Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/1472975
Captions: Students learning from Riverton Education Association President Cassie Gambler in her classroom. 2022. 10 "The Reservation has had its fair share—and maybe more so—of death and illness that has resulted from COVID-19," Riverton Education Association President Cassie Gambler tells WEA News. "Serving a population of students who have come from the reservation, there's been lots of loss in their life, more so than they normally would have endured." Gambler says educators working to meet students' needs through the pandemic have unearthed clear priorities to address with ARP funds. "Priorities have become employing existing staff and hiring new staff to meet the needs of the students," she says, "as well as expanded mental health services for staff and for students." Gambler says the process of working with her district has been "seamless" and that administrators were proactive in seeking input for education employees and other stakeholders and using that input to guide the allocation of ARP funds. Superintendent of Fremont County School District #25 Joanne Flanagan says, "we need that perspective from classroom teachers, paraprofessionals, custodians, bus drivers, food service workers—COVID has impacted everything we do to provide a safe and effective learning WEA has worked with local leaders to gather input and share resources about American Rescue Plan (ARP) funds. Intended to be transformative in nature, ARP funds are federal COVID-19 relief funds allocated to mitigate the setbacks brought on by the pandemic. Wyoming has been allocated nearly $304 million in ARP ESSER funds. In March of this year, districts submitted plans for spending ARP funds to the Wyoming Department of Education (WDE). WEA ARP Coordinator Kendra Cross has been in contact with every local leader in Wyoming, serving as a conduit for information and resources around ARP dollars. WEA is working to ensure that employees' expertise and input are considered as districts determine needs to be addressed with ARP funds. Though plans have already been submitted to WDE, there exists an opportunity for revision, so it's important that education employees remain vigilant in communicating their needs and priorities for ARP funding to districts. Several districts across the state have done an exemplary job of allowing employees ample opportunity to provide feedback which then serves to guide ARP spending. One such district is Fremont County School District #25 in Riverton. Putting C E N in the Exploring One District's Collaborative Approach