Districts are running out of time to spend this crucial funding. While the deadline to allocate funds for ESSER III is September 30, 2024, the standard spending deadline of January 31, 2025, might leave some districts scrambling. 

Thankfully, the Department of Education offers a “late liquidation” option, providing some much-needed breathing room. 

Keep reading to learn all you need to know to secure Esser funds for your district. 

1. What’s the deadline to decide how to spend ESSER funds?

September 30, 2024. This is the critical date by which your district must finalize its plans for allocating all remaining ESSER III funds. Any unallocated funds after this date will need to be returned to the Department of Education. It’s crucial to carefully assess your district’s needs and strategically allocate these resources to address the ongoing impacts of the pandemic on your students.

2. When do ESSER funds need to be spent?

The standard deadline for spending all ESSER III funds is January 31, 2025. This means all contracted services, purchases, and programs funded by ESSER III must be completed and the funds must be liquidated (physically spent) by this date. This can feel like a tight timeframe, especially for complex projects or ongoing initiatives.

The deadline for school districts to decide how to spend their ESSER funds is called “obligation” and usually involves signing a formal agreement, like a contract. ESSER obligation dates and liquidation dates are:

School Year 22-23

• Sept 30th – ESSER I must be obligated
• Jan 28th – ESSER I liquidation

School Year 23-24

• Sept 30th – ESSER II must be obligated
• Jan 28th – ESSER II liquidation

School Year 24-25

• Sept 30th – ESSER III must be obligated
• Jan 28th – ESSER III liquidation

 See Question E-3d on pages 68-69 of the December 7 FAQ for more details.

3. Can I get more time to spend ESSER funds?

Yes! Thankfully, the Department of Education offers a “late liquidation” option for districts that need additional time to spend their ESSER III funds on approved contracted services. This extension can be a lifesaver if your district has ongoing programs or contracts that extend past the standard deadline.

4. What expenses qualify for a late liquidation extension?

Only contracted services that support approved activities qualify for a late liquidation extension. These activities are specifically designed to address the learning gaps and social-emotional needs exacerbated by the pandemic. Examples include:

• Tutoring programs: Extending contracts with tutoring providers to ensure students receive ongoing academic support.
• Attendance initiatives: Funding programs or initiatives aimed at improving student attendance beyond the January 2025 deadline.
• Expanded learning programs: Securing an extension for before and after-school or summer learning programs that provide crucial support to students.

5. What can’t I use an extension for?

A late liquidation extension does not apply to all types of ESSER III spending. Here’s what you cannot use an extension for:

• Staff salaries and benefits: These ongoing personnel costs cannot be covered by extended funds.
• One-time purchases: Items like laptops, textbooks, or other equipment purchases must be completed and paid for by the standard deadline.

6. How does a liquidation extension help?

A liquidation extension provides valuable flexibility for districts. It allows you to keep essential programs running for a longer period, ensuring continued support for students. Here are some specific benefits:

• Maintain critical services: Mental health service providers, extended learning initiatives, or other ongoing programs can continue operating beyond the standard deadline.
• Maximize impact: By extending contracts, you can ensure students receive the full benefit of the program or service funded by ESSER III dollars.
• Streamline program completion: For complex projects that extend past January 2025, an extension allows for smoother project completion without disruption.

7. How to apply for a liquidation extension?

To apply for a late liquidation extension, your district needs to take proactive steps:

Gather Information

Carefully analyze your remaining ESSER III funds and identify specific contracted services that require an extension. Determine the exact amount you need extended and create a detailed justification for the request.

This justification should clearly explain how the extension will benefit students and ensure continued progress toward addressing the pandemic’s impact. Additionally, develop a spending plan that outlines how the extended funds will be used within the new timeframe.

Contact Your State Education Department

They act as intermediaries in this process. Your state education department will compile your request with others from districts across the state and submit it to the Department of Education for approval. It’s crucial to connect with your state department as soon as possible to understand their specific application process, deadlines, and required documentation.

Review Your State’s ESSER Website

Many states have established clear guidelines and application procedures for late liquidation requests. Familiarize yourself with these resources to ensure a smooth application process and avoid any delays.

8. What’s the deadline to apply for an extension?

The deadline for states to submit applications for late liquidation extensions on behalf of districts is December 31, 2024. This means your district needs to act quickly and gather all necessary information well in advance to ensure your state education department submits your application before this deadline.

9. Did districts get extensions for prior ESSER rounds?

Yes, this is a positive indicator for securing an extension for ESSER III funds. The Department of Education has a history of approving late liquidation requests. In fact, for ESSER I and ESSER II

10. Is it possible to use these funds to cover staff costs for managing the extended program?

No. Staff salaries and benefits are not eligible for extensions. This means you’ll need to factor in personnel costs when determining the amount of your extension request and ensure you have separate funding sources to cover staff time associated with managing the extended program. While ESSER funds cannot directly cover salaries for the extension period, they can be used to fund contracted services that may include some staffing support from the provider. It’s important to carefully review the terms of your contract and explore alternative funding options for staff time related to the extended program.

Don’t Lose Your ESSER Funds! Secure a Liquidation Extension for Your District.

Get more information in the official ESSER FAQ document or contact your local education agency.

Don’t miss out on our latest posts!

• Boost Back-to-Classroom Prep: New Math Games in August 2024
• Boost Back-to-Classroom Prep: New Science Games in August 2024
• ESSER Funds for Districts: Frequently Asked Questions
• Understanding Ratios with The Great Rube Goldberg Ratio
• Summer-Ready Classroom: New Science Games in July 2024

The post ESSER Funds for Districts: Frequently Asked Questions appeared first on Legends of Learning.

With so many options available, you may feel overwhelmed with learning yet another system and teaching your students how to use it. By focusing on your purpose, we can help ease the load of integrating technology effectively into your daily practice.

There is no denying that the list of problems with technology in the classroom is real. Connection issues. Forgotten passwords. Too many platforms. Ineffective or outdated materials. Broken or lack of devices. The list goes on. However, the point of technology is to streamline your planning and teaching as well as provide meaningful practice for students. 

For the student, technology can be a way to get their energy out with a brain break. It could be a way to collaborate with each other. It could be a way to learn or practice new information. For our purpose today, let’s focus on technology as a means of learning and practicing new skills.

The key to tech in the classroom is creating a go-to list of websites or programs. Depending on what you teach, you may need more or less. Elementary teachers will probably need a few more key sites since you teach multiple content areas whereas middle and high school teachers may need fewer based on their specific content.

Before reading on, STOP. Write down all the platforms you use regularly in your classroom. 

Okay, now that you have your list, let’s streamline it by considering these 5 characteristics that EdTech should display to become your best option. Annotate those notes and put a checkmark next to the ones that pass the test!

Integration

• Most school districts have a general platform (Schoology, Canvas, Google Classroom, etc.) that houses all other online learning links. The technology you use should integrate with this platform through a single-click login. No need for students to remember (or forget) another login or password. 

Data-Driven

• Okay, so you easily assigned activities for students to complete. They are having fun while seemingly learning through playing these games. How do you prove they are actually learning? Well, data-driven EdTech makes sure student work is tracked to gather data. As students succeed or struggle, you need to know their progress to effectively provide instruction and assign work moving forward.

Easy to use

• You should easily be able to access this website with minimal clicks. 
• Assignments/ activities should be found easily and be ready for use. Search by topic or standard to find exactly what you need. If you are on page 3 and still looking, chances are this may not be the most reliable site for you.
• Along with ease of use, teacher planning time is limited and precious. Assigning computer-based activities should quickly allow for differentiation of assignments. These assignments can be used for independent practice in a lesson or to help absent students review standards taught while they were out.

Variety of Purpose

• Helping students become comfortable using a website can be exhausting for a teacher – especially when teaching younger ones! A website that can help in multiple content areas and serve different purposes throughout the day is critical.
• For example, when using Legends of Learning, students can practice math and science skills. Similarly, teachers can assign games for instruction or quiz reviews to help at various points in the lesson or unit. Also, Awakening allows for free play to review skills related to student interest in morning work, early finishers, or extra time.

Effective and Engaging

• Above all else, the technology you choose must be effective and engaging. If the resources are fun for students but do not target the standards of the lesson, students are not learning. If the resources target the standards but are dull, students will not be engaged to learn from them either.

Now go back to your list and consider the tools you use. Can you consolidate the tech tools you use in the classroom? If you are struggling to find any platform that meets your needs, make sure you check out Legends of Learning to get you started!

Read our latest articles & news!

• Boost Back-to-Classroom Prep: New Math Games in August 2024
• Boost Back-to-Classroom Prep: New Science Games in August 2024
• ESSER Funds for Districts: Frequently Asked Questions
• Understanding Ratios with The Great Rube Goldberg Ratio
• Summer-Ready Classroom: New Science Games in July 2024

The post Combatting Tech Fatigue in School appeared first on Legends of Learning.

Legends of Learning, Inc., the leading game-based learning platform in the United States, has announced the grand prize and runner-up winners of the Game-Based Learning Design Competition sponsored by Constellation. The competition was the first of the Legends of Learning’s Summer and Fall game-based learning competition series designed to engage kids at home with interactive and collaborative team-based STEM competitions during virtual/remote learning.

“We are honored to announce the Grand Prize and Runner-Up winners to the Game-Based Learning Design Competition,” said Joshua Goldberg, Co-Founder of Legends of Learning. “After reviewing hundreds of submissions, our team of judges believed the creativity and thoughtfulness of the winning game design concepts and their ability to blend the educational material into the game mechanics were superb…For the thousands of students who participated in the contest, we appreciate the time and thoughtfulness that every student put into their submission and encourage them and other students throughout the country to participate in future competitions.”

Additionally, Legends of Learning would like to give a special thank you to all of the amazing teachers and parents who assisted their students with this competition. 

The Grand Prize Winners were:

• Conservation Team (Broward County Public Schools, FL)
• Cap02 (Montgomery County Public Schools, MD)

The Runner Up Winners were:

• The Champion (Chicago Public Schools, IL)
• Smart Science (Broward County Public Schools, FL)
• Video Game Squad (Loudoun County Public Schools, VA)
• The Adventurers (Polk County Public Schools, FL)
• Netflix & Poptarts (Latin School of Chicago, IL)
• The Program of Pie (Loudoun County Public Schools, VA)
• StARKE MÄdChEn (Lexington City Schools, VA)
• OakleyIndie (Eastmont School District, WA)
• Arc Code (Merrill School District, WI)
• Greenhouzer (Fulton County School System, GA)
• Dynamic (South Suburban Montessori School, OH)

About Legends of Learning

Legends of Learning is the leading game-based learning platform in the United States, with over 2,000 curriculum-aligned games covering K^t-8^th grade science and math.  Legends of Learning believes that by working with our human nature to learn through experience and play, we can accelerate the pace of learning for humanity.  Legends has over 2 million students using the platform in all 50 states and D.C.  Whether you are a 4^th grader learning about Fractions or a 7^th grader learning about Cell Structure, you can learn more effectively through games on the Legend of Learning platform.

About Constellation 

Constellation, an Exelon company, is a leading competitive energy company providing power, natural gas, renewable energy, and energy management products and services for homes and businesses across the continental United States.  Constellation’s parent company, Exelon, is a FORTUNE 100 company that work​s in every stage of the energ​​​​y business: power generation, competitive energy sales, transmission, and delivery. Exelon employs approximately 33,400 people nationwide and does business in 48 states, D.C., and Canada.

About the Constellation E2 Energy Program

Developing Tomorrow’s Energy Leaders, Today

Through the E2 Energy to Educate grant program, Constellation offers students in grades 6-12 and college opportunities to experience problem-solving today’s and tomorrow’s energy challenges. Grant funds support projects designed to enhance students’ understanding of science and technology, and inspire them to think differently about energy.

The post Winners for Game-Based Learning Design Comp appeared first on Legends of Learning.

All hope is not lost! 

Some organizations, like the Girl Scouts of America, are moving quickly to bring virtual summer camp to millions of kids across America. Check to see if your summer camp is offering something similar!  

Host your own science or space camp for your kids

It might sound like a lot of work, but you can challenge your kids to set their own schedule. Give them a long list of activities to choose them and ask them to design the schedule for the week. Activities can range from online games to watching documentaries. Some suggestions of things to include are: 

• Legends of Learning online science games
• Science experiments your kids can do with common kitchen ingredients
• Virtual visits to the U.S. National Parks

Go camping in your backyard! 

We’ve suggested this before, but it’s always a hit! Set up a campsite in your backyard or your living room. Feed your kids hot dogs and s’mores. Have them compete to write the best ghost story. 

Watch the best camp-themed movies

Pick a night each week for a family movie night and work your way down a list of the best camp-themed movies ever made. A few of our favorites: Heavyweights, The Parent Trap, Moonrise Kingdom, and It Takes Two!

Let your kids design their own video game! Legends of Learning is currently running a competition that asks K-12 students to design their own video games. No technology is required, making this an amazing at-home project for all students while schools and summer camps are closed. The winning teams will each win a $500 Amazon gift card! Learn more here.

The post How to Keep Your Kids Busy This Summer appeared first on Legends of Learning.

Here are 5 ways you can get your kids excited about Earth Day (which is this Wednesday, April 22, 2020):

1) Play educational Earth Day games online

Legends of Learning has six free online Earth Day games to help you educate your children about the environment on Earth Day. These six games are part of our larger library of over one hundred Earth and Space, Life, and Physical science games for elementary and middle school grades 3-8. They’ll keep your kids engaged for hours and they’re completely free!

2) Plant a garden

What better way to get your kids excited about saving the planet than having them grow their own garden? Many studies have said gardening is a great way to alleviate the anxiety that’s building up from being quarantined at home. It’s also a great way to get your family outdoors for a few hours. Give your kids a dedicated area to plant their seeds, and assign them watering and weeding duty over the coming weeks. 

3) Watch Planet Earth

We could watch this series a hundred times over, and it’s sure to entertain the entire family, regardless of age. Planet Earth is a great way to expose your kids to the different ecosystems and animals impacted by climate change around the world. It’s no longer on Netflix, but you can find the series on Discovery Channel’s streaming service.  

4) Virtually visit Yosemite National Park

Google Earth launched virtual tours of 31 of the world’s most incredible national parks. From Yosemite to Yellowstone, you and your kids can take a much-needed escape from the comfort of your home. The tours even include can’t-miss sights, like the famous erupting Old Faithful geysers.

5) Teach them how to recycle 

What better time to teach your kids about recycling? Set up a recycling system within your home and label each bin with the items that go in it. Challenge your kids to be mindful about recycling throughout the week. You can even challenge your kids to pick up litter (with gloves, of course!) in your neighborhood or parks as you go for your daily family walks.

The post 5 Ways To Celebrate Earth Day At Home With Kids appeared first on Legends of Learning.

Like every other parent we know, we’re sure you’ve spent the past month adjusting to the reality of working, living, and caring for kids all under one roof. 

If you’ve got curious kids on your hands, you’ve probably been getting loads of questions like “what is coronavirus?” and “how does it spread?”. Like all of us, you look to Google for answers to those questions, as we learn more about this new virus each day. 

But, what do you say when your kids ask “mom, how can I help?” or “dad, how can I make things better?” We think one of the most important things you can do right now is to raise awareness with your kids about the doctors, nurses and other healthcare workers fighting on the frontlines everyday to keep us safe. 

Here are some ways you can talk to your kids about this:

Make DIY face masks for the entire family

Getting your kids excited about designing their own face masks is a great way to ensure they wear one whenever they go outside, and a great time to remind them why we are staying home and healthcare workers are not. It’s also a fun project that allows them to show their personality and keeps them occupied for hours (a win-win if you ask us!). 

Teach your kids about the human body

It’s never been a better time to get your kids interested in science. Legends of Learning has an entire curriculum about the human body, including how viruses work. Let your kids work through that curriculum as they play Awakening, and that might help you get some of their tougher science questions answered. We’ve even updated Awakening so that your kids can dress up their avatar as a first responder Healthcare Hero – complete with a bad, at-home haircut from mom!

Write letters to healthcare workers 

Are there any healthcare workers in your family or circle of friends? Now would be a great time to ask your kids to write an uplifting letter to that person. It may seem like a small gesture, but our healthcare workers need all the bright spots they can find!

Take part in the 7pm collective cheer

It’s become a tradition in cities like New York for everyone to stop what they’re doing at 7pm each night and participate in a collective cheer for our healthcare workers. For a couple of minutes each night, people come outside on their porches or balconies and make noise to celebrate all the first responders out there. Many doctors and nurses have claimed this has helped them stay positive and keep going. Even if you’re quarantined in your home, this is a great way to keep your kids engaged and thinking about our first responders. Each night at 7pm, encourage your entire family to stop and cheer or dance for a minute. 

The post Ways To Support Healthcare Workers Right Now appeared first on Legends of Learning.

5 Science Activities With Kitchen Ingredients

These activities will keep your kids busy for hours, and most of the materials are already in your kitchen pantry. 

1 – Make a Potato Powered Light Bulb

Legends of Learning subject: Electricity

All you’ll need for this experiment is a potato, a small light bulb, a few copper pennies, some copper wire, and a couple of zinc-plated nails. What will it teach your kids? How chemical reactions take place between two dissimilar metals and how to create electricity. Learn more here. 

2 – Make Your Own Ocean Zones In a Jar

Legends of Learning subject: Density of Liquid, Ocean Zones

This activity teaches your kids not one, but two science lessons: liquid density and the ocean zones. Here’s what you’ll need: a clear jar, food coloring, corn syrup, oil, dish soap, water, rubbing alcohol and funnels. Following these instructions, you’ll create the five ocean zones (sunlight, twilight, midnight, abyss, trench) and add them to the jar. Then, talk to your kids about why they think the liquids separated and why certain ones rose to the top. 

3 – Make Your Own Invisible Ink

Legends of Learning subject: Chemical Reactions

Can you think of anything more fun than creating your own invisible ink to write and reveal secret messages? Even adults love this activity! All you need is a well-thought chemical combination. You can select yours here. 

4 – Growing Crystals

Legends of Learning subject: The Scientific Method

Did you know you can actually grow your own crystals with simple kitchen ingredients like salt and sugar? This super fun experiment not only teaches your kids how crystals form, but is also a great way to introduce your kids to the scientific method. Together you can make a hypothesis, set up your experiment, test, and observe.

5 – Edible Marshmallow Play Dough

Legends of Learning subject: Solids

Less a science experiment, more just a fun activity. Make edible marshmallow play dough with your kids. All you’ll need is large marshmallows, corn starch, coconut oil, and neon food coloring. 

The post 5 Science Activities With Kitchen Ingredients appeared first on Legends of Learning.

1) Go camping in your backyard

Depending on the weather, set up a campsite in your backyard or your living room. Feed your kids hot dogs and s’mores. Have them compete to write the best ghost story. If you’re outdoors, search for stars or constellations in the sky. 

2) Plan a cultural theme night

Are your kids interested in learning about other cultures? Bring a new culture to them in the form of a theme night! Pick a far off place in the world that you’ve always wanted to visit (like the Philippines or South Africa) and challenge your kids to plan out a themed night celebrating that country’s culture. Their theme night could include finding and preparing recipes from that culture, creating a playlist of local music, queuing up a documentary on Netflix that features that country, or taking a beginner’s language lesson. 

3) Remote space camp

Is there anything more exciting than space camp? We think not! Let your kids plan out their own schedule for a week of space camp at home! Activities could include a virtual visit to NASA’s International Space Station, playing space science games on Legends of Learning, building your own rocket ship, or making an astronaut costume. 

4) Take your kids on a grand tour of New York City

With much of New York City shut down, almost everything has gone virtual. You can take your kids on a grand tour of New York City without having to leave your couch. Get front row seats at a Broadway show, check in on the animals at the Bronx Zoo, climb to the top of the Empire State Building, explore the Natural History Museum, and take a virtual pizza making class.

5) Organize a board game competition

Are your kids missing their friends? Plan a spring break activity that allows them to socialize with their friends from a distance. Organize a board game competition where all the kids join virtually. Online game sites like Pogo allow your kids to play some of their favorite board games, like Monopoly and Yahtzee, remotely with friends. 

6) Plant a garden

You might not be able to go on a hike through a national park right now, but you can get your kids outside for the day. Have them work together to plant a vegetable or an herb garden in your backyard. Task them with watering, weeding, and checking for sproutlings in the weeks to come!

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To help parents like you, we’ve pulled together some of our favorite ways to keep your kids engaged and learning at home. We recommend incorporating each of these activities into your child’s daily schedule while they’re home school. 

Good, old fashioned reading time

Ask your kids to make a list of 5-10 books they’d like to read over the next couple of months. Set aside dedicated reading time each day in your family’s schedule, so that your kids can start to check those books off their reading list.  

Online educational games

Did you know? Studies have proven that kids stay engaged and retain information longer when they play online educational games. Platforms like Legends of Learning keep your kids engaged by offering thousands of curriculum-aligned math and science games for elementary and middle school students. Online educational games also allow you as a parent to step away from having to play the role of your child’s substitute teacher – a win-win for everyone.

Get creative 

While your kids are cooped up at home, it’s important that you give them an outlet to release some of their creative energy. Give your kids dedicated time to create things, but let them decide what they want to create. They can spend this time practicing artistic skills like drawing, writing, and painting, or learn a new skill like cooking or baking. 

It’s okay to Netflix and chill 

Allow your kids to spend some time watching things like Netflix, as long as they’re watching educational content or documentaries. Scientific shows like Planet Earth can keep them engaged for hours at a time. This also gives the entire family something to discuss at the dinner table each night. 

Learn a new language

Has your kid shown an interest in learning other languages? Now may be the perfect time to get them started learning a new one, like Spanish, French or Mandarin. Try apps like Duolingo allow your kids to learn and progress on their own as they master language skills related to vocabulary, grammar and more. 

The post How to Keep Your Kids Learning at Home During Coronavirus appeared first on Legends of Learning.

One of the most proactive things you can do for your family right now is to create a routine that everyone in your household can follow. 

In general, routines help people maintain a sense of calm and order. Under these extremely stressful circumstances, they also help provide a sense of normalcy in the face of so much uncertainty. Your children are used to a having a predictable schedule set for them in school, and they will likely adapt to an at-home schedule easier than you might think. 

You can work together with your children to create a daily routine for your family. Once agreed upon, it’s important that this schedule be visible to everyone in your family. Write it down on paper and pin it to the fridge, or on a chalk board in your house where everyone can see it.

Your family’s schedule might look something like this:

8:30am – Start

Wake up. Eat breakfast together as a family. Shower and get dressed in normal clothes (it’s important for everyone to not stay in pajamas all day). 

9:15am – Exercise

Encourage some exercise in the morning. If you can, go outside for a walk, play a sport, or ride a bike. If it’s raining, do yoga in the living room.

10:00am – Chores

Ask everyone to help with chores around the house. Having a clean house will make everyone more productive throughout the day, and it’s an opportunity to teach your kids some “adult skills” like making a grocery list or folding the laundry. 

10:30am – Learning/Working Block

Your first of three 2-hour learning/working blocks. Your kids can use this time to work on assigned school assignments or homework. You can use this as a concentrated work block to start your workday. 

12:30pm – Lunch

Break for a 30 minute lunch as a family. 

1pm – Learning/Working Block

Your second 2-hour work block of the day. Encourage your kids to play online educational games (like Legends of Learning) that are already teacher approved and curriculum aligned. 

3pm – Exercise

If you can, go for another walk outside. If you’re stuck indoors, try yoga, dance parties, or indoor challenges like how many times everyone and climb up and down the stairs. 

4pm – Learning/Working Block

Your last 2-hour work block of the day. Make this one “quiet time” for your kids. They can use the time to read, make art, or take photos. As a parent, use this quiet time to wrap up your workday and plan out your to do list for tomorrow. 

6pm – Dinner

Have dinner together as a family.

7pm – Free Time

Save 2 hours after dinner for “free time”. You can watch a movie as a family, FaceTime with family or friends, or play a board game. 

9pm – Bedtime

Encourage your children to try journaling or meditating as a way to relieve some of the anxiety they may be feeling due to so much uncertainty.

The best way to keep your kids on track? Develop a rewards system that celebrates your kids when they stick to the above schedule. An example: perhaps they earn 5 minutes of screen-time for each learning block they complete without interrupting your work schedule.

The post How to Create a Routine for Your Kids While They’re Home From School appeared first on Legends of Learning.