A $20 million partnership was announced at a press conference Tuesday, June 29 between the South Carolina Department of Education and South Carolina Arts Commission which will help public schools throughout the state address pandemic related learning loss with proven, arts-based learning initiatives.
ESSER III Funding Background
The American Rescue Plan, passed by the U.S. Congress and signed into law March 11, 2021 by President Biden, included a supplemental, third round of $121.9 billion in Elementary & Secondary School Emergency Relief, known as ESSER III funding, with each state receiving a portion.
The South Carolina Department of Education (SCDE) received $2.1 billion of that to help South Carolina’s public schools address disruptions in learning resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The bulk of that funding, 90 percent, will flow through to school districts.
Remaining funds, a little over $210 million, will be used by SCDE for state-level approaches to pandemic-related challenges. SCDE solicited and received public input to inform the development of its plan for those remaining funds, including from the SC Arts Alliance, ABC Project, and SC Arts Commission.
SC Arts Commission & SC Department of Education Partnership
Leadership from the South Carolina Arts Commission (SCAC) and the SCDE worked together to develop a proposal—rooted in innovation and evidence-based practices— to ensure that the arts were included in the state’s plan. South Carolina’s ESSER III statewide plan, submitted to US Department of Education on June 18, lays out how these funds will help strengthen arts education, and all content areas, across the state – with the arts being a significant part of the state’s strategy.
As part of this partnership, the SC Arts Commission, its staff and key partners, will be leveraging the SCDE’s investment to accomplish the following across the state:
-
help schools and teachers fill learning loss gaps in the arts,
-
use arts integration to remediate other subject areas,
-
and provide summer and afterschool learning opportunities that leverage the arts in schools throughout the state.
SCDE approved $20 million from their state allotment of ESSER III funding for the SCAC to implement this plan during a funding period of FY2022-2024.
The Arts Commission will be leveraging its over fifty years as South Carolina’s only state agency dedicated to the arts, and key arts education partners across the state, to focus on some key programmatic areas including:
-
Arts integration
-
Arts in early childhood
-
Arts industry certification credentials for high school students, building on existing vocational training programs
To realize its classroom-based goals, the SCAC will rely on its partners at the Arts in Basic Curriculum (ABC) Project, which currently serves about 44,000 students in 74 schools and has been cooperatively led for more than 30 years by the SCAC, SCDE, and Winthrop University. ESSER III funding will facilitate scaling the program to:
-
increase access to quality arts education (targeting underserved communities)
-
develop arts-rich learning environments
-
build, restore, expand, and support infrastructure for arts learning at the district level
-
and research and develop new and innovative instructional practices.
“We have a couple of years’ worth of recent Gallup Organization research looking at South Carolina’s arts-rich schools. It repeatedly shows a link between arts-rich learning and student hope and engagement. We have dreamed about having the kind of funding that would enable expansion to all communities throughout the state,” SCAC Board Chairwoman Dee Crawford said.
In addition to building on the work of the ABC Project, the Arts Commission will expand existing pilot projects with the South Carolina Governor’s School for Arts & Humanities in Greenville and Engaging Creative Minds in Charleston, and will offer grant and programming opportunities for arts education providers across the state.
“The South Carolina Arts Commission is confident in its ability to put this funding to use right away to equitably impact learning using the arts,” SCAC Executive Director David Platts said. “Our team of professionals manages existing programs, partnerships, and grant-making infrastructure for this work, which includes federal and state reporting for accountability. ESSER III funding from the SCDE will enable expedient and effective scaling with various arts education partners on the local, state, and national levels.”
MOLLY SPEARMAN QUOTE
Dive Deeper: Full details of the initiatives planned related to this partnership will be available in the coming weeks, and posted on the ABC Project’s website (click here).
What this Means Locally
Full details will be available this summer, but there’s some key action local districts should take as well. While this funding will help schools across the state strengthen their arts education programs, it is imperative that local school districts also include the arts in their own ESSER III plans (using district funds). Districts should provide resources to their arts education programs to help ensure that these statewide initiatives have significant local impact as well.
Every district is required to submit their ESSER III plan to the SC Department of Education in August. The development of their plans is also required to include public input.
Local arts education advocates should be reaching out to their district leadership NOW to be sure the arts are included in their local ESSER III plans so that this historic investment statewide can truly make our local schools stronger through the arts. For information and resources you can use to help make your case, click here.
