Catapult Learning Offers Free Webinars for Education Community on New Opportunities Created by COVID-19 Relief Package

Sessions guide public and nonpublic schools, district and state agencies through the Consolidated Appropriations Act

CAMDEN, N.J., Jan. 11, 2021 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Catapult Learning, a provider of intervention programs for students and professional development solutions for teachers in both public and nonpublic K-12 schools, today announced the launch of three free webinars that will examine the impact of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, on schools, districts and states. The first hour-long session, “What Does the New COVID Relief Package Mean for Nonpublic Schools?”, will be held live Tuesday, Jan. 12, at 3 p.m. ET, explaining how the funding law works and the new opportunities it creates for schools.

Two additional webinars, one addressing the law’s effect on local education agencies (LEAs) and the other on state education agencies (SEAs), will be pre-recorded and shared the week of Jan. 18.

The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 was signed into law on Dec. 7, 2020. It provides $2.75 billion for nonpublic elementary and secondary schools as part of the Governor’s Emergency Education Relief (GEER) fund, distributed at the discretion of SEAs as directed by state governors.

The webinars will be hosted by Jason Botel, vice president of strategic partnerships for Catapult Learning. Botel is a former senior White House advisor for education and acting assistant secretary of elementary and secondary education at the U.S. Department of Education.

“Catapult Learning has vast experience working with government agencies to make the best use of available resources for public and nonpublic education,” said Botel. “We look forward to sharing our understanding of the new stimulus package with interested members of this community, supporting a stronger, healthier K-12 education system in America.”

Co-hosting the first session will be Michelle Doyle, a former director of the Office of Non-Public Education (ONPE) at the U.S. Department of Education. Doyle is chief executive officer of Michelle Doyle Education Consulting.

The live session invites participants to learn more about the law and provides important opportunities for nonpublic schools to consider, such as:

• Whether to apply for a new round of funds through the Payroll Protection Program or GEER (you cannot receive both)
• How to engage with the state to apply for and utilize GEER funds
• How best to use GEER funds to combat learning loss and help cover the costs of keeping your school community safe

A second webinar, “What Does the New COVID Relief Package Mean for LEAs?”, will provide information about opportunities and responsibilities under the law, which includes a $54.3 billion Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) fund. That’s four times the amount of funding as the previous CARES ESSER fund and three times the amount of funding as the annual Title I allocation. Part of ESSER, the $4.1 billion GEER fund can be used for K-12 (and/or higher) education.

This session invites LEAs to learn more about the law and provides important opportunities to consider for the benefit of students, such as:

• How to utilize a very large injection of federal funds for public schools to combat learning loss and keep students and staff as healthy and safe as possible
• Providing tutoring, counseling and other needed supports to students this school year, over the summer and into next school year
• Funding to help cover the costs of recovery and compensatory services for students with disabilities whose services have been disrupted by the pandemic

The third webinar, “What Does the New COVID Relief Package Mean for SEAs?”, will cover:

• The opportunity and responsibility to disburse federal funds to LEAs and nonpublic schools to combat learning loss and keep school communities healthy and safe
• The opportunity and responsibility to develop application processes for nonpublic schools to request federal funds directly from the state
• The opportunity to target the set-aside funds to nonpublic schools serving low-income students that have been most impacted by the pandemic

Catapult Learning partners with more than 500 districts to provide academic intervention, counseling, Extended School Year (ESY), and other services to students in need. It also provides federally funded services to more than 100,000 public and nonpublic school students across the country each year.

To view details and register for the Jan. 12 live webinar, click here. To be notified when the two additional webinars are available to download, sign up here.