LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – Pandemic-era funding is set to run out at the end of the month for school programs that help with learning loss, among other things.
FOX5 is getting answers to see what’s being done to make sure students in the Clark County School District don’t get left behind.
The directors of two local organizations say they made the most with the money they were given, but even millions of extra dollars didn’t solve every problem because they knew the funding was eventually coming to an end. Take it from Jodi Manzella, the Executive Dirtector of After-School All-Stars Las Vegas.
“We did scale back at the number of students and the number of schools that we serve,” Manzella said, referring to the surplus of funding running out. The organization received a service agreement with Learning Acceleration and Wraparound Support at a total cost of $1,550,000.00. It helps with learning loss, social-emotional challenges and focusing on the mental health of students.
States received over $189 billion in Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief or ESSER grants as part of the American Rescue Plan Act. Over $1 billion came to Nevada.
Another organization, Communities in Schools of Southern Nevada received over $2 million dollars for Learning Acceleration and Wraparound support to help students with learning loss at 61 schools in the district.
Manzella’s after-school program helps low-income families with students at 22 Title-1 schools in the valley for free. She says they’re fundraising to hopefully bring back former schools very soon, which is important, since she’s noticing a trend in the classroom.
“Math and reading, those are the two subjects that we have found with every school that we serve have the greatest amount of learning loss,” Manzella said.
The executive director of another program, Debbie Palacios of Communities in Schools of Southern Nevada said the same thing, and thinks she knows why especially with math.
“So sometimes when that was done virtually, that component was a little bit more challenging. I think for many of us, we didn’t realize how long-lasting those effects of the pandemic were going to be,” Palacios said.
The money, on the other hand, wasn’t long-lasting.
Communities in Schools of Southern Nevada received over $2 million dollars to help students with learning loss at 61 schools in the district.
The funding running out comes amid a recent national survey showing about 40% of K-12 students this school year are behind grade level in schools out West.
To keep track of students who might be falling behind, CCSD uses tests like MAP Growth to provide immediate feedback to teachers to address the academic needs of students in their classrooms.
Both groups are fundraising to pump more money into their programs so students and families don’t feel the effect of the money drying up, and CCSD monitors students successes and setbacks with real-time testing several times a year.
Both the After-School All-Stars Las Vegas and Communities in Schools of Southern Nevada programs are free to students and their families.
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