Oregon Department of Education Office of Educational Improvement
255 Capitol Street NE and Innovation
Salem, OR 97310
2007- 09
School Improvement Fund (SIF) Grant
EDUCATION SERVICE DISTRICT
This packet includes:
· Grant Application Information,
· “General Assurances” Form,
· “Grant Application” Form,
· “Budget” Form, and
· Grant Reading Information.
School Improvement Fund (SIF)
Grant Application
Due October 12, 2007
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2007-09 School Improvement Fund (SIF) Grant Information and Application—ESD
2007- 09 School Improvement Fund (SIF)
Grant Application Information
The School Improvement Fund (SIF) is established by the state to support areas directly related to increasing student achievement. School districts, education service districts, and other eligible programs have flexibility within the grant guidelines for determining specific evidenced-based areas that will lead to school improvement.
Which districts/programs are eligible to apply for the SIF Grant?
1. Each school district,
2. Each education service district,
3. The Youth Corrections Education Program, and
4. The Juvenile Detention Education Program.
What must districts do to receive this money?
In order to receive funding, districts must submit an application to the ODE by October 12, 2007, and the application must be approved by the ODE.
How may the SIF Grant funds be used?
Areas of allowable uses of SIF Grant funds include:
· Early childhood support including establishing, maintaining or expanding quality pre-kindergarten programs and full-day kindergarten programs;
· Class size reduction with an emphasis on the reduction of kindergarten through grade three class sizes;
· Increases in instructional time including summer programs and before- and after- school programs;
· Mentoring, teacher retention and professional development;
· Remediation, alternative learning and student retention;
· Services to at-risk youth;
· Programs to improve a student achievement gap among student groups identified by culture, poverty, language and race and other student groups;
· Vocational education programs;
· Literacy programs; and
· Other research-based student improvement strategies approved by the State Board of Education.
What is the amount of each SIF Grant?
Allocation estimates for eligible districts/programs can be found on the ODE website at
http://www.ode.state.or.us/services/ssf/finance/estwarrants/sif-and-ssf-combined-run-for-07_08-7-9-07-1843-hrs.pdf
How do eligible districts apply for a 2007- 09 SIF Grant?
1. On or before October 12, 2007, submit by FAX or by mail (postmarked no later than October 12, 2007) a completed and signed “General Assurances” form.
2. On or before October 12, 2007, submit electronically or by mail (postmarked no later than October 12) the completed SIF Grant Application to ODE for review and approval.
When will the SIF Grant funds be distributed?
The ODE will distribute the funds on November 20, 2007.
Education Service Districts:
Upon receipt and approval of the completed SIF Grant Application, the education service district will be awarded 100% of its SIF Grant allocation.
Who do we contact if we have questions or need assistance?
Julie Anderson: ; 503-947-5613
Helen Maguire: ; 503-947-5877
Michael Wiltfong: ; 503-947-5914
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2007-09 School Improvement Fund (SIF) Grant Information and Application—ESD
2007- 09 School Improvement Fund (SIF) Grant
EDUCATION SERVICE DISTRICT
General Assurances to the Oregon Department of Education
DUE October 12, 2007
Read and initial each statement below regarding district responsibilities for assisting schools identified for participation in the SIF Grant as the schools develop or revise school improvement plans and implement the plans.
1. ___Grantee shall expend 100% of all amounts received from the SIF Grant on services or programs that have been approved by the component school districts of the education service district through the resolution process described in ORS 334.175.
2. ___Grantee shall use the funding provided through this grant for areas related to increases in student achievement identified in ORS 327.297 that include:
a. Early childhood support including establishing, maintaining or expanding quality pre-kindergarten
programs and full-day kindergarten programs;
b. Class size reduction with an emphasis on the reduction of kindergarten through grade three class sizes;
c. Increases in instructional time including summer programs and before- and after- school programs;
d. Mentoring, teacher retention and professional development;
e. Remediation, alternative learning and student retention;
f. Services to at-risk youth;
g. Programs to improve a student achievement gap among student groups identified by culture, poverty,
language and race and other student groups;
h. Vocational education programs;
i. Literacy programs; and
j. Other research-based student improvement strategies approved by the State Board of Education.
3. ___Grantee shall establish and maintain fiscal control and accounting procedures for this funding.
4. ___Grantee shall deposit the grant amounts received under this section into a separate account and shall apply amounts in that account to pay for areas described in the district’s approved application.
5. ___Grantee shall submit an application for approval by the Oregon Department of Education that:
a. Identifies the chosen areas from the list of allowable uses of funds to be targeted with SIF Grant funds,
b. Describes how the selected areas directly relate to increases in student achievement,
c. Indicates the Key Performance Measure(s) to which each proposed area is aligned,describes a quantifiable
performance measure that will be applied to demonstrate progress toward the identified goalsfor this
area,and provides the baseline statusof the measure, and
d. Provides a summary of the funding allocations by area and object code.
6.___ Grantee shall adhere to Oregon Department of Education reporting and evaluation requirements including providing qualitative and quantifiable data on the areas and goals designed to increase student learning and achieve established performance targets.
Superintendent’s Signature ______Date ______
Grant Coordinator’s Signature ______Date ______
Submit General Assurances by FAX (503-378-5156)
to the attention of Debbie Shannon
or mail to
Debbie Shannon
Oregon Department of Education
255 Capitol Street N.E.
Salem, OR 97310
(Postmarked no later than October 12, 2007)
If you have questions regarding submission, please call Debbie at 503-947-5646.
2007 - 09 School Improvement Fund (SIF) Grant
Grant Application
DUE October 12, 2007
1) On the SIF Grant Application, each applicant will be required to:
a. Identify the chosen areas from the list of allowable uses of funds to be targeted with SIF Grant funds.
b. Describe how the selected areas directly relate to increases in student achievement.
c. Indicate the Key Performance Measure(s) to which each proposed area is aligned,describe a quantifiable performance measure that will be applied to demonstrate progress toward the identified goalsfor this area,and provide the baseline statusof the measure.
d. Provide a detailed summary of the funding allocations by area and object code.
2) Each SIF Grant Application will be reviewed by ODE staff to ensure that it meets the criteria established by the Oregon State Board of Education.
Data Collection Requirements
In order to meet the reporting requirements for the School Improvement Fund in ORS 327.297 and in the Budget Note to HB 5021 (2007 Legislative Session), the Department of Education will collect data and other information from school districts on their planned uses of the School Improvement Fund dollars, the quantifiable performance measure(s) established by each district, and the progress the districts made on the statewide Key Performance Measures (KPM).
Budget Note to HB 5021 (2007 Legislative Session)—HB 5021- A
“As part of the Continuous Improvement Plan (CIP) that is required to be submitted to the Oregon Department of Education, each school district will specifically identify the area that they will be targeting with their grant from the School Improvement Fund. Each district will also provide a detailed description and quantifiable performance measure for the planned use of the funds at the local level. Proposed uses for these grants should be improving district and/or school achievement on one or more statewide measures and should apply evidence-based approaches. Performance measures should be designated to demonstrate progress on one or more established statewide measures and may be focused on the impact the grant will achieve in that measure at the individual district level.
The Department will report to the Emergency Board or the Interim Joint Committee on Ways and Means the areas targeted by the school district and which Key Performance Measures may be affected. When the data become available, the Department will report the results of the planned funding and the impact on the Key Performance Measures.”
Key Performance Measures (applicable to eligible programs) excerpted from the list of 25 performance measures agreed upon by the ODE and the Oregon Legislature:
1. Access to Pre-kindergarten – Percentage of eligible children receiving head Start/Oregon Pre-Kindergarten services
2. Kindergarten Readiness – Percentage of kindergarten children demonstrating readiness criteria
3. Student Achievement – Percentage of students meeting or exceeding statewide academic performance standards in 3rd and 8th grade reading and math
(KPM #3 is intended to include all grades.)
5. High School Graduation – Percentage of secondary students who graduate, drop out or otherwise finish PK-12 education
6. College Readiness – Participation rate, success rate, and second year persistence rate of Oregon PK-12 students into the Oregon University System, or the Community College System
7. Schools and Districts meeting AYP – Number and percentage of schools and districts that meet Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) criteria
8. Low Performing School improvement – Number and percentage of low-performing schools and districts that improve over time based on AYP guidelines
9. Schools closing the achievement gap – Number and percentage of schools closing the academic achievement gap
10. Schools offering advanced courses – Number and percentage of schools offering advanced courses
11. Suspension, expulsion, and truancy – Number of suspension, expulsion, and truancy incidents, disaggregated by incident type
12. Safe schools – Number of schools identified as persistently dangerous or on the “watch list”
14. Highly Qualified teachers – Percentage of classes taught by highly qualified teachers
15. Minority staff – Number and percentage of schools increasing or maintaining a high percentage of minority staff
The Department will gather the required information in the following two ways:
1) On the SIF Grant Application, each school district is required to:
a) Identify the areas, from the menu in SB 318, where they will be targeting their SIF grant funds and identify how these areas support the school's improvement plan goals.
b) Provide a detailed description for the planned use of the funds at the local level.
(See “SIF Fiscal Summary by Area and Object Code,” page 9.)
c) Provide a quantifiable performance measure designed to demonstrate progress on one or more established statewide performance measures.
2) On a separate SIF Data Collection to be developed by the Department of Education, each school district will be required to:
a) Provide a detailed description of the actual uses of the funds.
b) Report actual expenditures of SIF dollars broken down by area and by object (salaries, supplies, etc.) in a format* specified by the Department of Education.
(See “SIF Fiscal Summary by Area and Object Code,” page 9.)
c) Report progress toward meeting the district’s stated goals, as measured by the performance measure(s) identified in the district’s application.
*The budgetdetail is similar to current accounting principles used for the General Fund revenues (Fund and Source) and expenditures (Fund, Function, and Object Code). SIF expenditures are to beidentified using the Area of Responsibilitycode (350) and tracked in either the General Fund (100) or a Special Revenue Fund (200).Follow-up data is required. A separate account will not be necessary; however, the ODE will ask for detail identifying how funds were spent. This exact process is not complete at this time, and information will be forthcoming .
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2007-09 School Improvement Fund (SIF) Grant Information and Application—ESD
Description of Area(s)
Note: “ESDs shall expend 100% of all amounts received from the SIF Grant on services or programs that have been approved by the component school districts of the education service district through the resolution process described in ORS 334.175.”
Instructions: Complete the following information for each SIF Grant area(s) selected. You may include more than one area per section.
Allowable AreaProvide a brief but complete description the allowable area(s) chosen from the list on page 2.
Provide a brief but complete description of how the area(s) directly relates to increases in student achievement?
What is the quantifiable performance measure(s) identified for the chosen area? (See page 4, Assurance 5 (c).) How is this aligned with the ESD Performance Measures created for the 2007-08 service plan? Be sure to include applicable local measures being used to monitor progress through out the year.
Key Performance Measure alignment (See page 6 for a list of Key Performance Measures.)
Describe how this area is aligned with one or more of the state Key Performance Measures.
Component DISTRICT CIP IMPROVEMENT GOAL
Identify and briefly describe the district Continuous Improvement Goal most closely aligned with this area.
Note: Evidence-based education is a paradigm by which education stakeholders use empirical evidence to make informed decisions about education interventions (policies, practices, and programs). It is the integration of professional wisdom with the best available empirical evidence in making decisions about how to deliver instruction. “Evidence-based” decision making is emphasized over “opinion-based” decision making.
What evidence supports the area(s) you are implementing to increase student performance? Provide a brief summary of the research to show why you expect the chosen area(s) will result in the improvement intended.
Describe the evaluation process you will use a) to determine if this area is being implemented as designed and b) to evaluate the effectiveness of the area in relation to the quantifiable performance measure identified above.
School Improvement Fund (SIF)
Fiscal Summary by Area and Object Code
Projected SIF Fiscal Summary
Instructions: In the table below, provide a summary of projected expenditures for each chosen area by Object.
Allowable area / Early childhood support including establishing, maintaining or expanding quality pre-kindergarten programs and full-day kindergarten program) / Class size reduction with an emphasis on the reduction of kindergarten through grade three class sizes / Increases in instructional time including summer programs and before and after school programs / Mentoring, teacher retention and professional development / Remediation, alternative learning and student retention / Services to at-risk youth / Programs to improve a student achievement gap between student groups identified by culture, poverty, language and race and other student groups / Vocational education programs / Literacy programs / Other research-based student improvement strategies approved by the State Board of Education / Total By ObjectObject
111 Licensed Salaries / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0
112 Classified Salaries / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0
113 Administrators Salaries / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0
12X Substitute Salaries / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0
130 Additional Salary / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0
2XX Benefits / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0
310 Instructional, Professional and Technical Services / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0
320 Property Services (Repairs and Maintenance Services) / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0
330 Student Transportation Services / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0
340 Travel (Including Food) / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0
350 Communication / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0
360 Charter School Payments / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0
370 Tuition / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0
4XX Supplies and Materials / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0
540 Capital Outlay - Depreciable Equipment / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0
550 Capital Outlay - Technology / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0
6XX Other Objects / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0
Total by Area / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0 / $0
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