Title I-A School Improvement

2011-2012

Title I-A School Improvement

Resource Manual

Revised – August 2011

Oregon Department of Education

255 Capitol Street, NE

Salem, OR 97310

503-947-5622

http://www.ode.state.or.us/search/results/?id=95

2011 – 2012 Title I-A School Improvement Resource Manual

Table of Contents

I. / Introduction / 2
·  Accountability for Schools Designated as Not Meeting AYP
·  Accountability for Title I-A Schools
·  Accountability for Schools Not Receiving Title I-A Funds
II. / Title I-A School Improvement Timeline / 5
III. / Parental Notification Requirements / 6
·  Sample Parent Notification Letters
IV. / Funding Set-Asides for Title I-A School Improvement / 6
·  Professional Development Requirements
·  School Choice and Supplemental Educational Services
(SES) Options
·  Transportation Portion of the School Choice and SES Set
Aside
·  SES Portion of the School Choice and SES Set-Aside
V. / The Steps for Providing Supplemental Education Services / 10
VI. / Revision of School Improvement Plan (SIP)
·  Components of the Revised SIP
·  Schoolwide Plans serving as School Improvement Plans
·  Technical Assistance in Developing the SIP
·  Process for Reviewing the SIP
·  Timeline for Review and Approval of the SIP
·  Conditional Approval
·  Plan Implementation
·  School Improvement Grants to Support Implementation of
the Plan
·  Yearly Progress and Final Report / 12
VII. / Requirements for District to Provide Technical Assistance to Schools in School Improvement Status / 17
VIII. / Resources and Contact / 18
Appendix A / Suggested School Improvement Plan Template / 19
Appendix B / Implement Plan and Monitor Progress / 27
Appendix C / Fiscal Requirements / 30
Appendix D / Yearly Progress and Final Report Template / 32

I. Introduction

Accountability for Schools Designated as Not Meeting AYP

The federal ESEA as amended (ESEA Act of 2001) requires the state to have a single accountability system and to hold schools and districts accountable for the academic achievement of its students. All schools, districts and the state are accountable for meeting adequate yearly progress (AYP) each year. This federal law also contains mandatory sanctions that apply only to schools that receive Title I-A funding and repeatedly do not meet AYP. All schools and districts not yet meeting AYP targets, however, are expected to improve. School, local district, and state plans must be revised to reflect the needs identified in the AYP analysis.

Title I-A of the ESEA provides funding targeted to schools with higher concentrations of low-income students and is designed to provide assistance to help students meet state academic standards. Schools that receive Title I-A funds and are identified as not meeting AYP targets in any one of four categories (English/language arts, mathematics, attendance or graduation, and participation in statewide assessments) for two consecutive years are identified as being in Title I-A School Improvement status. The local district may use its Title I-A and other federal funding sources to develop revised school and district improvement plans to address targeted needs.

In addition to Title I-A funds, districts also receive (under ESEA) non-competitive, formula distributions of federal funding for:

·  Preparing, Training and Recruiting High Quality Teachers and Principals

(Title II-A)

·  Enhancing Education through Technology (Title II-D)

·  Language Instruction for Limited English Proficient and Immigrant Students (Title III)

·  Safe and Drug Free Schools (Title IV-A)

·  Innovative programs (Title V)

Many districts may also receive ESEA funding through competitive and non-competitive grants for School Improvement that include 21st Century Community Learning Centers (Title IV-B), Math-Science Partnerships, and others. Districts also receive other federal funding support (in addition to ESEA) in areas of special education and professional-technical education. It is an expectation that local districts use these funds to address the areas in need of improvement identified in the AYP analysis.

Accountability for Title I-A Schools

In order to help close the achievement gap and provide support to schools and districts, the Oregon Department of Education (ODE) is required to establish benchmarks for expected rates of achievement for every school. The ODE works with key partners such as Education Service Districts, universities, community-based organizations, and professional organizations to provide technical assistance and support to districts and schools on school improvement issues. This shared accountability among the education community utilizes a “capacity-building” process that leads to a better understanding of the nature of student achievement, analysis of effective strategies, and development of plans that will lead to student success at the Local Education Agency (LEA) level. The expected outcome is a deeper state-wide organizational understanding of how to improve student achievement at every level.

Under ESEA, schools and districts that do not meet AYP the first year face no sanctions. Those schools that do not meet AYP for a second consecutive year in the same academic content area (i.e. English/Language Arts, Mathematics) or Other Indicator are identified as being in Title I-A School Improvement status and the accompanying sanctions take effect.

As shown in the table on page 4, the sanctions, outlined in ESEA for Title I-A schools, increase in severity each year.

Accountability for Schools Not Receiving Title I-A Funds

Although all schools receive an annual report of AYP, the mandatory sanctions for schools that do not meet AYP for two or more consecutive years do not apply to schools that receive no Title I-A funding. All schools are expected, however, to help each student reach state standards. Title I-A funds may only be used in Title I-A eligible schools, but districts do receive other federal funds that can be used to support non-Title I-A schools. These funds were described earlier in this section.

1

School Improvement Year / Year 1 / Year 2 / Year 3 / Year 4 / Year 5 / Year 6 / Year 7
How did the school get here? / Two consecutive years of not meeting AYP / Three consecutive years of not meeting AYP / Four consecutive years of not meeting AYP / Five consecutive years of not meeting AYP / Six consecutive years of not meeting AYP / Seven consecutive years of not meeting AYP / Eight consecutive years of not meeting AYP
What must the district do? / ·  Notify Parents
·  Offer School Choice
·  Provide transportation assistance
·  Revise and implement School Improvement Plan (SIP)
·  Provide professional development
·  Ensure that school is receiving technical assistance / ·  Notify Parents
·  Offer School Choice
·  Provide transportation assistance
·  Revise and implement School Improvement Plan (SIP)
·  Provide professional development
·  Ensure that school is receiving technical assistance
·  Offer Supplemental Educational Services (SES) / In addition to the
school improvement
steps, the
district must take
at least one of the
following corrective
actions:
·  Replace some school staff
·  Institute new curricula
·  Decrease management authority of school
·  Appoint outside expert
·  Extend school day/year
·  Restructure school / The district must
prepare a restructuring
plan to
implement at least
one of the following:
·  Replace all or most of school staff
·  Contract with an outside entity to operate the school as a public school
·  Turn the school over to the State Education Agency for operation
·  Reopen the school as a public charter school
·  Restructure the school’s governance
AND
·  Develop a Restructuring Plan / In addition to the
school improvement
steps, the
district must take
at least one of the corrective
actions listed in Year 3 and:
·  Implement the restructuring plan / In addition to the
school improvement
steps, the
district must take
at least one of the corrective
actions listed in Year 3 and:
·  Continue to implement the restructuring plan with modifications / In addition to the
school improvement
steps, the
district must take
at least one of the corrective
actions listed in Year 3 and:
·  Continue to implement the restructuring plan

1

II. Title I-A School Improvement Timeline

Date

/ Significant Events Related to Schools Identified for Improvement
August / ·  Public release of Preliminary AYP designations
No later than the 14 days prior to first day of school / ·  Notify parents of students in Title I-A schools in school improvement status of potential school choice and if applicable, supplemental educational service options
First day of school / ·  Implementation of school choice and/or supplemental educational services
September 8, 2011 / ·  Public release of final AYP designations
September 9, 2011 / ·  Grant application information released to superintendents and Title I-A coordinators and Superintendents
September 16, 2011 / ·  Letter with final AYP designations and Title I-A School Improvement status from ODE.
·  Final school and district AYP designations with supporting data and preliminary report card detail sheets on ODE district website
September 30, 2011 / ·  Districts applying for a Title I-A School Improvement Grant submit letter of intent to apply, accompanied with assurances that parent notification requirements have been met, and sample parent letter(s)
·  District signed Assurances due to ODE
November 15, 2011 / ·  2010/2011 Year end reports due to ODE
·  Existing schools in improvement yearend reports due to ODE
No later than December 16, 2011 / ·  Revised Title IA School Improvement Plan due to district
No later than 14 days prior to the beginning of Second Semester / ·  Notify parents of students in Title I-A schools in school improvement status of potential school choice and if applicable, supplemental educational service options
No later than January 30, 2012 / ·  Title I-A SIP due to ODE
No later than June 29, 2012 / ·  Yearly progress reports due to ODE based on pre-preliminary data and AYP results
September 29, 2012 / ·  Final report for schools that exit Improvement status due to ODE.

ESEA allows 90 days for LEAs to revise School Improvement Plans and 45 days for the review process to occur. Districts can choose to accelerate the process as long as they can demonstrate thoughtful and evidence-based procedures.

III. Parental Notification Requirements

Schools that are identified for Title I-A School Improvement, and their respective districts, have an obligation to provide parents with information about AYP and school improvement efforts. A district shall provide parents of each student enrolled in a school that is identified for school improvement, corrective action, or restructuring written notification of the school’s improvement status. To the extent practicable, the notification must be in a language the parents can understand and must include the following:

·  An explanation of what Title I-A School Improvement status means, and how the school compares in terms of academic achievement to other elementary schools or secondary schools served by the district and the state

·  Reasons for the identification

·  An explanation of what the school in Improvement status is doing to address the problem of low achievement

·  An explanation of what the district (or if in the restructuring stage, what the ODE is doing to help the school address the achievement problem)

·  An explanation of how the parents can become involved in addressing the academic issues that caused the school to be identified for School Improvement status

·  An explanation of the parents’ option to transfer their child to another public school within the district (unless the district has a cooperative agreement with another district) that is not in Title 1 School Improvement, Corrective Action, or Restructuring status; or, an explanation of the option to obtain Supplemental Education Services for their child, where applicable, at district expense.

Parent notification letters can be found at: http://www.ode.state.or.us/search/page/?=3141

IV. Funding Set-Asides for Title I-A School Improvement

A district with a school or schools in Title I-A School Improvement status has certain pre-determined funding requirements. Districts meet these requirements by dedicating funds, or “set-asides,” from the initial total (including transfers from other Title funds) Title I-A allocations.

Professional Development Requirements

The district must ensure that for each fiscal year that a school is in Improvement status, it will spend not less than 10 percent of the school’s Title I-A funds on professional development. These professional development funds are for the purpose of providing the school’s instructional staff, including teachers and principals, high-quality professional development. Unless the district itself is in Title I-A Improvement status, this set aside requirement is calculated at the school level, and is factored into the School Improvement Plan (SIP) budget before remaining Title I-A funds are earmarked. For more information, refer to the LEA and School Improvement Non-Regulatory Guidance from the U.S. Department of Education at www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/schoolimprovementguid.doc.

School Choice and Supplemental Educational Services (SES) Options

The ESEA Act includes several provisions designed to increase student and parental choice. Depending on a school’s improvement status districts must provide students attending schools specific options:

·  Attend another public school, or;

·  Receive SES, depending on the eligibility and the status of the schools.

The choice to attend another public school is available to all students enrolled in schools that are in their first year of School Improvement status, and for subsequent years that the school remains identified for improvement. SESs are available to eligible students who are enrolled in a school in its second year of School Improvement status and for subsequent years that the school remains identified for improvement. When both options are available, parents may choose the option they prefer for their child. For more information about the school choice option, refer to the U.S. Department of Education document, Public School Choice Non-Regulatory Guidance, at www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/schoolchoiceguid.doc.

For more information about SES, refer to the U.S. Department of Education document, Supplemental Educational Services Non-Regulatory Guidance, at www.ed.gov/policy/elsec/guid/suppsvcsguid.doc. Or the ODE website at, http://www.ode.state.or.us/search/results/?id=145

Although the district may use funds from a variety of revenue sources to meet the demands of public school choice and/or SES, to assure the obligations are met the district must hold in reserve an amount equal to 20 percent of its Title I-A allocation. Unused funds from this reserve may be reallocated to Title I-A schools. ESEA law establishes a joint funding mechanism for choice-related transportation and SES [ESEA Section 1116(b) (10)].