West Side's Mark Spencer and GCSC Manager Paige McNulty welcome U.S. Congressman Frank Mrvan, Jr.

West Side students and teachers have an advocate in Mrvan

Contributed By:The 411 News

New to the U.S. Congress and looking to see what impacts will come from major legislation he helped pass, U.S. Rep. Frank Mrvan, Jr. returned to Gary Monday for a visit to West Side high school. Education was a big beneficiary of that legislation – the American Rescue Plan – and Rep. Mrvan was using his spring recess time to visit public schools in his district.

The freshman congressman was in Gary a week ago, to help kick off the opening of the mass COVID-19 vaccination clinic to fight the pandemic, another focus of the American Rescue Plan legislation.

Rep. Mrvan introduced himself to the African American History class of teacher Stephen Curry, asking the students what they needed the most. “When can all of us come back to school? I feel sorry for the freshmen who are missing out on being in high school,” an eleventh-grade student responded.

Rep. Mrvan said that decision will have to be made locally, but he did make a promise to students and teachers to be their advocate. “My purpose is to get the resources the school system needs to get back to normalcy. I want to see Mr. Teamer’s music students return to in-person learning.”

The congressman’s tour included a visit to a geometry class, the school’s TV studio, band and orchestra room, West Side Theatre Guild Auditorium and the school’s swimming pool.

According to Congressman Mrvan’s office, school corporations in his district will receive approximately $289,915,000 million in ARP funds. The funds are based on the amount of Title I Part A funding the school district received in the year prior to the pandemic. Mrvan's 1st Congressional District represents all of Lake and Porter counties, and parts of LaPorte County.

Dr. Paige McNulty, Manager for the Gary Community School Corp., said the district will receive between $55 million and $60 million from the ARP legislation.

Included in the uses of the funds are school buildings repairs to reduce the risk of virus transmission and repair projects to improve indoor air quality. Funds can be used to address learning loss caused by the pandemic, and to purchase educational technology (including hardware, software, and connectivity) that aids in interactions between students and their classroom instructors.

Darrell Riddell, Information Technology Director for GCSC, said he would like to use the funds to increase digital access. Since the start of the 2020-21 school year, the district has offered online technical assistance to parents to help them understand the learning tools used by their children.

Many areas in Gary don’t have stable internet access and some families can’t afford it, Riddell said.

The legislation allows funds to be used to provide information and assistance to parents and families on how they can effectively support students, including in a distance learning environment.

Riddell said the funds would help the school district have parents attend in-person for those support sessions.

Story Posted:04/13/2021