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Date: 5/4/2022
FISKDALE – The Tantasqua School Committee met to discuss a variety of agenda items including Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) fund spending and COVID-19 pool testing at their April 27 meeting.
According to Superintendent Deborah Boyd, the district has $954,000 to spend as their last round of ESSER funds. This money can be spent through September 2024.
Boyd said that one area funding will be used for is to hire a new English Language Learning teacher. She said that the district has seen a big increase in the English Language Learning population in recent years.
“We do believe that we need to hire an English Learner position for just Tantasqua, so it won’t be shared with the elementaries,” said Boyd.
She also said that funds will be used to find and hire mental health experts to help students, new Chromebooks, replacing Smartboards and keeping the HVAC system running efficiently.
A new document has been put together by the district to address curriculum gaps in students after the coronavirus pandemic. This document covers ways to help with both educational and social emotional needs. There are sections on each grade level so that staff can help every student possible.
“It’s a great document that I was planning on sharing with you all even in draft mode, so I will get it to everyone. It is nice, fairly condensed, in layman’s terms, no acronyms, it’s a really easy to understand document,” said Boyd.
According to Boyd, the document offers guidance on test taking, anxiety, organization and more. Teachers will be able to use this document to offer help directly to students on the spot.
Boyd also informed the committee that the district will be ending their COVID-19 pool testing program after May 6.
“Pool testing is exhausting your nurses and we are ready to halt,” she said.
She said that there have been no positives from a pool test since March.
“From a data point of view, since September, across our district, we’ve had 4,700 rapid tests given by our nurses, .8 percent, which is 39 of them, caught a positive from a pool test,” said Boyd.
She emphasized that at-home COVID-19 tests will still be distributed to those who want them.
“We feel like that is a good protective measure for those who want it, and we continue to have the supplies for anyone who is symptomatic during the day,” said Boyd.
Without pool testing, school nurses will be able to put their time and energy into other areas of work, said Boyd.
Those interested in viewing the School Committee meeting in its entirety are encouraged to visit the Sturbridge Community TV YouTube page.