Using Federal Grants to Hire Personnel: Advice for Districts
Moderated by Kevin Hogan, eSchool News, Editor-at-Large
Hiring additional reading and math coaches, counselors, school psychologists, and other support staff is a key strategy for meeting students’ academic and social-emotional learning needs. However, when school systems use federal funding for personnel expenses, they must have a plan in place for tracking and reporting the time and effort that employees spend on grant-funded activities to protect current and future student support funding.
Join us on Wednesday, 4/13 as Kecia Ray, Ed.D and Janet Hagood of Jefferson County Schools join UKG’s Rob Tibbs to share best practices and key strategies for completing this process successfully.
You’ll learn:
Critical guidelines for hiring staff using federal funding
Best practices for tracking grant-funded activities
Essential steps for meeting federal funding compliance rules
Kecia is a strategic thinker and a proven leader in K12 transformation. Her career includes designing technology within the First Art Museum and directing technology research through Vanderbilt University School of Medicine Science Outreach programs. She was appointed as a turnaround agent by the Tennessee Commissioner of Education and established award-winning instructional technology programs recognized by the USDOE and Harvard University while in that role.Dr. Ray was named ’20 to Watch’ by the National School Board Association, Woman of the Year by the National Association of Professional Women, a Top 10 EdTech Leader by Tech and Learning, an ISTE Making IT Happen recipient, and most recently named a Top 100 EdTech Influencer by EdTech Digest.
Janet has worked for the Jefferson County School System for over 32 years in a variety of roles, ranging from teacher to administrator. She graduated from the University of Alabama at Birmingham (UAB) with both a Bachelor’s and Master’s degree in Elementary Education then attended Samford University receiving Master’s and Educational Specialist degrees in Educational Leadership.
Janet’s career has focused on helping those in need by removing barriers and providing resources to increase opportunities for students. She is currently the Director of Federal Programs for the Jefferson County School System which is Alabama’s second largest district, serving over 35,000 students. As director, she manages more than $130,000,000 in grants including Titles I, II, III, IV, McKinney‐Vento, Pre‐K, and all stimulus funds.
She served as President of the Alabama Association of Federal Education Program Administrators (AAFEPA) from November 2018 – November 2021. Janet is married and has two sons. She enjoys traveling and watching college football.
Rob Tibbs K -12 industry consultant in the UKG Public Sector practice Speaker Bio
Rob Tibbs K -12 industry consultant in the UKG Public Sector practice
Rob is a K -12 industry consultant in the UKG Public Sector practice and provides subject matter expertise to the company’s growing K-12 customer base. Leveraging his strong background in education, he works with school districts to help them realize maximum value from their Kronos solutions. He’s a regular thought-leadership contributor to several publications. Prior to joining UKG, Rob was director of payroll for the Jefferson County school district, Alabama’s second-largest school district with 6,000 full-time and part-time employees including substitutes.
Moderator - Kevin Hogan eSchool News, Editor-at-Large Speaker Bio
Moderator - Kevin Hogan eSchool News, Editor-at-Large
Kevin is a forward-thinking media executive with more than 25 years of experience building brands and audiences online, in print, and face to face. He is an acclaimed writer, editor, and commentator covering the intersection of society and technology, especially education technology.
