Investments in Student Well-being

 As we experience shifts in the recommendations for Universal Masking, we continue to ensure that every student/staff has at least 1 mask per day available at each school site. Current inventory includes K-95 Masks (in adult sizes), as well as specialty masks for music classes, for individuals with disabilities, and to provide special services (Ex. communicator masks for early literacy instruction). Beyond masks, PPE includes items like face shields, gowns, booties, and puppy pads (for music classes). The total anticipated investment (TD) for the 2021-22 SY is upwards of $400,000.

• Investment Period: 2020-21 SY; 2021-22 SY 
• Accessing this Resource: Schools should follow the process for each site to procure PPE. 

As districts continue to get updated guidance around hosting athletic events, additional funds are reserved for specific PPE and event-based needs. Because the crowd size at sporting events is limited to allow for social distancing, the Athletics department has partnered with NFHS Online Viewing, which allows for sporting events to be streamed online. The total anticipated investment (TD) for the 2021-22 SY is upwards of $20,000.

In addition to utilizing our ESSER funds to support remote streaming for athletic events, our investments in the Covid Health Response Team, in particular, COVID-19 tests, were crucial for athletics teams this year. Due to the Department of Health Guidelines for Fall and Winter Sports, student athletes had to be tested up to three times a week in order to participate. Our Athletics department worked with coaches, families, and students, to ensure COVID-19 tests provided by the district were administered and processed in a timely manner for our athletes.

• Investment Period: 2021-22 SY
• Accessing this Resource: This is a system level support not available for school-based allocations.

The Covid-19 Pandemic has interrupted supply chains across the United States. This has resulted in nutrition services needing to procure food from local grocers and other non-standard suppliers, which is inherently an increased cost and impact to the overall budget as a result of the COVID-19 Pandemic; both in the increased staff time for shopping and the general cost per item purchased. The total anticipated impact to the Nutrition Services budget to be supported through ESSER for the 2021-22 SY (TD) is roughly $30,000, with about $60,000 in additional requests submitted to OSPI. 

• Investment Period: 2021-22 SY 
• Accessing this Resource: This is a system level support not available for school-based allocations. 

Student Wellness is influenced by the general health and safety of Highline buildings and our district-wide capabilities to uphold the COVID-19 health and safety protocols (which are regularly updated by Washington’s Department of Health). To maintain the health and safety protocols in each school building, primarily related to increased sanitization and physical distancing needs, our maintenance and operations teams have had to purchase additional cleaning supplies, tents to accommodate outdoor eating, materials to partition workspaces, and hire additional custodians/offer custodial overtime. The total anticipated investment (TD) for the 2021-22 SY is upwards of $500,000.

• Investment Period: 2020-21 SY; 2021-22 SY
• Accessing this Resource: Schools should follow the process for each site to procure additional support with sanitization and/or other operational items to support school safety. 

Despite Highline buildings meeting or exceeding the current filtration and ventilation guidelines set by the DOH, investing in additional air filtration/purification systems provide peace of mind and support classrooms where mitigation measures such as opening windows and creating cross ventilation are not possible due to inclement weather or wildfires. In buildings at Highline that are much older, and the building is ten or more years out from bond consideration, upgrading and replacing HVAC systems is a long-term strategy that will ensure all Highline buildings can continue to meet the recommended ventilation requirements in the event of a future public health emergency.

The total anticipated investment (TD) for the 2021-22/2022-23 SY is upwards of $10.2 million (costs may include supporting projects, such a upgrading an electrical system to support a modern HVAC system) and represents the single largest investment of Highline’s ESSER Funds overall. 

• Investment Period: 2021-22 SY; 2022-23 SY
• Accessing Air Purifiers: Schools should follow the process for each site to procure air purifiers/filters in support of their school safety plans. 
• HVAC System Upgrades & Replacements: This resource is not available for school level allocation. The following schools were recommended for upgrades by McKinstry, following a comprehensive study conducted during the summer of 2021 and have been selected according to that guidance:

1. Beverly Park at Glendale: Represents 19.3% of Total Investment in HVAC Upgrades/Investments 
2. Valley View: Represents 11.6% of Total Investment in HVAC Upgrades/Investments 
3. Sylvester: Represents 18.6% of Total Investment in HVAC Upgrades/Investments 
4. Salmon Creek: Represents 22.8% of Total Investment in HVAC Upgrades/Investments 
5. Manhattan (Big Picture): Represents 27.6% of Total Investment in HVAC Upgrades/Investments

To reduce disruption to students' education and reduce the spread of COVID in schools, our investment in the COVID Response team, who oversees COVID-Testing efforts at Highline, is a comprehensive strategy that supports our district’s ability to conduct routine response efforts and ensure diagnostic testing is available to all Highline students and staff. The total anticipated investment (TD) for the 2021-22 SY is upwards $1 million.

• Investment Period: 2021-22 SY; 2022-23 SY
• Additional FTE & Staff Support: All staff hired to support under Covid Testing are temporary.

• Accessing this Resource: All schools have access to the Covid Response Team and testing resources. Contact your site’s primary COVID Response team member (this might be the staff who supports isolation room coverage, special projects coordinator, nurse, or testing facilitator/lead that your site most often works with for COVID-Response)/ Jemma Kim. Key links and resources listed below: 
  • Return to Learn – COVID Testing
  • 2021-2022 Health & Safety Guidelines (Highline)
• For Evaluations, refer to the COVID-19 Dashboard. This COVID dashboard shows the reports of positive COVID-19 cases among staff and students on campus since the start of the 2021-22 school year.

To support school leaders in meeting the health demands related to COVID, including contact tracing, isolation coverage, safety trainings, and connecting with families around COVID health safety protocols, Highline has committed to providing additional nursing coverage to schools and thus meeting the increased demands of nursing workloads. With this investment, our district will be able to maintain quality nursing care above and beyond the current state allocation for the duration of the pandemic, so that students can minimize lost instruction time by reducing unnecessary quarantines; allowing students to continue to learn in-person. The total anticipated investment (TD) for the 2021-22 SY is roughly $300,000.

• Investment Period: 2021-22 SY; 2022-23 SY
• Additional FTE & Staff Support: This investment covers an Assistant Director (temporary) and a nursing contract with Soliant Health for additional, temporary nursing coverage. 
• Accessing this Resource: This is a system level support not available for school-based allocations. 

In response to staff feedback and student data regarding an increased desire for basic need services as Highline Returned to Learn during the 2021-22 School Year, the district invested additional ESSER funds to hire 3.0 FTE (school social worker) that will serve the schools that typically operate without a social worker during non-pandemic times. By providing more responsive support to meet the basic needs for students and families and address student mental health issues, students will experience greater academic success and well-being. The anticipated investment (TD) for the 2021-22 SY is roughly $163,000.

• Initiative Leads: Valerie Allen (Budget Authority: Kisa Hendrickson)
• Investment Period: 2021-22 SY; 2022-23 SY
• Additional FTE & Staff Support: This initiative adds 3.0 FTE in school social work support to the district
• Accessing this Resource: This is a system level support not available for school-based allocations, but position supports Highline Virtual Academy, Maritime High School, Sylvester Middle School, Valley View Early Learning, Puget Sound Skill Center, Aviation High School, and Big Picture

 Based on feedback and a high volume of requests for various supports for each individual school, Highline utilized equity-based allocations (utilizing the title formulas) to provide each building with a unique school-based ESSER allocation. These allocations can support academic or non-academic strategies that can be braided with existing strategies, used to increase building support, or pay for contracts, services, and supplies. However, they cannot be used to purchase items that are centrally purchased, such as PPE. These are one-time, non-sustainable funds, separate from the extra supervision and learning acceleration allocations already provided to schools. The total anticipated investment for school allocations is nearly $1 million. 

• Investment Period: 2021-22 SY
• Accessing this Resource: Schools submitted requests for funds in November of 2021. The window to apply for an additional allocation is now closed for the 2021-22 school year. 
• Additional Links: Please see the PPT Presentation from Business Services on School Based Allocations

In order to support schools in maintaining physical distancing protocols in communal spaces/times, such as during arrival/dismissal, lunch, and recess, every school at Highline had the opportunity to leverage ESSER funds to support additional supervision in the form of staffing.

The requests needed to align with each building’s safety plan and the current DOH guidelines for physical distancing; schools could leverage a cohort model (ex. increasing lunch hours to accommodate smaller groups of students throughout the day) or utilize additional spaces (ex. such as hosting lunch in both the cafeteria and gym). To support the increased need for staffing as a result of the increased time or number of additional spaces, schools were able to request new positions, submit ECNs to increase staff schedules, or provide Extra Service Opportunities for existing staff.

The anticipated investment (TD) for the 21-22 SY is around $500,000 and includes a built-in contingency. 

• Investment Period: 2021-22 SY 
• Accessing this Resource: This was a one-time funding opportunity every school had the chance to apply for between August-October 2021. The window to apply for an additional allocation is now closed for the 2021-22 school year. 

Under ESSER, our investment in the Director of COVID Recovery demonstrates a continued commitment to ethical financial stewardship and prioritizes dedicated support that ensures the district has the proper systems in place for project management and data reporting; furthermore, this role collaborates with Business Services and Budget Authorities on budget and compliance needs relating to utilizing federal funds and ensuring investments align with ESSER Allowable use. This position sits in Human Resources but works across all departments at Highline Public Schools and the anticipated investment (TD) for the 2021-22 SY is primarily salaries and benefits.

• Investment Period: 2021-22 SY; 2022-23 SY
• Additional FTE & Staff Support: This investment adds a temporary 1.0 FTE to the district
• Understanding primary contacts for COVID-19 Response and ESSER Funds:
  • COVID Related Health Response: Director of Covid Health Response 
  • Other COVID Health and Safety should be directed accordingly:  
    1. Building Principal
    2. Site COVID Captain
    3. Initiative Lead/Contact Points (See Student Wellbeing, Maintenance and Operations/SS&FE)
    4. Health and Safety Form (Frontline) ​​​ 
  • Business Services: All fiscal matters of ESSER sit with Business Services
  • Ongoing Financial and Compliance Needs: All budget and compliance needs are managed by the Executive Assistant of each Budget Authority or other designee
  • Accessing ESSER Funded Initiatives and Funding: Business Services, Project Leads, and the Executive Assistant for each Budget Authority, are the primary contact points for each initiative and budget in coordination with the Director of COVID Recovery
  • Annual ESSER Fund Plans and Strategic Planning Supports: Director of COVID Recovery
  • Monthly and Quarterly Progress Dashboards (ESSER): Director of COVID Recovery

Camp Waskowitz is funded through the revenues generated by renting the facility to other school districts and entities. During the pandemic we have not been able to rent the facility, so we continue to maintain operations at Waskowitz until the camp revenues return to a sufficient level; this includes maintaining payroll for current staff, as well as providing additional supplies, equipment, and renovations necessitated by current health and safety guidance as students return to learn. The total anticipated investment (TD) for the 2021-22 SY is upwards of $1.4 million.

• Investment Period: 2020-21 SY; 2021-22 SY
• Additional FTE & Staff Support: Waskowitz has employed a “cohort” COVID Response strategy to maintain physical distancing, breaking students into smaller groups requires additional adult supervision needs. Increased cleaning protocols and groupings of students have also raised the operational load experienced by staff in the program – Waskowitz was provided with 1.0 in additional FTE (Outdoor Educator) to support this need. 
• Accessing this Resource: This resource is reserved for Waskowitz and all expenses/requests should be routed through the initiative lead and budget authority. 

If we increase the capacity of the HPS system to respond to challenges with referral and/or managed care as well as growing the opportunities with community based mental health providers, we can better meet the mental health needs of our students and increase their school success. This position is responsible for working with community-based mental health agencies, as well as families to help navigate access to mental health supports; the anticipated investment (TD) for the 21-22 SY are primarily in salaries and benefits.

• Investment Period: 2021-22 SY; 2022-23 SY
• Additional FTE & Staff Support: This investment increases the current grant funded position from 0.5 to 1.0 FTE; bringing this position to full-time in an interim capacity. 
• Accessing this Resource: This is a system level support not available for school-based allocations, but all schools have access to the resources provided by this position. To make referrals or understand the referral process, contact Valerie Allen. 

If we roll-up the successful implementation process and infrastructure from the middle school self-screening and intervention process (SBIRT) into two high school teams, teams will begin to develop systematic ways to support the mental health/substance misuse of teens, which increases student success and well-being. By adding a new full-time position that will roll up SBIRT screening and intervention to 9th graders in all high schools, we double our current district impact. The anticipated investment (TD) for the 21-22 SY are primarily in salaries and benefits. 

• Investment Period: 2021-22 SY; 2022-23 SY
• Additional FTE & Staff Support: This investment adds a second 1.0 SBIRT Interventionist to the district. 
• Accessing this Resource: This is a system level support not available for school-based allocations, but all high schools have access to the resources provided by this position (Evergreen, Tyee, Mount Rainier, and Highline High School). For more information, contact Amelia Gross or the identified members of each school's screening team. 

Specifically supporting under-insured and uninsured elementary and high school students, Highline has contracted with mental health agencies to provide licensed clinical therapists and teletherapy options that will provide individual students with increased mental health supports in the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic. The anticipated investment (TD) for the 2021-22 SY is $160,000. 

• Investment Period: 2021-22 SY; 2022-23 SY
• Contracted Agencies: 
  • Teletherapy Providers: The agency providing teletherapy support is SWYFS. These resources are for High School Students - (Evergreen, Tyee, Mount Rainier, Highline, and Highline Virtual Academy).
  • Community Based Mental Health Agencies: The agency providing these resources is Seneca. This resource is available to elementary students and their families  (Southern Heights and Des Moines Elementary School).  
• Accessing this Resource: This is a system level support not available for school-based allocations, but individual students in the schools listed above can be referred for these resources. For more information, contact Valerie Allen.

If we provide enhanced FTE for elementary counselors based on enrollment and F/R criteria, students will receive the needed social/emotional support as we return to learn in person.

All students will begin to receive High Quality Tier 1 instruction from their school counselor and those who indicate a need for Tier 2-3 will receive that support from either their counselor or other staff members or community partners. The anticipated investment (TD) for the 2021-22 SY is roughly $1.5 million in salaries and benefits.

• Investment Period: 2021-22 SY
• Accessing this Resource: This is a system level support not available for school-based allocations, but all schools now have access to a school counselor with support from this funding source in addition to others.

If we provide centralized support for secondary SEL school-based teams, we will strengthen our overall implementation of consistent SEL strategies with secondary students. We are investing ESSER dollars to add 0.5 FTE to the District Social Emotional Team, creating a full-time position that will allow us to better support Secondary Schools in their SEL strategy implementation, supporting the needs of the whole child as we return to learn in person after the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The anticipated investment (TD) for the 2021-22 SY is in salaries and benefits.

• Investment Period: 2021-22 SY; 2022-23 SY 
• Accessing this Resource: This is a system level support not available for school-based allocations; all secondary schools have access to the position paid out of this resource. 

If we screen all students with a universal SEL screener we will be able to make data-based decisions on supports needed for social emotional needs, supporting the needs of the whole child as we return to learn in person after the COVID-19 Pandemic.

For the 2021-2022 School Year, Highline received additional term-limited funding that is being used to support this component of Socio-Emotional Learning for the 2021-2022 school year. However, this project may be funded under ESSER for the 2022-2023 School Year.