Educators keep an eye on Washington

Cutbacks of federal agencies are underway in Washington, D.C. and although nothing has been done yet, the Department of Education is not being overlooked.

Regarding education, the current administration advocates that states would better serve the nation’s children than the federal government and believes school funding should be controlled by states. Consequently, at the local level, there is concern that a change in the status quo might cause disruptions or outright cancellations.

That said, township parents might wonder how much school funding is currently dependent upon Uncle Sam. Bloomfield Superintendent of Schools Sal Goncalves, schools business administrator Vicky Guo and the district’s director of student achievement, Angelo Locantore, discussed this last week with The Independent Press.

“We get our fair share of federal money,” Goncalves said in his office. “We’re keeping an eye on what’s going on in Washington, but right now, we’re good.”

The total federal government funding to Bloomfield, Oct. 2024-25, is $3.67 million. This sum flows to students in three ways: programs for general education students, for special education students and for those hoping for a technical career.

Funding for general education students is under the umbrella known as Title I and $1.4 million of the total amount is earmarked here. The money focuses on at-risk students. This means they require more school time to come up to the testing standards of their classmates. Goncalves said there are pretty much two reasons why they are academically behind. The families of these children may be recent arrivals to Bloomfield and it is taking time for them to readjust to a new environment, language and curriculum. Secondly, he said some children were impacted more than others from disruptions caused by the pandemic. There are 6,500
students in 10 Bloomfield schools with the number at-risk varying among schools.

Title I money funds intervention programs, according to Locantore, who said these are grants supporting the whole child.

“That is our concern with any cutbacks,” he said. “How will our grant programs be affected? Right now, we’re fine. But if decisions are made that affect Title I, we’ll move from there.”

Title I also supports the employment of 12 math and 15 English language arts interventionalists, he said, and at least 40 percent of all Bloomfield students qualify for Title I support. Seven of the 10 schools are considered economically disadvantaged.

“The federal government, using a formula, establishes that threshold, for what is economically disadvantaged, for the entire state,” Guo said.

There is also Title II funding that takes its share of total federal monies designated for Bloomfield. It is $212,804 of the $3.67 million.

“This is for the professional development of teachers that positively impacts students,” Goncalves said.

An example is when the state updates its academic standards. This requires the teacher to receive training to address the change. “Some professional development is required,” Goncalves, with 49 years in the district as teacher and principal, said. “Educators are constant learners.”

Another thing the teacher may learn is how to access LinkIT. Guo called it a data warehouse.

“It’s a platform that holds the data of students,” she said. “Teachers can access this to determine specific areas of need of a student.”

“The bulk of Title II funding is for professional development,” Locantore added. “Math and English language coaches are also funded by it.”

There is also Title III with $62,064 in funding. This is for English-language learners and used for various programs, material and engagement events. In Bloomfield, there also are weekly adult instruction classes for parents learning English. Classes meet at various schools depending on availability.

There is Title IV, Part A, with funding of $89,420.

This funding, Locantore said, is being used for computer coding clubs for third- and fourth-graders, a popular activity in high demand. Some of the funding is also going into the district’s Wingman program which focuses on social/emotional learning.

“It’s essentially kids leading kids,” he said. ‘So you’re also working on leadership skills.”

Title IV, Part A, funding also supports students learning to program robots.

Another portion of the total funding is for IDEA-B. It totaled $1.8 million and is ear-marked for children with special needs. The funds are used for out-of-district placement and speech and physical therapy.

Another $60,000 of funding is for career and technical education. This is the Perkins program.

“The basics of the Perkins grant is to get students involved in fields that are high-demand,” Locantore said. “At times, they can have dual-enrollment opportunities, at the high school and also in a college-level course.”

And that is how $3.67 million of federal education monies is put to work in Bloomfield. Goncalves said it was paramount that the district maintain this funding.

“We’re trying to be optimistic,” he said.

  bloomfield, Federal funding