Technical Assistance for Schoolwide Planning Indiana Department of Education

Technical Assistance for Schoolwide Planning

Indiana Department of Education

Purpose and Overview

To give schools a background on what schoolwide Title I is and what schoolwide planning consists of

Background and General Schoolwide Information

Background According to Section 1114 (b) (2)

“Any school that operates a schoolwide program shall first develop (or amend a plan for such a program that was in existence on the day before the data of enactment of the NCLB Act of 2001), in consultation with the LEA and its school support team or other technical assistance provider under section 1117, a comprehensive plan for reforming the total instructional program in the school.”

Schoolwide vs. Targeted Assisted In a Targeted Assistance School (TAS),

students must be formally identified and a Student Selection form must be used.

In a Schoolwide Program (SWP), a formal student selection process is not required; however, services must still be targeted to the lowest achieving students.

What is a Schoolwide Program? A schoolwide program is a comprehensive reform of

your Title I school.

Designed to generate high levels of academic achievement in core academic areas for all students, especially those not demonstrating proficiency on State standards.

Schoolwide (SW) Programs allow for greater flexibility of programs and services.

The SW program should upgrade the entire educational program, while providing assistance to most at-risk students.

How do you qualify for schoolwide? A school must have at least 40% poverty to

transition from TAS to SW Statute says, “The comprehensive plan shall

be developed during a one-year period, unless…a lesser amount of time is needed..” Indiana schools have PL 221 plans already

developed Indiana’s ESEA Waiver allows Focus or Priority

schools to waive the 40% requirement to become a SW program

What to do… Start with your PL221 and Focus or Priority

SAP Review SWP Template Review 10 required components of a SWP Create a Schoolwide Planning Team Develop/revise current plan (include a table of

contents in your plan) Develop/revise with the involvement of staff,

parents, and community members Submit Assurances for to IDOE Update annually Discuss at Annual Title I Parent Meeting

10 Required Components of Schoolwide Plan1. A Comprehensive Needs

Assessment (CNA)2. Implementation of

schoolwide reform strategies

3. Highly qualified teachers in all content area classes

4. High quality and on-going PD

5. Strategies to attract high-quality, highly qualified teachers

6. Strategies to increase parent involvement

7. Plans for assisting preschool children in the transition from early childhood programs

8. Opportunities and expectations for teachers to be included in decision making

9. Activities and programs at the school level to ensure students are provided effective, timely additional assistance

10. Coordination and integration of federal, state, and local funds

Student Achievement

Curriculum and Instruction

Professional Development

Family and Community Involvement

Context and Organization

Guiding Principles and Practices of Effective Schoolwide Programs A clear focus High expectations A learning-focused environment Strong leadership Alignment with standards High quality professional development Collaborative spirit Meaningful parental involvement A commitment to continuous

improvement

Accountability for Results Accountability for results is shared throughout the

school

All students are expected to meet the State’s challenging academic achievement standards

Teachers use information about student performance and share ways that instruction can be improved to meet a wide range of student needs

The school keeps parents informed of the achievement of individual students, and of the progress of the school in meeting its goals

School and Community Engagement Staff in schoolwide programs engage parents

and the community in their work as planners, participants, and decision makers in the operation of the school

This collaboration is based on a shared vision of the school’s values and overall mission

These partnerships strengthen the school’s ability to meet the needs of all students and improve the school

Schoolwide Planning FAQs

Do we get more money if we go schoolwide?

No, but you do have more flexibility in how you spend your money.

If our poverty percentage goes below 40% after the planning year, do we lose our schoolwide status?

No. A poverty percentage of 40% is required for the planning year. Subsequent increases or decreases will not affect the school’s status. Poverty percentage is reported in the DOE RT report each October.

Is school status good “forever”? Schoolwide status will be in jeopardy under

the following conditions: Failure to implement and/or adhere to the required

components, School closings/major changes to the existence of

the school, or If, over a period of time, a school operating a

schoolwide program has not been effective in increasing the achievement of students or the staff does not have working knowledge of the schoolwide plan, the LEA or SEA may require the school to discontinue the schoolwide program and operate as a targeted assistance program.

Do all instructional paraprofessionals in a schoolwide program have to meet NCLB qualification requirements?

Yes, all instructional paraprofessionals must either have an associate’s degree, or two years of study at an institution of higher education, or take and pass the ParaPro exam.

What is the role of the Comprehensive Needs Assessment (CAN) in the plan? The CNA should identify gaps between the

school’s current reality and its vision of where it should be, relative to key areas. Data obtained from the CNA provide the

foundation for the goals of the schoolwide plan. The program’s evaluation measures how

successful the school has been in addressing needs and meeting goals of the plan.

Who should participate on the planning team? Both instructional and non-instructional staff

should be included in the design and implementation of the plan. Typically, participants include teachers, principals and administrators, and pupil services personnel.

It is required that parents are a part of the schoolwide planning team, and high schools must also include students.

If a school is in improvement, may they still become a schoolwide program? Yes, the ESEA Flexibility Waiver allows for schools

that are deemed as Focus or Priority with less than a 40% poverty percentage to become schoolwide if all components are in place. It is important that the schoolwide planning team observe and factor into its planning the work that may have already begun with Focus and Priority school improvement planning.

Ideally, the school will generate one plan that is meaningful and would guide the work of the school members. The plan would include the required schoolwide components, as well as the Focus and Priority requirements, many of which would overlap.

How are schoolwide plans evaluated?

Schoolwide plans are reviewed by Grants Management Specialists during desktop and onsite monitoring.

Does the IDOE have a list of recommended providers schools can hire for Schoolwide Planning?

No, IDOE does not have any state approved providers for Schoolwide Planning. IDOE recommends contacting other schools or districts to identify potential Schoolwide Planning providers.

Schools considering hiring an outside provider can refer to, Questions to Ask a Schoolwide Provider, in the Resources folder of the Schoolwide Programs folder on the IDOE-Title I Learning Connection Community.

How can a school decide whether or not to use a provider? The school could conduct a short self-assessment to determine

whether or not they have the internal capacity – such as leadership and instructional expertise, prior experience in schoolwide planning, and the building commitment to become schoolwide – to schoolwide plan on their own. Additionally, the school should consider the costs associated with using an outside provider. The assessment below can be used to determine internal capacity – if your school answers “yes” to most questions, you likely have the capacity to develop the schoolwide plan on your own.

Assessment of Capacity for Schoolwide Planning YES NOOur school has people who have either participated in or led a schoolwide planning team.

Our school has people with strong leadership, curriculum, professional development, and parental involvement skills

Our school has the commitment to become schoolwide, including both developing and implementing the plan.

Our school improvement plan is a good reflection of our school at this time.

Our school likes the format of our current school improvement plan.

Our school has received a C or better for several years and is not identified for improvement.

Schoolwide Planning Template

Areas of Focus for a Schoolwide Plan

Schoolwide Planning Template – The Schoolwide Planning Template covers every area involved in the schoolwide planning process.

Plan Templates & Resources

Table of Contents

Introduction Narrative description of the school,

community, and the educational programs Description and location of curriculum Titles and descriptions of assessment

instruments to be used in addition to ISTEP+

Comprehensive Needs Assessment (SW #1) Vision Statement Statements from data

o Technologyo Cultural Competency

Analysis Summary

Data GuidesData Analysis ChartSummarizing the CNA

Goals Include goals for:

o At least one content area related to ISTEP+ performance (i.e., reading, writing, or math)

o Attendanceo Graduation rate (for high schools)

Strategy Guide

Strategies for Implementation (SW #2) Implementation of schoolwide reform strategies that:

o Provide opportunities for all children to meet proficient and advanced levels of student academic achievement

o Use effective methods and instructional strategies that are based on scientifically based research

o Strengthens the core academic programo Increases (maximizes) the amount of learning

timeo Includes strategies for serving underserved

populationso Includes strategies to address the needs of all

children in the school, but particularly low achieving children and those at risk of not meeting state standards

o Address how the school will determine if those needs of the children have been met

o Are consistent with and are designed to implement state and local improvement plans, if any

(High schools only)

Offer courses that allow students to be eligible to receive an Academic Honors Diploma

Encourage all students to earn academic honors or complete the Core 40 curriculum

Strategy Guide

Differentiated Learning Activities and programs at the school level to

ensure that students having difficulty mastering proficient and advanced levels of the academic achievement are provided with effective, timely additional assistance (SW)

Opportunities for students who are passing and advanced to have extra projects, assignments, and experiences that push them forward.

SW Component #9 Discussion Questions

Professional development (SW #4) Meaningful, ongoing opportunities based on

needs of students and teachers Collaborative Includes opportunities and expectations for

teachers to be included in the decision-making related to the use of academic assessment results leading to the improvement of student achievement (SW #8)

Highly Qualified Teachers (SW #3) Strategies to attract high quality teachers to

this school (SW #5)

Highly Qualified Templates

Parental Involvement (SW #6) Opportunities offered for parents Strategies to increase parental involvement,

such as literacy services (SW #6a) Description of how the school provides

individual academic assessment results to parent (SW #6b)

Strategies to involve parents in the planning, review, and improvement of the schoolwide plan (SW #6c)

Transitions Plans for assisting preschool children in the

transition from early childhood program ms such as Head Start, Even Start, Early Reading First, or a state-run preschool program (SW #7)

Plans for moving from elementary to middle; middle to high school; high school to post-secondary education or employment.

Safe and Disciplined Learning Environment

Statutes and Rules Statues and rules to be waived Consolidation of Funds in a School-wide

program (SW#10)

Coordinating, Not Consolidating Funds

Schoolwide Planning Support TeamsSection 1117(c)(1) of Title I requires that each SEA, in consultation with LEAs and schools, establish a system of school support teams to provide information and assistance to schoolwide programs and to assist those programs in providing an opportunity for all students to meet the State's student performance standards. A school support team will work cooperatively with each school and make

recommendations as the school develops its schoolwide program plan, will review each plan, and will make recommendations to the school and the LEA.

During the operation of the schoolwide program, a school support team shall--

Periodically review the progress of the school in enabling children in the school to meet the State's student performance standards.

Identify problems in the design and operation of the instructional program.

Make recommendations for improvement to the school and the LEA. Each school support team shall be composed of teachers, pupil services personnel, representatives of organizations knowledgeable about successful schoolwide programs or comprehensive school reform (especially distinguished educators) and others who are knowledgeable about research and practice on teaching and learning, particularly about strategies for improving educational opportunities for low-achieving students.

Who should be on a Schoolwide Planning Team? Principal Title I Teachers, Coaches, or Interventionists ELL and/or Special Education Teachers Content Area Teachers Central Office Staff Parents High School - Students

The Ten Components of Schoolwide Planning

#1-Comprehensive Needs Assessment of Whole School

Gather data about the whole school, its population (students, parents, teachers, and community), areas of strengths and weaknesses in terms of student achievement, and any other data necessary to assist in the plan’s focus.

What do to for component #1… Work with your school team to find this

component in your current plan. If component is missing, work together to

discuss how you will fulfill this component. Potential Questions:

What do we already have related to this component? What do we still need? How are we going to document it?

Resource – Comprehensive Needs Assessment Sample on Learning Connection

Sample Sections from CNA

Guiding Questions – CURRICULUM AND INSTRUCTION CURRICULUM Has your school or corporation developed a curriculum? Is the curriculum horizontally and vertically aligned?

How do you know? Is your curriculum linked to Common Core Standards?

Guiding Questions – FAMILY AND COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENTPOLCIES, PROCEDURES, & EXPECTATIONSDoes your school have a clearly articulated family involvement policy and compact?

How were the policies and compacts developed or revised? How many current teachers, parents, and staff were involved in the

development or revision of the parent policy?Guiding Questions – PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENTHIGHLY QUALIFIED STAFFAre all teachers and paraprofessionals highly qualified?

OPPORTUNITIES FOR PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENTHow do you identify high quality professional development opportunities? How do you ensure that professional development opportunities for

staff focused on the needs of both students and teachers? How many activities included specific information related to academic

achievement?

Guiding Questions – SCHOOL CONTEXT AND ORGANIZATIONVISIONWhat is your school’s vision? How was the vision developed or revised? How many current teachers, parents, and staff were involved?

#2-Implementation of Schoolwide reform strategies that:

Provide opportunities for all children to meet proficient and advanced levels of student academic achievement

Use effective methods and instructional strategies that are based on scientifically based research that: Strengthens the core academic program Increases the amount of learning time Includes strategies for serving underserved populations Includes strategies to address the needs of all children

in the school, but particularly low achieving children and those at risk of not meeting state standards

Addresses how the school will determine if those needs of the children have been met

Are consistent with, and are designed to implement state and local improvement plans, if any

What to do for component #2… Work with your school team to find this




Resources – Strategy Guide Sample on Learning Connection

Sample Strategy Guide

STRATEGY #1:

Monitoring:

Student Groups:

Student Assessment:

Goal:Benchmarks:

#3-Highly Qualified Teachers in all Content Area Classes

Address how the school/district will have highly qualified teachers in all core content area classes.

Address how all instructional paraprofessionals will meet NCLB requirements.





Resources – Templates for HQ Elementary and Secondary Teachers and Paraprofessionals on Learning Connection

Sample Template

Teacher

Name:

Teaching

Assign-ment:

Indicator of HQ status on Verification Form:

Bachelor’s Degree earned? Valid Indiana Elementary Education teaching

license or Special Education teaching license that includes elementary school settings?

Plus one of the following: Passed Praxis II “Elementary Education:

Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment”? Passed the NTE (National Teacher Exam)

“Education in the Elementary School”? Considered HQ in another state? NBPTS Certification? *100 Points on the HOUSSE rubric? (only for

veteran teachers hired prior to 2006-2007 and have not changed teaching assignments)

Location of

Verification Form

and supporti

ng documen-tation:

Highly Qualified Teachers for School Year ___________

#4-High Quality and On-going Professional Development

Using the CNA - address the needs of teachers, principals and paraprofessionals in the building

Describe PLC PD schedules Describe PD plan for school year

What PD is scheduled to take place? What data was used to determine this PD? Who will be presenting each session? How will teachers be held accountable for

attending PD and implementing PD in classrooms?





Resource – Professional Development Plan Template on Learning Connection

Sample PD Plan TemplateProfessional Development Plan Template

I. Goals Professional Development goals should align with state, district, and school performance

goals Short-term and long-term goals identify strategic and measurable targets for schools to

achieve Address both individual teacher and school-wide needs

2. Action Steps What steps will be taken to achieve goals? (Prioritize learning opportunities based on goals

and resources.) Determine the type and delivery style of professional development. Who is responsible for each action step? What is the timeline for each action step? What are the resources and costs?

3. Application and Follow-Through After Professional Development is provided, what measures will be taken to help ensure the

learned strategies are implemented?

4. Evaluation and Assessment How and when will progress made toward goals be measured?

#5-Strategies to Attract High-Quality, Highly Qualified Teachers to this School

Address the problem of teacher turnover.

Include opportunities such as mentoring, training, and ongoing support for teachers.

What to do for component #5…

Work with your school team to find this component in your current plan.

If component is missing, work together to discuss how you will fulfill this component.

Resources – Professional Articles – Recruit and Retain Staff on Learning Connection

Possible Action Steps Survey Teachers and Staff

What brought teachers to your school? Why do teachers stay? Why do teachers leave? What improvements/changes would teachers like

to see? Determine measures that may recruit and

retain staff: Leadership/Mentor Program in the Building Common Planning Time Technology Teacher Involvement in School Decision Making Built-in PD

#6-Strategies to Increase Parental Involvement

Description of how the school will provide individual academic results to parents

Strategies to involve parents in the planning, review, and improvement of the schoolwide plan

Parent Involvement Policy Parent-School Compact Annual Informational Meeting Assessing Effectiveness of School’s Parent

Involvement Programs Providing Parents With Opportunities to Partner With

the School and Support Student Learning Sharing Results of Annual Review



discuss how you will fulfill this component. Use Check-Lists provided by IDOE in Learning

Connection Potential Questions:


Resources – Parent Involvement Folder on Learning Connection

Sample Items to Include In Policy GuidelinesBuild the schools’ and parents’ capacity for strong parental involvement by providing parents with: A description and explanation of curriculum to be used Forms of academic assessment used to measure student progress Proficiency levels that students are expected to meet Opportunities for decision-making related to the education of their

children Materials and training on how parents can improve their child’s

achievement Educating school staff on how to build ties between home and

school Coordinating and integrating, as appropriate, parent involvement

with Head Start, Even Start, Parents as Teachers Program and public preschool programs

Ensuring, to the extent possible, that information sent home is in a language and form parents can understand

Other reasonable support for parental involvement activities as parents may request

#7-Preschool Transitioning Plans for assisting preschool children in the

transition from early childhood programs such as Head Start, Even Start, Early Reading First, and state-run preschool programs

Schoolwide programs are required to implement effective preschool transitioning programs in order to better prepare students for the kindergarten curriculum

All schoolwide programs should have a strong plan for connecting with preschool-aged children

What to do for component #7… Work with your school team to find this component in your

current plan. If component is missing, work together to discuss how you

will fulfill this component. Discussion Questions:

Does the school or district offer a preschool program? In what ways does your school reach out to local daycare and

preschool programs as well as families of incoming kindergarten students?

Are families and children invited to visit your school prior to attending?

How easily can local daycares, preschools, and families get information on enrollment and incoming school procedures?

Are transition strategies in place for students moving from grade to grade (e.g., collaboration between grade level teachers, folders that follow students from grade to grade, etc.)?

In what ways do schools within your district work together to ease the transition between grade span buildings, such as elementary-middle; elementary-middle; middle to high school?

#8-Measures to Include Teachers in the Use of Academic Assessments

Teachers should know, understand, and be able to use multiple forms of assessments on a regular basis to inform instruction.

Opportunities and expectations for teachers to be included in the decision making related to the use of the academic assessment results leading to the improvement of student achievement must exist




What do we already have related to this component? What do we still need? How are we going to document it? How is the assessment improving core curriculum,

instruction, and services to students?

Possible Evidence for Component #8 Schedules of teacher meetings related to any of the

following: Benchmark planning Assessment trainings PD related to data from assessments Data discussions or meetings Instructional planning meetings

Assessment schedule for school year Benchmark assessments Progress monitoring procedures and timelines Instructional adjustments based on assessment results Communication home regarding assessment progress

#9-Effective, Timely Assistance Activities and programs at the school level

to ensure that students having difficulty mastering proficient and advanced levels of the academic achievement are provided with effective, timely additional assistance

Plan must include regular assessments of all students and specific plans for what happens when a student is not achieving.

What to do for component #9… Work with your school team to find this component in your

current plan. If component is missing, work together to discuss how you will

fulfill this component. Potential Questions:

How will you continue to provide services to at-risk and underserved populations?

Are interventions based on your comprehensive needs assessment (CNA) results (i.e., needs in reading = instructional focus on reading)?

How does your plan clearly explain what support is in place for struggling learners?

How does your plan clearly explain what support is in place for high ability learners?

How will extended-time programs be built into your plan? Would a new teacher, a parent, or a Title I Specialist be able

to “visualize” how the instructional program is structured?

#10-Coordination of Programs and Funds

A schoolwide program that consolidates funds is not required to maintain separate fiscal accounting records for each program.

Records must be maintained that demonstrate the program, as a whole, addresses the intent and purposes of each of the Federal programs consolidated to support it.

The amount of Federal funds used in a schoolwide program must be supplemental to the amount of State and local funds the school would otherwise receive

Coordinating, Not Consolidating Funds: Language to include for component #10 and 10a.

Component #10: State that you understand and are aware of consolidating funds, but do not participate in consolidation of funds. For example: “While the school has chosen to coordinate the

program efforts, it will not consolidate program funds at this time.”

Component #10a: List all programs in the school, including Federal, State and local funding. For example: “Coordinated programs may include the following:

–Title I –Part A –Title II –Part A (Preparing, Training and Recruiting HQ Staff) –IDEA –Individuals with Disabilities Act – Other federal, state, or local funds, as applicable

Next Steps

Continue to work on your plan with the involvement of staff, parents and community.

Share the plan with entire school. Use the Sample Rubric Provided in the Title I

Schoolwide Handbook as a Guide to rate your plan.

Submit your schoolwide assurance form to IDOE.

Update the plan each year. Discuss at Annual Title I Parent Meeting.

Documents

Technical Assistance for Schoolwide Planning Indiana Department of Education