When I served on my local public school board during the pandemic, I remember talking to our district finance chief about ways we might use our federal relief funding. His first principle was caution; ESSER came with so few strings attached that it was hard to believe the district could actually use the funds so flexibly. In my experience talking to both district and state leaders in charge of budgeting, caution always rules the day because there is so much red tape around the different funding sources and allowable uses of public dollars.
Well, what if I told you we could reduce the burden on school districts and advance high-quality instructional materials as a priority at the same time? Spoiler alert – we can!
As the era of ESSER flexibility expires, we are rightly worried that it could become much harder for districts to sustain investments in quality curriculum and aligned professional learning. That’s why I was so inspired by my recent conversation with Stacy Smith, the Deputy Commissioner of Elementary and Secondary Education in Arkansas. Stacy and her team have been hard at work on the AR App, a state platform that consolidates 17 formerly separate district applications for funds into one streamlined approach that breaks down longstanding siloes. Here’s what Stacy had to say about this bureaucracy-busting effort to support local districts:
What do you view as the most important role of state leaders when it comes to supporting district use of high-quality curriculum?
Stacy: First and foremost is clarity about what high-quality instructional materials and professional learning are and making sure districts know where and how to find those resources. For so long, states relied on vendors of these products to tell the story. A small district does not have the people power to truly vet those materials, so they tend to rely more heavily on salespeople. In Arkansas, we’ve made it a priority to be very clear in what we as a state consider to be high-quality by identifying vetted partners and products.
What concerns are you hearing from districts about funding for curriculum with the ending of ESSER pandemic relief dollars?
Stacy: High-quality instructional materials are not cheap and many come with consumables that must be replenished every year. With the end of ESSER, our district leaders are concerned about ongoing funding streams to support the work they’ve started to bring quality curriculum to the table. Curriculum cycles tend to happen every seven years, and our leaders are moving from decisions on literacy materials to a focus on math and science. Funding these decisions on the different fiscal cycles remains a top concern.
How does the AR App help districts make good choices about their curriculum?
Stacy: The AR App is, at its core, an opportunity to help districts think strategically about funding all of their initiatives in one plan. Too often, this work happens in siloes; budgeting happens by different leaders in different departments, such as special education and English language learning. In larger districts especially, this leads to misaligned curriculum purchases that do not work together with the district’s core materials. The AR App guides the professionals working across the districts to collaborate on a single application that crosses all the various populations and departments and leads back to the district’s core materials. It has eliminated so much duplication of effort at both the state and the district levels, freeing up time and reducing the burden of overworked staff.
We’ve also learned a lot simply by asking districts to name the high-quality curriculum they are using in literacy and math. By putting this question in the AR App, we realized that the state message about high-quality materials was not reaching all of our districts and that we still had work to do. So the App has been a teaching moment to share more about our vision for high-quality curriculum and the various funding sources that can be blended to help districts obtain those materials.
In the next phase of the AR App, we hope to incentivize districts with set-aside federal and state funds that can come alongside their local investments in quality materials and professional learning so that they can best support educators who are implementing the curriculum.
Does the App include options for curriculum-based professional learning?
Stacy: Yes! High-quality professional learning is, in essence, our boots on the ground. Funding supports coaches working in the classroom, with the teacher, helping to ensure they get the most out of tools and resources they have. In education, we’ve spent decades telling educators they are responsible for everything. Now, we are retraining a workforce to let them know it’s ok to use a foundational curriculum and they are still good teachers.
What advice would you give to other state leaders who want to support districts with their local curriculum selection and implementation activities?
Stacy: The value of the AR App in our first year was just as much for our agency to understand how districts are operating and where we could help. I recommend starting with an internal needs assessment on what the state is requiring from districts when applying for funds, so that everyone within the agency has a thorough understanding. I have a feeling folks will be amazed, like we were, by the duplication of effort and the huge opportunity to make life so much easier for districts. The districts who came together and used this as an opportunity to streamline their own practices have seen the biggest benefit and have started breaking down their own local siloes, too. I’d also prioritize having districts report which curricular materials they are using so that you can grasp what’s being used across the state, recognize gaps in the usage of high-quality materials, and provide assistance and support.
Selecting and implementing quality curriculum is challenging but rewarding work, and states should be doing everything they can to make it easier and more efficient for districts. I hope more leaders will learn from what’s happening in Arkansas and follow suit.