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OverDrive Education Provides Free Resources to Schools Receiving COVID-19 Relief FundsCLEVELAND, May 14, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- The federal government has approved billions of dollars of relief funds for schools, but some educators are unclear where the funds originate and how they should be used. Today, OverDrive Education announced a new effort to guide school districts through the process of understanding and using Education Stabilization Funds (ESF). Interested schools can access the full collection of resources in the K-12 Funding Champion Toolkit. Since March 2020, the U.S. Department of Education has allocated nearly $193 billion in K-12 COVID-19 relief funding to states. The government funds, also known by legislative acronyms CARES, CRRSA, ARP and ESSER, can be used in a variety of ways ranging from improving ventilation, expanding after-school programs and purchasing digital resources like ebooks and audiobooks. "This is a generation-defining event for American primary and secondary education," said Angela Arnold, OverDrive Education General Manager. "Because there is so much to navigate, teachers have many questions about what the funds are and how they can be used. We want to ensure our school partners have the resources they need to answer basic questions and also support districts that want to use the Sora K-12 student reading app to address specific funding requirements." The Sora app, an alowable use for relief funds, is enabling many districts' literacy and reading programs. The legislation defines allowable uses for ESF, including "activities that address unique needs of low-income children or students, children with disabilities, English learners, racial and ethnic minorities, students experiencing homelessness, and foster care youths." The kit currently includes:
More resources will be added to the K-12 Funding Champion Toolkit in the coming weeks. For example, OverDrive Education will hold webinars to further address common questions about government relief. Thousands of schools have turned to digital solutions as a result of remote learning requirements of the pandemic. OverDrive Education increased their network from 20,000 to 48,000 schools throughout the last year, providing ebooks and audiobooks to support curricula and school libraries. In addition, the company donated free digital collections to meet the growing demand through its Sora app. OverDrive Education has also simplified how schools distribute large-volume, digital class sets of required books by working with curriculum providers and expanding edtech integrations. "As districts undertake this transformation to innovate and empower students, OverDrive Education will work closely with them to meet their needs, especially when it comes to expanding literacy and meeting goals of social-emotional learning," Arnold said. The Sora reading app is now used by more than 48,000 schools and districts worldwide. To find more information to help with education government relief funds, visit: http://discoversora.com/esf. About OverDrive Education – a division of OverDrive Contact: View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/overdrive-education-provides-free-resources-to-schools-receiving-covid-19-relief-funds-301291490.html SOURCE OverDrive Education |