The Federal American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act of 2021 included the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER I, II, III) Fund which provided resources to help safely reopen and sustain the safe operation of schools. These funds were designed to address the impacts of COVID-19 on the nation’s students by addressing their academic, social, emotional, and mental health needs. The final round of ESSER III funds ended on September 30, 2024.
Each report on this webpage provides an update on the projects that were supported with ESSER funding, including the Maryland LEADs grant, a grant initiative designed to support PGCPS in accelerating student learning to narrow achievement gaps, provide more targeted support for underserved students, and address the short and long-term challenges related to current labor shortages in education. While these reports outline how ESSER funding was put into action, the PGCPS ESSER funding video below, shows how federal support made a difference in PGCPS’ schools.
In an effort to be transparent with the community about the spending of ESSER funds, an annual report has been posted every fall during the ESSER funding period which started October 2021 and carried through to September 2024. The final ESSER report, dated October 2024, is now available on this website. It outlines the spending in each focus area for ESSER III and the Maryland LEADs grant. This report also includes approved work that will be completed during the 2024-2025 school year.
