As district and school leaders make decisions about how to best use federal funding to meet teacher and student needs, we are making available the edLeader Panel webinar - Act on Relief Funding Now – How It Can Be Used to Address Learning Loss and Meet Student Needs. In this informative webinar, Dr. Don Gemeinhardt, Director Strategic Grants and Finance Development for Boxlight, discusses what education leaders and decision-makers need to know to successfully apply for federal funding – CARES, ESSER, and GEER.  

Dr. Don stresses the importance of applying for this money and what happens when districts and schools do not apply. His insight alone is a must-see for educators who have not taken the necessary steps to attain this time-sensitive federal funding. For access to the webinar recording, click here. 

Dr. Don is joined on the panel by Dr. Alex Leis, CEO Boxlight-EOS our professional development division, and Hannah Olson, Product Manager of MimioSTEM Solutions. Dr. Leis shared how professional development is integral for any of the federal funding requirements, including but not limited to: 

• Activities to address the unique needs of low-income children or students, children with disabilities, English learners, racial and ethnic minorities, students experiencing homelessness, and foster care youth, including how outreach and service delivery will meet the needs of each population. 
  
• Planning and implementing activities related to summer learning and supplemental afterschool programs, including providing classroom instruction or online learning during the summer months and addressing the needs of low-income students, students with disabilities, English learners, migrant students, students experiencing homelessness, and children in foster care.  

• Addressing learning loss among students, including low-income students, children with disabilities, English learners, racial and ethnic minorities, students experiencing homelessness, and children and youth in foster care, of the local educational agency

• Administering and using high-quality assessments that are valid and reliable, to accurately assess students’ academic progress and assist educators in meeting students’ academic needs, including through differentiating instruction; implementing evidence-based activities to meet the comprehensive needs of students; providing information and assistance to parents and families on how they can effectively support students, including in a distance learning environment; and tracking student attendance and improving student engagement in distance education. 

For a video clip of some of what Dr. Leis discussed, click here. 

Hannah Olson spoke about the importance of integrating STEM learning to help meet student learning needs, such as providing increased opportunities for hands-on, project-based learning to better engage students. MimioSTEM solutions are also flexible enough to be used from home – perfect for traditional, hybrid, and distance learning environments. For a video clip of some of Hannah’s discussion, click here. 

For several states, July 31 is the deadline for submitting applications for federal funding. We can help decision-makers via our grant support services headed by Dr. Don, as well as inviting them to demonstrations facilitated in the Boxlight Virtual Classroom. 

Take some time to view the Act Now webinar recording and share it with others who are interested in implementing innovative education technology solutions such as those provided by Boxlight.  

For short video clips that can also be shared and posted to your social media accounts, go to our Education Relief Funding playlist on YouTube here.