Our district is working to use our final Elementary and Secondary School Emergency Relief (ESSER) funds by the Sept. 30, 2024, deadline. See some facts below about how we thoughtfully invested these funds in supporting our students, staff and families.

Omaha Public Schools received $304 million in three rounds of ESSER funding.

Our district identified four key areas of focus for ESSER spending: Academic Recovery and Acceleration, Well Being of Students and Staff, Infrastructure for the Future and Family & Community Engagement.

ESSER funds supported more than 60 initiatives across our district.

Many buildings in our district received facility updates through ESSER funding. This included air quality upgrades in 22 buildings serving more than 11,000 students, roof updates and hydration stations.

In 2020, ESSER funding assisted Omaha Public Schools with providing more than 60,000 internet-connected iPads to students for remote learning. Through 2024, our district used ESSER funding for an additional 54,000 iPads to refresh outdated devices and ensure backups are available.

Students received more than 88,100 hours of high dosage tutoring online and in person through ESSER funding since 2022.

ESSER funds supported 10 new curriculum adoptions across our district:

• K-12 computer science and technology
• K-12 visual art
• K-12 social studies
• Elementary science
• Secondary English language arts
• Secondary reading intervention
• Secondary English learner support
• High school science
• Omaha Virtual School

Omaha Public Schools will transition ESSER-supported initiatives into our district’s budget planning moving forward including:

• Student devices and classroom technology
• Internet connectivity for student devices
• Early literacy and summer reading
• High dosage tutoring
• Staff plan time wages
• Rolling staff retention stipends into regular pay scales

Learn more about Omaha Public Schools ESSER spending.