ESSER Funding

Maximize ESSER Funds With Read Naturally Programs for Grades 1-12

Reading is essential to success in all academic areas, and students who fell behind due to the pandemic or other circumstances need effective, research-proven support as soon as possible. Remaining ESSER funds, intended to mitigate learning loss due to the pandemic, must be allocated by September 30, 2024. Read Naturally programs are an ideal way to spend this use-it-or-lose-it funding to improve reading outcomes and overall academic success. Read Naturally programs are intentionally affordable because all students deserve effective reading instruction. This affordable pricing allows ESSER funds to have a significant impact for years to come.

What Are ESSER Funds?

The Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) Fund is designed to help schools address the educational challenges posed by the COVID pandemic. These funds aim to support K-12 schools in mitigating learning loss, improving educational outcomes, and ensuring a safe and healthy learning environment after the pandemic.

ESSER funding has been distributed in three parts since May of 2020.

Introduced under the CARES Act in May 2020, ESSER I allocated $13.2 billion for various educational needs, including technology, summer learning programs, and student mental health support.
As part of the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act (CRRSA), signed into law in December 2020, ESSER II provided an additional $54.3 billion. It retained all the provisions of ESSER I and expanded allowable uses to include facilitating safe school reopenings and addressing learning loss.
Enacted in March 2021 under the American Rescue Plan (ARP), ESSER III allocated an additional $122 billion for K-12 education, incorporating all the provisions from ESSER I and II.

Current Status and Remaining Funds

By now, your district has likely allocated and possibly spent all ESSER I and ESSER II funds, which had deadlines for designation in 2022 and 2023. Currently, there is still an opportunity to make use of the ARP ESSER III funds.

The ARP Act ESSER funding can be allocated until September 30, 2024, giving your district or school a chance to earmark its share of the $122 billion provided by ESSER III. Act now to make the most of these remaining funds before this last-chance opportunity goes away.

How Can ESSER III Funds Be Used?

ESSER III funds offer a wide range of allowable uses, including:

Addressing Learning Loss

Academic Interventions: Utilizing evidence-based interventions to improve student academic outcomes.
Extended Learning Opportunities: Implementing summer school, extended day, and extended year programs.
Tutoring Programs: Providing tutoring and one-on-one support to accelerate student learning.

Educational Technology

Digital Learning Platforms: Investing in software and applications to support student learning.
Devices and Connectivity: Purchasing laptops or tablets and ensuring reliable internet access for students and educators.

Professional Development

Teacher Training: Offering professional development opportunities focused on effective instruction and strategies.
Support Staff Training: Offering training for support staff to address students' learning needs.

Advantages of Using ESSER Funds for Read Naturally Programs

One consequence of the pandemic is a measurable decline in reading proficiency across the nation, and many educators are opting to use their ESSER funds to correct this.

Read Naturally's research-based reading programs are an ideal choice for maximizing ESSER funds to significantly improve reading outcomes for students in grades 1-12. Read Naturally programs are specifically developed to help students of all ages accelerate reading proficiency and confidence as quickly as possible.

Advantages of Read Naturally programs include:

Evidence-Based: Read Naturally programs are grounded in research, backed by science, and use an evidence-based strategy to optimize student success. Aligned with the Science of Reading, these programs have greatly improved reading outcomes for over 30 years.

Comprehensive: Read Naturally programs address all five essential components of reading development, and materials are available for grades 1 through adult. Programs are also offered in Spanish.

Flexible Implementation: Read Naturally programs are easy to adapt to allow for differentiation and to meet each student's individual needs. They are also customizable for various instructional settings and group sizes.

Measurable Impact: Built-in progress monitoring tools report on student growth in a way that's highly motivating for students and crucial for teachers as they adjust instruction to maximize effectiveness.

Engaging and Interactive: Read Naturally programs include high-interest materials and engaging activities that ensure students of all ages remain motivated, build confidence, progress quickly, and develop a love for reading.

Robust Teacher Training: Read Naturally offers comprehensive support and professional development for educators, ensuring effective implementation and optimal student outcomes. Many of these training opportunities are free.

Affordable: Read Naturally programs are intentionally more affordable than other reading tools, so that all students—not just those in well-funded schools—can reach their potential.

Popular Read Naturally Programs to Purchase With ESSER Funds

Read Live

Read Live is Read Naturally's most widely used reading intervention, with engaging content for first grade through adult. This subscription-based platform includes four powerful programs to develop the essential components of reading. The four programs provide direct, targeted phonics instruction; build fluency, vocabulary, and comprehension skills; provide guided, independent reading practice; and build the reading skills of Spanish-speaking students. Subscribers have access to all four programs, and each program offers flexibility in implementation, allowing educators to customize the intervention to meet the unique needs of every student. This evidence-based platform was designed by reading teachers and fine-tuned over 30+ years to accelerate students' progress, allowing them to read confidently as quickly as possible. Current pricing starts at $22/seat per year. Many educators opt for multi-year contracts, which allow them to use funding for this program in one purchase and then use the program for several years.

Learn More About Read Live

GATE+

Read Naturally Group and Tutoring Edition

GATE+ provides direct phonemic awareness and phonics instruction to first through third grade students. Aligned with the Science of Reading, this motivating program is an ideal way to teach phonics easily and effectively. GATE+ includes activities for phonemic awareness, decoding, spelling, high-frequency words, reading connected text, and more. This program builds essential phonemic awareness and phonics skills while also developing fluency, comprehension, and vocabulary. It provides explicit, systematic phonics instruction that is easy for teachers and engaging for students. GATE+ comes in three levels and can be delivered to small groups or whole classrooms of students. Each level costs $175 and includes all the resources necessary for an educator to deliver high-quality phonics instruction year after year. Because the program is fully scripted, educators do not need to be trained in phonics in order to effectively teach these skills to students.

Learn More About GATE+

Encore

Read Naturally Encore is a powerful reading intervention that accelerates reading achievement using printed materials and audio CDs. Encore includes materials for grade 1 through adult and offers levels to specifically target phonics skills, as well as levels in Spanish. Students become confident readers by developing fluency, phonics, comprehension, and vocabulary using an evidence-based strategy and a highly motivating system. The program is easy to customize and designed to allow teachers to differentiate instruction so that each student works at their own pace and level. This time-tested, research-proven reading intervention has helped millions of students over 30 years. Each level, which includes printed materials and audio CDs, costs $199 and can be used year after year.

Learn More About Encore

Quick Phonics Screener

Quick Phonics Screener, developed by literacy expert Dr. Jan Hasbrouck, is a proven diagnostic assessment that identifies students’ strengths and instructional needs in phonics—decoding and encoding. This assessment includes Quick Spelling Survey (QSS), a time-saving spelling assessment educators can administer to a group or to a whole class. QSS results determine which students may need to be assessed with Quick Phonics Screener (QPS), a one-to-one assessment. QPS and QSS identify each student's strengths and instructional needs in phonics. Multiple forms allow educators to monitor progress throughout the year. This assessment tool is available for $99 and can be administered as often as needed.

Learn More About QPS

Signs for Sounds

Signs for Sounds is a systematic spelling program that teaches students how to take words apart, sound-by-sound, and how to write them down on paper, letter-by-letter. Each lesson reviews or builds on skills taught in previous lessons, adding a few phonics elements at a time. The program emphasizes both regular and irregular high-frequency words. Teachers present instruction to individual students or small groups of students with similar needs. This program teaches letter sounds and phonics skills as well as spelling skills. It includes two levels, each available for $89 for unlimited use.

Learn More About Signs for Sounds

You Can Also Use ESSER Funds for Professional Development

Read Naturally offers educators a range of professional development options to ensure optimal implementation and results. Many of these options are free, such as online courses and webinars. Others, such as in-person seminars and district seminars charge a fee to provide hands-on, in-person training with a Read Naturally expert. Virtual seminars are also offered to educators who cannot attend in-person seminars. ESSER funds can be used to pay for these trainings.

See All Professional Development Opportunities

Example Use Cases for Read Naturally Programs + ESSER Funds

Reading Intervention: Use the evidence-based Read Live or Read Naturally Encore program as an intervention for students who are reading below grade level. These programs prevent students from falling further behind and allow them to catch up quickly.
Direct Phonemic Awareness and Phonics Instruction: Use GATE+ for effective, Science-of-Reading-aligned phonemic awareness and phonics instruction for whole classrooms or small groups. Because teachers do not need to be phonics experts in order to teach GATE+, which is fully scripted, all students will receive effective phonics instruction and develop a solid foundation from which to build their reading skills.
Summer Learning or Tutoring Programs: Implement Read Live in summer school settings or tutoring programs to accelerate reading progress and prepare students for the upcoming school year. One Minute Reader Live, a component of the Read Live suite, is a guided, independent reading program that can also be used at home without teacher or parent support.
Phonics Assessment and Intervention: Use Quick Phonics Screener to quickly identify which students need phonics support and which skills to target in a phonics intervention. Then use Read Live, Encore phonics levels, or GATE+ to deliver high-quality phonics instruction to the students who need it.
Research-Based Spelling Instruction: Improve the spelling instruction in your school or district with Signs for Sounds. Many schools are using outdated spelling curriculum, and Signs for Sounds offers a research-based upgrade that also reinforces phonics skills.
Professional Development: Use ESSER funds to attend one of our Hands-on Training Seminars or for additional training opportunities.

Ready to Make a Difference?

Our nation's literacy statistics are well below where they should be, and ESSER funds provide schools and districts with an opportunity to turn things around when it comes to reading and overall academic success. Read Naturally programs allow educators to maximize these funds for a lasting impact on student achievement.

Our team is here to support you every step of the way. Don't miss this chance to make the most of these critical, use-it-or-lose-it funds by September 30. Contact us today to learn more about how Read Naturally programs can brighten the future for the students in your school or district.

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