Kanawha County Schools
Letter of Intent for Funding Under Section 1003(g)
Of the
Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA)
February 15, 2011
Introduction and Summative Detail
I. Requirement Explanation
Kanawha County Schools is pleased to submit the following Letter of Intent for grants to fund school improvement activities for identified Title I/Title I eligible Tier schools under section 1003(g) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA). As the only county school district in West Virginia with five (5) existing 1003(g) SIG schools, it is our intent to apply for funding for Watts Elementary, our only SIG 2 Tier I school.
As with the SIG 1 schools, Kanawha County Schools will implement the Transformation Model in Watts Elementary. In accordance with the transformation model regarding the removal of the principal, the principal of Watts Elementary was employed in August, 2009 and is therefore not subject to removal sanctions under the Transformation Model. It is also the intent of Kanawha County Schools to submit a grant application asking for Year I funding in the amount of $296,448.10, Year 2 funding for $291,160.62, and Year 3 funding for $292,607.01 for Watts Elementary.Additionally, the LEA is requesting $12, 878.20 for each of the 3 years of funding to provide teacher/leader effectiveness in the form of tuition reimbursement and travel, materials and supplies for costs associated with LEA support. Preliminary budgets for Watts Elementary and the LEA have been developed and are included with this letter of intent.
Watts Elementary will receive allocations for high quality, job embedded professionaldevelopment through supplemental salaries and stipends; funds to retain staff through additional technology, classroom materials and supplies; funds to attend required WVDE School Improvement conferences; funds to employ much needed additional instructional personnelincludingone reading/language arts and one reading/language arts/math interventionist; in-county travel reimbursement to visit other successful, high achieving schools; funding for required extended time programs through salaries, materials, and supplies; funds through supplemental salaries and substitutes to promote activities for ongoing student achievement data analysisand synthesis, and; funds to support Professional Learning Communities and related activities.
Kanawha County Schools will also reserve a portion of these funds to conduct district level activities required by and permissible under the Transformational Model to assist each Tier school in raising student achievement and transforming the schools from low performing to high performing. A summary of these district level initiatives are listed below:
- Assign (1) district levelSchool Transformational Specialist to work collaboratively with Watts Elementary on critical activities specified within the Transformational Model including, but not limited to, using rigorous, transparent, and equitable evaluation systems that take into account data on student growth; provide high quality, job embedded professional development; implementing strategies to recruit, replace, and retain staff; promote the continuous of student data to inform and differentiate instruction; establish schedules and strategies that increase learning time; assist in designing and implementing ongoing mechanisms for family and community engagement, and; ensure that the school receives ongoing intensive technical assistance and related support.
- Provide monetary incentives to reward school leaders, teachers, and other staff who have increased student achievement and graduation rates through reimbursement of tuition for pursing advanced degrees and credentials.
- Provide high quality, job embedded professional development to district level staff in the formation and implementation of the transformational model through participation in WVDE sponsored trainings.
- Provide necessary, permissible activities for district level support such as additional secretarial support, travel reimbursement for LEA personnel, and consumable materials and supplies.
II. Time Line for Implementation
Upon receipt of the approval of Kanawha County Schools’ grant application for 1003(g) funds, a budget supplement will be filed for district and the school allocations through the Kanawha County Schools’ Treasurer’s Office by the district Title I Office. It is anticipated that all of the fiduciary activities needed to begin the implementation of the 1003(g) program at Watts Elementary will be completed by the beginning of July, 2011.
Other activities as specified within the grant will begin implementation with the start of the 2011-2012 school year. Regular desk audits of expenditures of funds will be conducted throughout the year by the Title I Director. Implementation of grant activities will be monitored by the assigned Transformation Specialist and principal.
III. Oversight
Under the leadership of our superintendent, Dr. Ron Duerring, Kanawha County Schools has already formulated a district level School Transformation Team. This team consists of the Superintendent, the Assistant Superintendent for Curriculum and Instruction (Dr. Tom Williams), the Assistant Superintendent of Elementary Schools (Ms. Jane Roberts), the Assistant Superintendent of Middle Schools (Dr. Melanie Vickers), the Assistant Superintendent of Secondary Schools (Mr. Mark Milam), the two 1003(g) Transformation Specialists (Mr. George Aulenbacher and Dr. Paula Potter), and the Director of Federal Programs – Title I (Ms. Pam Padon). This team meets as part of the KCS Management Team three (3) Wednesdays per month throughout the school year.
All financial and regulatory oversight as it relates to the requirements of section 1003(g) of the ESEA will be the responsibility of the Director of Federal Programs – Title I. All curricular and instructional oversight will be the responsibility of the Transformation Specialists with guidance from the School Transformation Team.
IV. Monitoring and Monitoring Effectiveness
While it is expected that it will be the responsibility of the School Transformation Team to monitor and provide oversight to Watts Elementary, the primary, day-to-day monitoring of Watts Elementary will be the responsibility of the assigned School Transformational Specialist. It is anticipated that Mr. George Aulenbacher will be the assigned Transformation Specialist as Watts Elementary is a feeder school to StonewallJacksonMiddle School, a school to which Mr. Aulenbacher has been assigned under the SIG 1 grants. In addition, the Kanawha County Curriculum Specialists as well as the Title I Curriculum Specialists, the Assistant Superintendentof Curriculum and Instruction, the Assistant Superintendent of Elementary Schools and the Director of Federal Programs – Title I will continue to provide district level support and monitoring to Watts Elementary.
Additionally, Watts Elementary will continue to participate in the monthly district level target school team meetings along with other schools identified for improvement. These meetings are coordinated by the Assistant Superintendent of Curriculum and Instruction and provide a forum for discussion of topics related to school improvement.
Oversight and monitoring visits will occur on a weekly basis. The visitation schedule will be designed by and will be the primary responsibility of the School Transformational Specialist. Documentation of visits by the School Transformational Specialistswill be reported to theSchool Transformation Team member at Management Team meetings.
Additionally, the KCS Title I Data Analysis and Evaluation Specialist will be assigned to work with Watts Elementary. This individual will assist school personnel not only in the analysis of student achievement data through data mining and drill-down of data, but also to collect and analyze other impact data such as discipline, attendance, parental and community involvement rates, etc.. Coordination of scheduled visits to each Tier school will be aligned with visits conducted by the School Transformational Specialist. This individual will also work closely with the Director of Counseling and Testing, Dr. William Mullet, particularly in the areas of data analysis of student and school achievement growth.
Monitoring and oversight must also be an explicit function that is fully embedded and operational at each Watts Elementary. To accomplish this, Watts Elementary will be expected to utilize a team approach consistent with their Professional Learning Communitythat focuses on specific areas of school improvement such as a data analysis, curriculum and instruction, student/parent support, etc. Teacher leaders will work with the building level administration and the School Transformational Specialist to collaborate on activities, ideas, etc. The School Transformational Specialist will work with the district School Transformation Team to relate issues and ideas tobe acted upon on by the school.
V. Summary
Kanawha County Schools is strongly committed to helping all of our schools achieve greatness. Our students, staff, parents, and community members are indeed our greatest assets. We applaud the principal, teachers and staff that are committed to staying with Watts Elementary to impact student achievement. While we recognize that there will be challenges with implementing the 1003(g) requirements, we welcome them and will use them to our students’ full advantage.
District Capacity Index
Each LEA must complete a self analysis of the capacity it has to assist the low performing schools in the implementation of the selected intervention. This will be determined utilizing a scale of 1-3 ranking from poor (1), satisfactory (2) and commendable (3) for the following criteria:
Criteria / Poor1 point / Satisfactory
2 points / Commendable
3 points / Points Earned
LEA governance / State takeover district / LimitedSEA intervention / No SEA intervention / 3
Title I audit reports / Findings in areas requiring a repayment of funds / Findings in areas noted-repayment of funds not required / No findings in the fiscal area / 2
LEA overall achievement ranking / Bottom
(5% = 3 districts) / Middle
(70% = 38 districts) / Top
(25% = 14 districts) / 3
Approval of the district strategic plan by the SEA
(entire plan, not just the Title I section) / Not approved by the SEA / Approved by the SEA with revisions / Approved by the SEA without revisions / 3
Percentage of Title I schools that met AYP in the last testing cycle / 0-50% of the Title I schools met AYP. / 51-75% of the Title I schools met AYP. / 76-100% of the Title I schools met AYP. / 3
Development of schools as professional
learning communities / The school has not yet begun to address the practice of a PLC or an effort has been made to address the practice of PLCs, but has not yet begun to impact a critical mass of staff members. / A critical mass of staff has begun to engage in PLC practice. Members are being asked to modify their thinking as well as their traditional practice. Structural changes are being met to support the transition. / The practice of PLCs is deeply embedded in the culture of the school. It is a driving force in the daily work of the staff. It is deeply internalized and staff would resist attempts to abandon the practice. / 3
Identification of district leadership team and assignment of responsibilities / No district leadership team nor identified person assigned for monitoring implementation / Lacks specific identification of personnel for the district leadership team and for monitoring implementation. / A specific district leadership team is identified and one or more persons are assigned for monitoring implementation. / 3
Criteria / Poor
1 point / Satisfactory
2 points / Commendable
3 points / Points Earned
School Leadership Team / School leadership team members are identified on the district and school level, but little evidence is produced to document whether the requirements of NCLB Sections 1116 and 1117 have been met. / School leadership team members are identified on the district and school level and evidence is produced to document whether the requirements of NCLB Sections 1116 and 1117 have been met. / School leadership team members are identified on the district and school level and include a wide range of stakeholders (e.g., parents;
representatives of institutions of higher education; representatives of RESA or
representatives of outside consultant groups)
Evidence is produced to document whether the requirements of NCLB Sections 1116 and 1117 have been exceeded. / 3
Total Points / 23
Districts must obtain a score of 20 out of 24 possible points to demonstrate capacity to provide adequate resources and related support to each Tier I,Tier II and Tier III school identified in the LEA’s application in order to implement fully and effectively the selected intervention/activities in each identified school. Kanawha County Schools has a District Capacity Index Score of 23 total points.
Watts Elementary – Needs Assessment
WESTEST/WESTEST 2 Achievement Data
WattsElementary School is the only SIG 2 1003(g) Tier I school identified for KanawhaCounty. Although Watts met Annual Yearly Progress as defined by the WVDE, student performance on the WESTESTfluctuated in the all subgroup in both Reading/Language Arts and Mathematics for the school year periods 2003 -04 through 2007 – 08. Beginning with the 2008 – 09 school year and through the 2009 – 10 school year, WESTEST 2 data shows a decline in student achievement scores in both reading/language arts and mathematics. The table below shows these variances for the all subgroup. Highlighted areas indicate increased scores from the previous year.
Percent Proficient Trend Data – All Subgroup
School Year / Reading/Language Arts / Change / Mathematics / Change2003-04 / 65.85 / Baseline / 62.19 / Baseline
2004-05 / 76.05 / +10.20 / 56.33 / -5.86
2005-06 / 70.12 / -5.93 / 67.53 / +11.20
2006-07 / 76.25 / +6.13 / 52.43 / -15.1
2007-08 / 71.95 / -4.30 / 59.25 / +6.82
2008-09 / 47.61 / WESTEST 2 / 36.50 / WESTEST 2
2009-10 / 15.87 / -31.74 / 16.92 / -19.58
The table below shows student performance levels on WESTEST 2 for the 2009 – 10 school year for all subgroups.
WATTSELEMENTARY SCHOOL - NeedImprovementKANAWHACOUNTY
Group / Number Enrolled for FAY / Number Enrolled on Test Week / Number Tested / Participation
Rate / Percent Proficient / Met Part. Rate Standard / Met Assessment Standard / Met Subgroup Standard
Mathematics
All / 67 / 79 / 77 / 97.46 / 16.92 / Yes / No /
White / 41 / 51 / 50 / 98.03 / 22.50 / Yes / NA /
Black / 25 / 27 / 26 / 96.29 / 4.16 / NA / NA / NA
Hispanic / 1 / 1 / 1 / 100.00 / 100.00 / NA / NA / NA
Asian / * / * / * / * / * / * / * / *
Indian / * / * / * / * / * / * / * / *
Multi-Racial / * / * / * / * / * / * / * / *
Pacific Islander / * / * / * / * / * / * / * / *
Spec. Ed. / 11 / 11 / 11 / 100.00 / 9.09 / NA / NA / NA
Low SES / 57 / 67 / 65 / 97.01 / 16.36 / Yes / No /
LEP / 1 / 1 / 1 / 100.00 / 0.00 / NA / NA / NA
Reading/Language Arts
All / 67 / 79 / 74 / 93.67 / 15.87 / By Average / No /
White / 41 / 51 / 47 / 92.15 / 18.42 / By Average / NA /
Black / 25 / 27 / 26 / 96.29 / 8.33 / NA / NA / NA
Hispanic / 1 / 1 / 1 / 100.00 / 100.00 / NA / NA / NA
Asian / * / * / * / * / * / * / * / *
Indian / * / * / * / * / * / * / * / *
Multi-Racial / * / * / * / * / * / * / * / *
Pacific Islander / * / * / * / * / * / * / * / *
Spec. Ed. / 11 / 11 / 9 / 81.81 / 0.00 / NA / NA / NA
Low SES / 57 / 67 / 63 / 94.02 / 13.20 / By Average / No /
LEP / 1 / 1 / 1 / 100.00 / 0.00 / NA / NA / NA
PassedAttendance Rate = 96.8
With the second year of WESTEST 2, the WVDE developed a ‘Growth Report’ for each school. The table below shows the growth report for WattsElementary School as compared to KanawhaCounty and State totals.
Grade / Percent Proficient - WESTEST 2 Data OnlyMathematics / Reading/Language
2009
Percent
Proficient / Modified
2009
Percent
Proficient / 2010
Percent
Proficient / Percent
Improvement / 2009
Percent
Proficient / Modified
2009
Percent
Proficient / 2010
Percent
Proficient / Percent
Improvement
WattsElementary School
03 / 12.50% / 8.33% / 18.18% / 9.85% / 33.33% / 8.33% / 17.24% / 8.91%
04 / 37.50% / 16.67% / 8.70% / -7.97% / 50.00% / 8.33% / 8.33% / 0.00%
05 / 48.15% / 25.93% / 14.29% / -11.64% / 40.74% / 22.22% / 14.29% / -7.94%
KanawhaCounty
03 / 62.16% / 37.25% / 42.13% / 4.88% / 67.43% / 41.64% / 45.96% / 4.33%
04 / 64.72% / 41.43% / 46.29% / 4.87% / 65.60% / 43.18% / 42.37% / -0.81%
05 / 64.78% / 44.31% / 48.58% / 4.27% / 66.35% / 42.53% / 46.08% / 3.54%
State Totals
03 / 65.60% / 37.78% / 44.39% / 6.60% / 64.72% / 40.28% / 44.46% / 4.18%
04 / 64.35% / 41.68% / 42.39% / 0.71% / 63.54% / 38.77% / 40.27% / 1.50%
05 / 62.33% / 41.55% / 44.86% / 3.31% / 64.68% / 40.32% / 43.17% / 2.85%
Retention Rates
For the 2009 – 10 school year, Watts Elementary had the following retention rates. Only student in Kindergarten and Grade 1 were retained.
Kindergarten2 of 25 students retained or 8.0%
1st Grade6 of 37 students retained or 16.21%
Overall8 of 169 students retained or 4.734%
WESTEST 2 Participation Rates
The most recent WVDE NCLB data show Watts having the following participation rates on WESTEST 2:
Area / 2008 - 09 / 2009 -10 / TrendMath / 100% / 97.46% / Down -2.54%
Reading / 100% / 93.67% / Down -6.33%
Benchmark Data
Acuity
WattsElementarymost recentAcuity benchmark testing of students in grades 3, 4, and 5 using the CTB McGraw-Hill Acuity platform was between January and March, 2010. The results show the following performance levels by grade and subject areas:
Reading/Language Arts
Grades/Tiers / Tier I / Tier 2 / Tier 3 / Tier 43rd Grade (N=2/32) / 50% / 50% / 0 / 0
4th Grade (N=16/21) / 19% / 38% / 38% / 6%
5th Grade (N=17/19) / 12% / 12% / 53% / 24%
Mathematics
Grades/Tiers / Tier 1 / Tier 2 / Tier 3 / Tier 43rd Grade (N=8/32) / 25% / 25% / 13% / 38%
4th Grade (N=15/21) / 33% / 60% / 7% / 0
5th Grade (N=21/24) / 19% / 57% / 24% / 0
Watts Elementary is currently conducting their first Acuity benchmark for the 2010-11 school year.
DIBELS Benchmark Data
The following percentage of Watts’ students scoring at benchmark levelon the end of year (2009-10)DIBELS assessment:kindergarten - 62%: first grade - 87%; second grade - 65%;third grade - 37%.The combined K-3 percentage of benchmark students was 64%. At least 80% of the students in a class should score at benchmark level.Benchmark is thelevelwhere students should befunctioning at that point in the school year. This level is considered “established” with “low risk.” Scoring atbenchmark or higher is the goal.Most students scoring at benchmark do not require interventions.
The following percentage of Watts’ students scoring at strategic levelon the end of year (2009-10)DIBELS assessment:kindergarten - 14%: first grade - 5 %; second grade - 21%;third grade - 27%.The combined K-3 percentage of strategic students was 16%. No more than 15% of the students in a class should score at this level. The strategic level indicates students scoring at “some risk” and should be considered “emerging readers” who will need interventions.
The following percentage of Watts’ students scoring at intensive levelon the end of year (2009-10)DIBELS assessment:kindergarten - 24%: first grade - 8%; second grade - %;third grade - 14%.The combined K-3 percentage of intensive students was 20%. The intensive percentage should not exceed 3-5% of students. The intensive level indicates students at “high risk or deficit” level and will need intensive interventions.
The following percentage of Watts’ students scoring at benchmark levelon the beginning of year (2010-11)DIBELS assessment:kindergarten - 49%: first grade - 81%; second grade - 59%;third grade - 50%.The following percentage of Watts’ students scoring at strategic levelon the beginning of year (2010-11)DIBELS assessment:kindergarten - 32%: first grade - 14%; second grade - 34%;third grade - 25%.The following percentage of Watts’ students scoring at intensive levelon the beginning of year (2010-11)DIBELS assessment:kindergarten - 19%: first grade - 5%; second grade - 7%;third grade - 25%.
External Trend Data
Watts Elementary is located on the west side of Charleston, West Virginia, which is considered inner city. This area of Charleston is known for a high violent crime rate with disproportionate rates of murder, assaults and malicious woundings in comparison to other parts of the city as well as crimes related to the illegal sale and use of drugs. Approximately 50% of children attending Watts Elementary reside in Washington Manor which is a federally subsidized Housing and Urban Development (HUD) project. Approximately an additional 30% of students come from other HUD subsidized housing located in the Watts attendance area.
Watts Elementary has historically been served as a Title I school due to the high poverty level of the student population and the attendance area in general. For the 2010 - 2011 school year, Watts Elementary has76.19% of the student population participating in the federal Free and Reduced Meals program.Student enrollment at Watts Elementary has experienced fluctuation since the 2005-06 school year. Student enrollment has varied as follows: