With the signing of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) on March 11, a third round of Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER) funds were passed into law. Together with ESSER I and ESSER II funds allocated from previous COVID-19 relief bills, the total supplemental education funding in the US since the start of the coronavirus pandemic equals $190.5B.

This article originally appeared on Medium. Joe Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021(ARPA) on March 11, broadly one year after the Coronavirus Pandemic was declared in the USA. ARPA includes $122.8B of new funding that is called the Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief Fund (ESSER III). So here I’ll be telling you about ARP ESSER III and the difference between the STATES requirements and the DISTRICT requirements.

Ask a local official or a business leader what STEM means, and they may have an answer for you. “It’s Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics,” they might say. They might go on to talk about STEM careers, and how engineers and computer programmers make good money and are in demand. They might even talk about how we need more science teachers to teach STEM.

Students today need to be prepared for the modern-day workforce Standardized testing, sitting quietly in class taking notes, and reciting facts from memory may have their place, but educators have begun to rally behind a new way of teaching that enables students to learn valuable skills. These skills aim to go beyond traditional assessment models, digitized worksheets, and even the scientific approach of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics).

Making decisions about what EdTech solutions best fit the goals of schools, teachers, or parents is a complex and personal process. A big part of that is positioning the EdTech offering in the most helpful way, for users to quickly and easily identify when a product is the right fit for them. Identifying the specific needs each EdTech product meets is perhaps one of the more important, yet hardest parts of a startup’s journey, especially when separating between what the product is designed for, and how users identify with the product for their own purposes.

The world around us is increasingly powered by science and technology. There’s plenty of data on the growth of STEM careers, and the need for qualified workers to fill these jobs. These trends aren’t going anywhere, and if anything are accelerating. But what about STEAM?

  I saw an article over the weekend about a school district that was placing 50+ students into every distance learning classroom.  Of course this is a temptation that is to be largely expected.  At a time when budgets are stretched thin and schools are scrambling to find ways to save money, it is hardly surprising to find schools that are stuffing digital classrooms with more students.    

The COVID-19 pandemic has upended education for teachers, parents, and students alike, but before that revolution, there was another one just as profound. Long before parents were asked to double as in-home teachers, educators were focusing on STEM education, turning their sights to the important fields of science, technology, engineering, and math. 

How do we become more authentic in the way that we teach as educators?

These insightful education studies are a reason (or 5) we all can be hopeful about the future of today's educators and tomorrow's problem solvers. As schools, classrooms, educators and students continue to adapt and persist through the turbulence, we all should take a moment to appreciate and then support their efforts to educate and learn. Education research work such as this is vital to continuing to improve the educational experience for all.  

One of our previous blog posts outlines what a STEAM learning approach to education is (science, technology, engineering, the arts and mathematics), how it differs from STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) and how exactly STEAM education plays a part in the real-world.

Distance learning has truly transformed the learning environment for K-12 schools, as the COVID-19 crisis has forced educators to go completely digital with their curriculum. While teachers have found an abundant supply of content and tools online to rapidly turnaround their lesson plans to teach online, there still has been a huge adjustment. Additionally, parents have taken on the additional responsibility of supporting children learning at home while students increase screen-time usage and navigate learning without being in the classroom.