How California Schools Can Best Use Their EANS Funds

California’s student literacy rates are low, teacher stress is high, learning gaps are expansive, and student mental health is nearing crisis levels. There is hope to be found in the form of California Emergency Assistance for Non-Public Schools (EANS) funding. And there are plenty of areas in which this federal funding can be spent, in ways that will make a true impact in the classroom. Let’s look at how California non-public schools can best use their EANS funds.

Types of California EANS Funding

Before we get into the best ways to invest the funds, we’ll take a quick look at what the funds are designated for in the state of California.

EANS I, hosted by the Santa Clara County Office of Education: The purpose of the EANS program is to provide services or assistance to eligible non-public schools to address the impact that COVID-19 has had, and continues to have, on students and teachers. EANS I Category 3 are contracted services, which include redeveloping instructional plans and/or initiating and maintaining education and support services to address learning loss.
ARP (American Rescue Plan) EANS II, hosted by the California Department of Education (CDE): EANS II funding is to provide services or assistance to non-public schools that enroll a significant percentage of students from low-income families and are most impacted by the COVID-19 emergency. ARP EANS funding goes toward contracted services or eligible items that are pre-approved by CDE under the EANS allowable uses.

Knowing what the funds are designated for, let’s dive into some of the services that can truly make a difference for students and teachers.

Accelerated Learning

To address both lagging student literacy rates as well as learning loss and gaps amplified by the COVID-19 pandemic, accelerated learning programs are a wise investment for districts. Research shows that acceleration is more effective than remediation, with intensive supplemental learning closing learning gaps much more quickly than just remediation. Literacy and math intervention programs are an ideal way to narrow those gaps, but when intervention is paired with a tutoring program, learning happens more quickly and effectively.

Catapult Learning’s Accelerated Learning Solutions:

High-Dosage Tutoring: Our High-Dosage Tutoring is designed to accelerate learning in literacy and math for allK-12 students and optimize academic outcomes through intensive small-group instruction with responsive tutors who provide targeted support. Catapult’s High-Dosage Tutoring is a comprehensive, integrated approach that supports the whole student and reinforces key skills in the current grade’s core content while providing additional supports when necessary.
Reading/Literacy & Math Intervention: With California’s student literacy gap and well-below-average math scores, high-quality, research-based intervention programs become a necessity. Catapult Learning’s literacy intervention supports struggling readers and builds their confidence and comprehension skills. Our programs offer intensive, small-group instruction for students struggling with grade-level content and concepts. Catapult Learning’s reading and literacy intervention are personalized, aligned with local/state/national standards, and utilize our proprietary AchieveReading™ and AchieveLiteracy™ curriculum to accelerate literacy growth and improve oral language.

Our math intervention programs feature skill-based instruction with the regular, repeated use of manipulatives, so students build a clear understanding of concepts and move toward more abstract understanding to improve their overall mathematics aptitude. Our research-based AchieveMath™ curriculum delivers lessons that get students up to speed and keep them there.

Summer Learning: Our K-12 Summer Journey program offers a comprehensive suite of programs that can be personalized to the unique needs of your schools and addresses the academic, social, and emotional needs of your students and their families by incorporating instruction, enrichment activities, and family support elements. This turnkey program offers robust educational opportunities and engaging activities and is designed to prepare students for the fall.

Professional Development & Coaching

As teachers spend more and more time in the classroom just to complete their day-to-day responsibilities, professional development is often swept aside. This is a critical mistake. Consider these findings from a nationwide survey of 6,300 educators, conducted jointly by Corwin, Learning Forward, and the National Education Association (NEA):

Nearly half of teachers report that a majority of their professional learning experiences occur on in-service days or in the summer despite expressing a strong preference for face-to-face learning during the workday. Nearly 25 percent of teachers report spending less than one hour each week on professional learning.
Teachers report that their schools tend to use student achievement data to plan professional learning, but do not use a variety of data to assess its effectiveness or determine how they will assess the effectiveness of professional learning before the plan is implemented.

It’s been proven in other countries that effective, embedded PD is a pillar of success for high-performing school systems. In places like these, PD is widely available throughout a teacher’s tenure, with time specifically set aside during the workday for coaching and professional learning. Through continuous, embedded professional development, teachers become even more effective in engaging and instructing their students, leading to positive classroom outcomes. Teachers in California want high-quality PD—your EANS funding can give it to them.

Catapult Learning’s Professional Development and Coaching Solutions:

High-Impact Coaching: Our high-impact coaching solutions provide educators with the tools they need to grow their skills and build capacity while applying research-based best practices to achieve positive gains in the classroom. Our comprehensive coaching platform is a personalized, capacity-building support system for leaders and teachers designed to help them improve classroom practices and outcomes. We coach:
- Teachers, with job-embedded support in both general and special education.
- School leaders, to build leadership capacity and empower principals and administrators to spearhead transformational efforts.
- Coaches, to equip instructional leaders with the skills they need to best develop others.

Professional Development Pathways: Catapult Learning’s Professional Development Pathways, centered on timely topics in general or special education, are unique and effective solutions that bundle workshops and high-impact coaching specific to a chosen “pathway” to enhance your staff’s expertise. Our pathways include: Social-Emotional Learning, Inclusion, Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS), and Equity.
- Leaders receive a customized professional learning experience to build capacity and drive success.
- Teachers receive vital in-the-moment coaching and job-embedded support to improve classroom practice, teaching quality, and student learning.
- Coaches learn effective new skills to develop staff, with an emphasis on instructional leadership.

Workshops & Institutes: Our workshops introduce school leaders and teachers to an expansive menu of new ideas and evidence-based best practices. Workshop topics align with our Five Strand framework for developing exemplary schools:
- Leadership
- Pedagogy & Curriculum
- Assessment for Learning
- Learning Environment
- Student & Family Support

Literacy First®: The Science of Reading: Our comprehensive, research-based professional learning process supports developing literacy by moving theory into practice in all subject areas. We strive to create a school-wide culture of literacy and grow academic achievement by:
- Developing expertise in the Science of Reading
- Equipping teachers to support all learners
- Turning students into fluent readers and writers
- Positioning your staff to witness improved student outcomes
- Closing school and district achievement gaps

Life Skills & Mindfulness

Catapult Learning’s Life Skills and Mindfulness programming is based on the understanding that the best learning emerges because of supportive relationships that make learning challenging, engaging, and meaningful. Our programming is built upon a foundation of five competencies that include self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision making, with focuses on Counseling, Family Engagement, and Professional Development. The goal is to expand students’ 21st century skills in critical thinking, collaboration, creativity, and empathy—all necessary for success in college, careers, and beyond.

Our Life Skills and Mindfulness programs address the specific needs of each school by using a thorough needs assessment to create and implement the most effective programs. Using data from our needs assessment, we will structure a Life Skills and Mindfulness program for your school that can include:

Assessments and student plans
Professional development
Family support

STEAM (STEM) Learning

Our STEAM (STEM) learning, based on the engineering design process and modular in design, helps develop students’ critical thinking and problem-solving skills through engaging, hands-on activities. And it’s flexible, so the program can be implemented during or after school, or over the summer. Catapult’s STEAM (STEM) Learning includes:

Supplemental curriculum tailored to your schools’ needs
Interactive, hands-on lesson materials selected by our academic experts
Instructors hosted at your school, hired locally, and trained by us
Collaborative training and professional development

Why Choose Catapult Learning When Spending Your EANS Funds?

We can help you responsibly plan your EANS spending.

Understanding how to spend your EANS funds most effectively can be daunting. We offer a wide range of services that not only support student learning but also help educators manage their classrooms and students’ needs.

We can tailor our services to your school’s needs.

Each school has unique needs, which is why we provide services and programs tailored to fill your specific gaps, whether they’re academic, social-emotional, or both. Our services can be provided in-person, virtual, or hybrid.

We do the heavy lifting for you.

Our programs are turnkey to start, flexible to implement, and offer customized learning solutions dedicated to academic achievement and confidence building.

Most of all, we want nothing more than for California’s millions of talented students and educators to succeed academically and emotionally. By responsibly spending EANS I and II funding on the right programs, California schools can go a long way toward accelerating academic outcomes, improving instruction by providing teachers and leaders with professional learning, and supporting all students.

There is still time to spend EANS funds in California. The deadlines are: