Technical Assistance for Schoolwide Planning

1. Technical Assistance for Schoolwide Planning Indiana Department of Education

2. Purpose and Overview • To give schools a background on what schoolwide Title I is and what schoolwide planning consists of

3. Background and General Schoolwide Information

4. 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.”

5. 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.

6. 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.

7. 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

8. 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

9. 10 Required Components of Schoolwide Plan 1. 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

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. Schoolwide Planning FAQs

15. Do we get more money if we go schoolwide? • No, but you do have more flexibility in how you spend your money.

16. 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.

17. 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.

18. 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.

19. 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.

20. 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.

21. 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.

22. How are schoolwide plans evaluated? • Schoolwide plans are reviewed by Grants Management Specialists during desktop and onsite monitoring.

23. 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.

24. 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.

25. Schoolwide Planning Template Areas of Focus for a Schoolwide Plan

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

32. Schoolwide Planning Support Teams Section 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.

33. 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

34. The Ten Components of Schoolwide Planning

35. #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.

36. 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

37. Sample Sections from CNA

38. #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

39. What to do for component #2… • 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? • Resources – Strategy Guide Sample on Learning Connection

40. Sample Strategy Guide Goal: Benchmarks:

41. #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.

42. What to do for component #3… • 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? • Resources – Templates for HQ Elementary and Secondary Teachers and Paraprofessionals on Learning Connection

43. Sample Template Highly Qualified Teachers for School Year ___________

44. #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?

45. What to do for component #4… • 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 – Professional Development Plan Template on Learning Connection

46. Sample PD Plan Template

47. #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.

48. 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

49. 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

50. #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