projects manager, parent liaison and an additional ESL teacher. ESSER 2 also funded hazard pay for teachers. The roof of Stigall Primary School was replaced during this time as well.

The family and community night concluded with Roten ensuring those in attendance took an ESSER town hall survey to gauge how parents and guardians felt about the progress that has been done so far with the school from all three ESSER grants.