All schools in Washington state are required to have a school improvement plan submitted to their local school board per WAC 180-16-220.
School Improvement Plans (SIPs) are intended to be a tool for building administrators and leadership team members to monitor and support program growth, to ensure all required elements are in place, and to involve staff members in program review.
Open Doors programming can exist as a program or within an R type school. Within the R type school there may be multiple programmatic youth reengagement pathways.
- Any district that has an R type school must complete a school improvement plan regardless of identification under ESSA. It is a best practice for programs that do not sit under the umbrella of an R type school to use an improvement plan process for continuous quality improvement of your programming.
- For schools identified under ESSA for Tiers II & III (Comprehensive, Comprehensive Low Graduation Rate, Targeted 3+, and Targeted EL Progress) supports, it is recommended that this tool is completed and uploaded to SharePoint with the SIP on the scheduled submission dates. Programs that are in Consolidated School Improvement may use these school improvement plan materials to meet this requirement.
Required Elements:
ESSA requires evidence-based assurances for school board approval of the school/program:
- Promotes a positive impact on student learning
- Includes a continuous improvement process
- Verifies school staff qualifications, certifications, and endorsements
- Is data-driven
1. Promotes a positive impact on student learning
The SIP should show that the program:
- provides students “with the opportunity to become responsible citizens, to contribute to their own economic well-being and to that of their families and communities, and to enjoy productive and satisfying lives” (RCW 28A.150.210);
- has an emphasis on state student learning goals;
- starts with a focus on student strengths;
- recognizes non-academic student learning, including personal growth, interpersonal skills, resiliency, and leadership;
- supports equity in education, including factors that may impact learning, such as: gender, race, ethnicity, culture, language, and physical/mental disabilities;
- uses technology to facilitate instruction and student learning;
2. Includes a continuous improvement process
- Incorporates self-studies, surveys, community outreach. The self-review includes active participation and input by building staff, students, families, parents, and community members.
- Uses a continuous improvement cycle of inquiry (plan-do-study-adjust) or improvement science (identify a root cause, create a solution, implement the solution, monitor and measure the impact of the solution, adjust as needed.)
3. Verifies that all staff have the appropriate qualifications, certifications, and endorsements
- Case Managers have the required qualifications, and that instructors providing high school credit courses have the appropriate and corresponding certification and endorsements (or college instructor qualifications for college-based programs);
4. Is data-driven, in that it
- Uses the results of the continuous improvement methods in #2;
- Researches literature in the reengagement field;
- Takes into account current graduation and job skills requirements;
- Makes use of published data and trainings that support similar programs.
Timeline
Each school year the school board approves the program and its School Improvement Plan.
This is a great opportunity to share your successes – use those data points, self-studies and community members to share the wonderful things going on in your program!
Highlight:
- Student participation in learning
- Graduation rate – or dropout retrieval rate (remember your graduation rate is often that percent MORE than the 0% if would have been if you program weren’t there for these students!)
- GED certifications
- Industry certifications
- Community involvement – partnerships and resources
- Photos!
OSPI has recognized that the State Auditor’s Office has been regularly including choice transfer documentation review in their school apportionment audits for all settings.
For students who live outside of your school district who wish to enroll to your program, a choice transfer must in place before the first date that the student is claimed for apportionment. To be valid, the choice transfer must:
- Have clear beginning and ending dates.
- Be student specific.
- Be approved by both school district superintendents (or designees).
- Retain documentation in the event of a compliance review or state audit.
- This process may be completed online through the Standard Choice Transfer System (SCTS).
The SCTS meets all the state level requirements for a successful choice transfer and as a result many school districts are utilizing it for all nonresident transfers.
Parent Portal
At the request of school districts, OSPI developed a Choice Transfer Parent Portal for the online Standard Choice Transfer System. This portal allows parents to submit their choice transfer request online with the information feeding directly into the resident district’s STCS. Some resident districts have opted out of the parent portal – instead requiring parents to submit a paper request or come into the office to request the choice transfer.
Additional Resources
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GATE Equity Webinar Series Regular monthly webinars. Information and registration available through the GATE website.
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Digital Learning Annual Conference (DLAC) February 24-26, 2020, Austin, TX, For more information, visit the DLAC website
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45th Annual WALA Spring Conference March 5-7, 2020, Skamania Lodge, Stevenson, WA. For more information, visit the WALA website.
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Student Support Conference- save the date! Case Managers and Education Advocates will have a Pre-Conference Opportunity 10 am-4 pm May 13, 2020, Wenatchee Conference Center, Wenatchee WA.
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