Larson Visits East Hartford High School to Announce $45 million in COVID Relief Funding
East Hartford, CT – Today, Rep. John B. Larson (CT-01) visited East Hartford High School to announce the Town of East Hartford received $45.5 million in federal aid from the American Rescue Plan, COVID relief legislation Larson helped author and pass in Congress. $21 million of the local aid for East Hartford was allocated for their school district to safely re-open and offer new enrichment opportunities throughout the school year and during the summer for students.
“The record funding we passed in the American Rescue Plan has enabled schools to catch up from lost instruction time during the pandemic and provide year-round opportunities for our students,” said Larson. “In East Hartford, relief funding has supported a laptop or tablet for every student in the district, enrichment programming and support specialists to offer at-home and summer learning opportunities, as well as crucial money needed to modernize school infrastructure.”
“The Town of East Hartford is grateful to have received such an unprecedented amount of federal funding. These funds will assist the Town in recovering from the COVID-19 pandemic, help spur economic development, provide support for local businesses, and create programming that improves the quality of life for all East Hartford residents,” said East Hartford Mayor Mike Walsh.
“Federal funding through the American Rescue Plan has been a lifeline as we brought learning back in person in East Hartford. It provided the resources to accelerate achievement, enrich learning, and advance equity for every student in our district,” said East Hartford Superintendent Nathan Quesnel.
“These funds, which we included in our Board of Education budget, allowed us to hire educators with the specific goal of closing learning gaps and getting students back on track,” said East Hartford Board of Education Chairman Tyron Harris. “It also allowed us to greenlight facilities projects on our schools and classrooms and maintain our commitment to providing tablets or laptops to every student in East Hartford Public Schools.”
With aid from the American Rescue Plan, the East Hartford Board of Education allocated funding to:
retain existing staff and hire new staff to provide targeted instruction to address learning loss due to the COVID-19 pandemic,
hire Bilingual Family Support Specialists across the District to improve communications and connections with families,
construct a Welcome Center to support new families in East Hartford,
deploy specialized staff to support students with special needs,
continue to provide laptops or tablets to every student,
fund Capital Improvement Projects that address infrastructure issues at the schools,
and hire a Grants Assistant and Construction Manager to oversee Federal grants and related school construction projects.