Delaware Statewide Title I Conference

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School Improvement – The Ever-Changing Landscape –

Part I

June 29, 2010

Bill McGrady

U. S. Department of Education

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Common Compliance Findings/Issues

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Parental notifications do not include the required elements

Parental notifications are not sent in a timely manner or are not sent at all

Parental notification include incorrect information or include language that serves as a disincentive to parents participating in public school choice or SES

School improvement plans do not include the required elements or some elements are minimally addressed

School improvement plans are not aligned to the identified needs of the schools

Common findings/issues found during ED monitoring visits include:

Common Compliance Findings/Issues

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SES was not offered in a timely manner

SES was offered to ineligible students or was not offered to all eligible students

SES per child amount was calculated incorrectly

Information required in the October 2008 Title I regulations regarding public school choice and SES was not placed on the LEA’s website or was not displayed prominently

The required notification that the LEA was in improvement or corrective action was not completed

Common findings found during ED monitoring visits include (continued):

School Improvement & Corrective Action (Years 1 - 3)

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Parents are offered an opportunity to transfer to another school not in improvement

School develops or revises school improvement plan that includes the ten required components {§1116(b)(3)(A)(i)-(x)}

Parents are notified of the school’s identification for improvement

School sets aside 10% of its Title I funds for professional development and the LEA provides technical assistance

In addition to the required actions for year 1, the school now offers eligible students the opportunity for free tutoring (supplemental educational services)

Title I schools that fail to make AYP for 2 consecutive years enter school improvement at the beginning of the next school year (based on a state’s definition of what constitutes not making AYP)

If at the end of the next school year the Title I school again fails to make AYP, it moves into Year 2 of school improvement

School Improvement & Corrective Action (Years 1 - 3)

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The school continues to offer choice and SES

Parents are notified that the school is in corrective action and the corrective action the school will implement

The school implements one of the required corrective actions (see later slides for details)

If the Title I school fails to make AYP at the end of the next school year it moves into corrective action (Year 3)

Corrective Action – A Definition7

Corrective Action – a Statutory Definition

Substantially and directly responds to:

The term “corrective action” means action, consistent with State law that:

The consistent academic failure of a school that caused the local educational agency to take such actions, and

Any underlying staffing, curriculum, or other problems in the school, and

Is designed to increase substantially the likelihood that each group of students enrolled in the school identified for corrective action will meet or exceed the State’s proficient levels of achievement on the State’s academic assessments in reading and mathematics

Corrective Action Options8

Replace the school staff who are relevant to the failure of the school to make AYP

Institute and fully implement a new curriculum that is grounded in scientifically based research, including providing appropriate professional development for all relevant staff

Significantly decrease management authority at the school level

Appoint an outside expert to advise the school on its progress toward making AYP, based on the school’s improvement plan

Extend the length of the school year or school day for the school

Restructure the internal organizational structure of the school

Corrective action options include {§1116(b)(7)(C)(iv)(I)-(VI)}:

Planning for Restructuring (Year 4)9

Statutory Requirements:

The LEA must require the school to continue to offer public school choice {§1116(b)(8)(A)(i)}

The LEA must require the school to continue to offer supplemental educational services (SES) {§1116(b)(8)(A)(ii)}

The LEA must prepare a plan and make necessary arrangements to carry our alternative governance {§1116(b)(8)(A)(iii)}

If the school again fails to make AYP it must begin planning for restructuring

Implementing Restructuring(Year 5 and Beyond)

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Statutory Requirements:

The LEA must implement one of the alternative governance arrangement options listed below (must be consistent with state law):

Reopen the school as a charter school {§1116(b)(8)(B)(i)}

Replace all or most of the school staff (which may include the principal) who are relevant to the failure to make adequate yearly progress {§1116(b)(8)(B)(ii)}

The LEA must require the school to continue to offer public school choice and supplemental educational services (SES)

If the school again fails to make AYP it must implement its restructuring plan

Implementing Restructuring(Year 5 and Beyond)

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Alternative governance arrangement options (continued) (must be consistent with state law)

Enter into a contract with an entity, such as a private management company, with a demonstrated record of effectiveness to operate the public school {§1116(b)(8)(B)(iii)}

Turn the operation of the school over to the State educational agency – if permitted under State law and agreed to by the State {§1116(b)(8)(B)(iv)}

Any other major restructuring of the school’s governance arrangement that makes fundamental reforms, such as significant changes in the school’s staffing and governance, to improve student academic achievement in the school and that has substantial promise of enabling the school to make adequate yearly progress {§1116(b)(8)(B)(v)}

Non-regulatory Guidance - 200612

Change the governance structure of the school in a significant manner that either diminishes school-based management and decision making or increases control, monitoring or oversight of the school’s operations and educational programs by the LEA

Close the school and reopen it as a focus theme school with a new staff or staff skilled in the focus area (e.g., math and science, dual language, communication arts)

Reconstitute the school into smaller autonomous learning communities (e.g., school-within-a-school model, learning academies, etc.)

July 2006 “LEA and School Improvement Non-regulatory Guidance” further defined what constitutes “other major restructuring of the school’s governance” by providing examples (question G-8):

Non-regulatory Guidance - 200613

Dissolve the school and assign students to other schools in the district

Pair the school in restructuring with a higher performing school so that K-3 grades from both schools are together and the 4-5 grades from both schools are together

Expand or narrow the grades served, e.g., narrowing a K-8 school to a K-5 elementary school

Examples (continued):

Non-regulatory Guidance - 200614

Consider what has occurred in the school that resulted in the school being identified for restructuring

Consider the actions that have been initiated in prior years

Consider what other changes might be needed in addition to changing governance – professional development, curriculum, instruction, technology, assessment, etc.

Secure active support and involvement of school and district personnel, parents, teachers, business and community organizations, State educational agency personnel, other governmental agencies and others

Process for selecting the alternative governance option (question G-9)

October 2008 Regulations15

Changes to §200.43 of the Title I regulations clarified existing language to say that:

Interventions implemented as a part of a school’s restructuring plan must be significantly more rigorous and comprehensive than the corrective actions that the school implemented after it was identified as in need of improvement, unless the school has begun to implement one of the restructuring options as a corrective action

Districts must implement interventions that address the reasons why a school is in the restructuring phase

The restructuring option of replacing all or most of the school staff may include replacing the principal; however, replacing the principal alone is not sufficient to constitute restructuring

The “other” option to restructure a school’s governance may include replacing the principal so long as this change is part of a broader reform effort

School Improvement Plan – Required Elements

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Incorporate strategies based on scientifically based research that will strengthen the core academic subjects in the schools and address the specific academic issues that caused the school to be identified for school improvement

Adopt policies and practices concerning the school’s core academic subjects that have the greatest likelihood of ensuring that all groups of students enrolled in the school will meet the State’s proficient level of achievement no later than the end of the 2013-2014 school year

Provide an assurance that the school will spend no less than 10% of its Title I funds for the purpose of providing the school’s teachers and principal high-quality professional development that:

School improvement plans shall:

School Improvement Plan – Required Elements

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Specify how the 10% funds will be used to remove the school from improvement status

Establish specific, measurable objectives for continuous and substantial progress by each group of students that will ensure that all groups of students meet the State’s proficient level of achievement by the end of the 2013-2014 school year

School improvement plans shall (continued):

Directly addresses the academic achievement problem that caused the school to be identified for school improvement

Meets the requirements for professional development activities under section 1119

Is provided in a manner that affords increased opportunity for participating in that professional development

School Improvement Plan – Required Elements

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Describe how the school will provide written notice about the identification to parents of each student enrolled in the school

Specify the responsibilities of the school, the LEA serving the school, and the SEA

Include strategies to promote effective parental involvement in the schools

Incorporate, as appropriate, activities before school, after school, during the summer, and during any extension of the school year

Incorporate a teacher mentoring program

School improvement plans shall (continued):

Parental Notification19

An explanation of what the identification means and how the school compares to other schools in terms of academic achievement to other elementary and secondary schools in the LEA and the State

The reason for the identification

An explanation of what the school is doing to address the problem of low achievement

An explanation of what the LEA and the SEA are doing to help the school address its achievement problem

An explanation of how parents can become more involved in addressing the academic issues that caused the school to be identified for improvement

An explanation of the parents’ option to transfer to another school or to obtain SES

information on the academic achievement of the school or schools to which the child may transfer (Title I regulations)

Parental notifications must include:

Information Dissemination20

Information Dissemination

To the public and to the parents of each student enrolled in the school subject to corrective action, and

In an understandable and uniform format and, to the extent practicable, provided in a language that the parents can understand, and

Through such means as the Internet, the media, and public agencies.

The LEA is required to publish and disseminate information regarding any corrective action the LEA takes at a school