As a single school district, ESSER III funds for Blackstone Valley Regional Vocational Technical High School prioritize needs of all grade 9-12 students at both school and district-wide levels. The ESSER III Grant provides the opportunity to increase access to educational materials, mental health support, and technology, as well as resources to address learning loss and support the overall student success for this school year, and years to come.


Our plans for the grant funding touch upon all aspects of student life at BVT:

• The hiring of an additional nurse for this school year will provide all students and staff with another health services team member dedicated to a variety of COVID-19 tasks and supports.

• We are addressing and monitoring mental health/well-being for all students and staff while expanding a positive and supportive learning environment through the use of a school-wide social, emotional learning curriculum (Character Strong).

• We will be hiring a Quarantine Liaison to support all students in quarantine through monitoring academic, vocational, social, emotional, and behavioral progress and supporting remote learning engagement. Our Quarantine Liaison will monitor activities, maintain accessible, inclusive learning environments, as well as ensure students from all subgroups remain connected to resources and support systems needed for their overall success.

• We are also ensuring equitable access to technology for students and staff, in preparation for cases of remote learning that may be needed by either students or staff this coming school year. All students and instructors need devices, proper connectivity, and software in order to successfully complete assignments and limit/prevent any instances of learning loss.

• We are increasing course offerings utilizing evidence-based methods (AP courses, math acceleration academy) to ensure students are provided with an advanced curriculum and to address any learning loss resulting from the pandemic.

• Using the Zoom platform and other software, we will remain connected to families and our community for special events through remote platforms if they cannot come to BVT in person. Additionally, if students or staff have to enter into forced quarantine due to COVID-19, we need to ensure they are still able to safely continue learning/teaching and are not excluded from learning or falling behind in their studies due to quarantine related absences.