Are You Leaving Money on the Table?

By Qur’an Shakir

“We’ve got to fight more,” said a Catholic school leader.  Her comments were followed by a Jewish school leader adding, “We must advocate for our piece of the pie.” They were at a conference of non-public (Catholic, Jewish, and Islamic) school leaders from around the USA gathered in St. Louis, MO to discuss U.S. Government equitable services. 

Hosted by an organization called Catapult, the conference was held to help non-public schools appreciate, understand, and be able to access government funding. Catapult hosts conferences as a way to “provide evidence-based intervention programs for students and professional development solutions for teachers in K-12 schools across the country.”

They explained that when school leaders understand how government funding works and they understand the process to access the funds, they are more likely to take full advantage of what is due to them. 

ESSA (Every Student Succeeds Act), an act that was signed into law under President Obama’s administration, provides states the opportunity to improve learning for students as it protects “students from low-income families and students of color from being taught at disproportionate rates by ineffective, inexperienced, and out of field teachers”.  

The aforementioned school leaders made their statements referring to the need for more non-public schools to access and use the millions of government dollars that are left unused and unclaimed for special needs services in elementary and primary schools.

There is a proportional share of funds available for each non-public school in the United States of America. That proportional share is determined based on the number of students in the elementary and secondary school, the number of students with low-income students and/or the number of students with special needs, and the number of public school students in the district or area. Please note, a “non-public school” means a non-public elementary or secondary school that is accredited, licensed, or otherwise operates in accordance with State law.

“Fighting more” and “advocating” for one’s piece of the pie requires that each school understands and then aggressively pursues the available funds. The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) outlines the funding programs and the process for accessing the funds.  esea-equitable-services.pptx (live.com)

For example, there is an “Empowerment Scholarship” that covers the full tuition for non-public school students in Phoenix, AZ. 

“The funding fills the gap and can be a great resource for funding professional development to better train teachers as well as provide trained teachers to come to schools and push into the classrooms or pull students out of the classroom to provide needed tutoring and support,” explained Ron Valenti of Catapult. 

EANS (Emergency Assistance to Non-Public Schools) includes funding for low income students, migrants, English learners, professional development for teachers, student support; Title I (funding for low income students and their families), and more. Funds should be obligated by September 30th of each year and are available through the end of the school year (in some cases, through the summer; and in some cases, the funds may be carried over).  It is important to learn and know the guidelines for utilizing the funds.  Equitable is an operative term that is used to ensure monies are available for those that need it. 

Types of services available for private school participants should be designed to improve academic achievement and may include, but are not limited to: 

• Instructional services
• Expanded learning time
• Home tutoring
• One-on-one tutoring
• Summer school programs
• Family literacy programs
• Counseling programs
• Mentoring programs
• Computer-assisted instruction
• Instruction using take-home computers:
• Any combination of the above. 

 

The bottom line is that there are some basic things each non-public school can do to access the funds that have been allocated to the state from the federal government. Because each state has its own allocations, each private school should do some of the following best practices in pursuing federal funding: 

1. Document the number of students and the students’ needs within your school. 
2. Assess student performance through an established system within your school.  Maintain documentation. 
3. Document your response to intervention (RTI) with dates, growth, and achievement data. (sample RTI documents)
4. Find out the name and contact information for your LEA (local education agency). 
5. Complete the Intent to Participate form in order to get LEA consultation. 
6. Schedule a consultation with the LEA where you will talk about your needs and calculate available funding. (Remember the deadline for obligating funds is September 30th. Have this meeting with the LEA as early as possible.)
7. Request the consultation in writing even if you call. Follow up with a written request and expect to receive a written confirmation.
8. Use the Report Card Checklist to prepare for your meeting and align with the ESEA.
9. Create a timeline with the LEA and keep track of the timeline. 
10. Develop and maintain relationships with state lawmakers before you need them. (Congressional lawmakers by state) (Find and locate legislators by state)
11. Build relationships with other non-public schools in your area. This allegiance can help leverage the relationship with lawmakers when needed. 
12. If you feel you are not getting the best service or response to your needs, file a complaint. Be sure to have documentation to show emails, letters, dates, times, meeting notes, etc. that you have done your due diligence. Know the law and be able to reference it in your complaint. 

School leaders can learn more about equitable services availability by exploring webinars in the Principals’ Academy at www.equitableserviesmdec.com/webinars. The webinars guide leaders through understanding types of available ESSA funding and the process to access the funds for each federal program.