Title 1

Date: June 12, 1995 To: From: John Walker , Brown 6 Subject: LRSDs New Title I Grant Per your request, heres some information on the LRSDs new Title 1 proposal. Unfortunately, its not very much. The memo from Leon Adams to Hank Williams was distributed at the Board Agenda Meeting on June 8, 1995. Item 2 on the second page refers to eight pilot schools. We understand those schools to be Bale, Brady, Cloverdale, Rightsell, Rockefeller, Watson, Wilson, and Western Hills. Chicot may be added after it is rebuilt. Item 3 refers to four elementary schools. I have no idea which ones they are. Item 4 refers to three private schools, which are Catholic Schools. The district has to do this and its pretty routine. Apparently, two companies have gotten the districts business for the new computers and software that are to be purchased under this grant: CCC and New Century. 1 know very little about either one of these businesses. We have not been able to determine whether the district followed its customary bid process in awarding contracts to these vendors. As you may know, Lucy Lyon is the employee who supervises the districts school-based computers. 1 have no idea whether she or either Dennis Glascow (math supervisor) or Gene Parker (reading) were involved in selecting this new equipment and software, or how its supposed to fit with the LRSD curriculum or other remediation programs. Apparently, this grant represents changes in the districts Academic Support Program, at least as far as the pilot schools go. Leon insists that the pilot schools eagerly volunteered to participate, but we understand that at least two principals (one of whom is at Western Hills) knew nothing until they were notified they were among the lucky participants. Its possible that none of the principals in the pilot schools saw this "opportunity" coming, and they may not all be entirely enthusiastic. We know of no particular criteria that was used to identify the schools, other than they "volunteered." It seems that the program will target 4th, Sth, and Sth graders, but many principals would usually rather target the earlier grades in a prevention vein. Supposedly, the vendors have cited "research" that points to the older children being better able to use computers as a remediation tool. If thats true, it could be partially because computers werent introduced to that pool of students in their earlier grades. Younger children can certainly use computers very successfully, as has been demonstrated at Rockefeller School, where computers are used in the early childhood program. In my opinion, a lot of questions about this Title 1 Budget justification are unanswered. Although some of my staff have talked with Leon and Hank about this since you and I talked, we still have little solid information. Supposedly, Hank is upset that test scores are not good this year, and he wants to take drastic steps. My fear is that this may be PAL Revisited, just more of the same old stuff at great new expense. Enc.LITTLE ROCK SCHOOL DISTRICT 810 W. MARKHAM STREET LITTLE ROCK, ARKANSAS June 22, 1995 TO: 1 FROM: Board of Directors Leon A( Federal Programs THROUGH: Henry .ent SUBJECT: ESEA TITLE I 1995-^6 DISTRICT PLAN The ESEA, Title I Plan is prepared for submission to the Arkansas Department of Education by July 1, 1995. the Program Abstract. Attached is a copy of The 1995-96 Title I funding will be determined by the District's last year's allocation of $4,299,095. The final allocation will be based the total number of eligible students in the Little Rock School District. Title I funds are used to improve educational opportunities for children to meet challenging content and performance standards. It is recommended that you authorize the administration to submit the 1995-96 Title I Plan to the Arkansas Department of Education.BUDGET JUSTEFICATION - ESEA, TITLE I, 1995-96 The District will emphasize early intervention and remediation strategies in reading and mathematics during the 1995-96 school year. More attention is focused on intervention strategies with children in grades one and two. In addition, a variety of school-based and district-wide workshops for teachers will be conducted. 1. Neglected and delinquent students in two institutional centers will receive tutoring services funded by this Plan. 2. Reading and mathematics instruction is a combination of pull-out, in-class, and computer assisted instruction. Students will receive primary instruction from the regular classroom teacher with assistance provided by specialists. Eight schools will initiate a pilot program consisting of computer assisted instx-uction in math and reading, grades 4-6. Students in grades 1-3 will receive instruction by the regular classroom teacher and the instructional specialist. Four elementary schools are designated as Title I Schoolwide Programs, serving all students. To meet student needs, the schools will focus on identified strategies by teachers and parents. These programs support four para-professional aides in one school, and one certified teacher in each of the three remaining schools. Provisions are made to serve educationally deprived children attending three private, nOn-profit, elementary schools within the District that have elected to participate in this year's Title I Plan. 5. Support and community services focus on improvement of instruction through workshops, program monitoring, and parent activities. Parent Involvement is school based and designed to assist parents in becoming partners in their child's education. The Title I allocation for 1995-96 will be based on last year's amount of $4,299,095. These funds will be used to cover costs of employees' salaries, benefits, computer hardware/software, supplies, and administrative support. 3 . 4 .LITTLE ROCK SCHOOL DISTRICT MEMORANDUM To
Board of Directors Through: From: Date: Dr. Henry P. Williams, Superintendent Russ Mayo, Associate Superintendent June 22, 1995 Subject: Desegregation Update June. The attached information represents the desegregation update for the month of ^YI (JU UZSii OCMU k .1 (jV( J QosjVoCcc' .Little Rock School District Desegregation Update Board of Directors Meeting June 22,1995 LRSD Biracial Committee The Bi-racial committee began monitoring on May 2,1995. The monitoring visits to all Incentive Schools were completed by May 31, 1995. Each Incentive School was monitored one (1) time during the second semester. A final report will be prepared. /V it+rt iTION Registration immer months at the Student Assignment Office. August registration will be held on August 8 - 9, 1995 in the schools. The registration hours will be 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m..gm i- 0*9/07/95 16:54 50) 324 2023 E1002/003 5
. r f I 'X I.RSn COMMVNICATI -^^-4 ODM iueaOi^EEj'' Little Rock School District News Release '--ii TITLE 1 PARENT INVOLVEMENT KICK-OFF CELEBRATION September 1,1995 For more information: Dina Teague, 324-2020 The Little Rock School District (LRSD) will host a Title 1 Parent Involvement Kick-Off Celebration on Saturday, September 16, from 9
00 to 10:30 a.m. in the Instructionai Resource Center at the comer of Sixth and Ringo Streets. The event is held to encourage parents to become more actively involved in the education of their children. More than $100 in door prizes will be awarded and refreshments will be served. Title 1 parent activities are coordinated through the federal Programs Office of the LRSD. Title 1 is a federally funded program that provides financial assistance to District schools to meet the special needs of educationally disadvantaged children at the preschool, elementary, and secondary school levels. The purpose of Tide 1 is to enable schools to provide opportunitie^for children served to acquire the knowledge and skills contained in the state's challenging content staiidards and to meet the challenging state performance standards, which standards are those developed for all children. (more) .F 810 West Markham Street Little Rock, Arkansas 73201 <501)324-3000 >1 . '. -i ' it- 5 '>1 7! $ * I 09' 0^ O.j 16:55 501 .i?4 2O-.
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L< i o <Come Celebrate With Us ! & K illl t/ 3 .^5 LRSD Title! Parent Involvement Kick-Off Date: September 14, 1996 Balloon Release Time: 9:00 A.M.- 9:30 A.M. Meeting received Time: 9:30 A.M. - 10:30 A.M. Place: LRSD Resource Center 30th St. and King Dr. Agenda SEP 1 3 1996 Office of Desegregation Monitonr McClellan High School Band William R. Stiles, Band Director Geyer Springs Twirlers LaAngela Brewster, Sponsor Baseline Bears Drill Team Donna Fudail, Sponsor Balloon Release ey o 9 Guest Speaker: Judge Marion Humphr. Circuit Court-First Division Annual Title I Parent Summit LRSD Title I Parent Involvement fVe invite you to come and make a difference! Date: Location: Time: November 11,1995 Washington Magnet -115 W 27th St 8:30 A.M. 9:00 A.M. Pre-Summit activities and continental breakfast Parent Summit - General Session Theme: Connecting Families and Schools Key Note Speaker: Mr. Bradley Scott - San Antonio, TX. - Parents as the critical key: Opening the door to your childs success (Mr. Scott is the Director of the Desegregation Assistance Center - South Central Collaborative. He has 25 years experience in Education, Race and Human Relations, Interpersonal/Intrapersonal Communication.) Mini - Sessions Counselors, Parents, Scout Directors, Ministers, HIPPY Director, and DARE will speak on the following topics: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. The home, school, and community connection Motivation What parents can do to help improve academic achievement. What parents can do to change negative behavior. Prepare students for future challenges, world class citizenship Goals 2,000, an America 2,000 community There will be activities and a story teller for Title I children. I. Ji j?*! "L I tow, * 3- ffl A? t M ro i ffw
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,-* :7 Tips for Parents and Families 1. Take a time inventory , find the extra time you need so the family can learn together. Commit yourself to learning something with your children. 2. Commit yourself to high standards and set high expectations for your children. Challenge them in every possible way to reach for their full potential. 3. Limit television viewing, especially on school nights. 4. Read together. It is the starting point of all learning. 5. Make sure your children take the tough courses at school and schedule daily time to check homework. 6. Make sure your child goes to school every day and support community efforts to keep children safe and off the street late at night. 1. Set a good example and talk directly to your children, especially your teenagers, about the dangers of drugs and alcohol and the values you want your children to have. Such personal talks, however, uncomfortable they may make you feel, may save their lives. Title I Parent Involvement LRSD Title I Parent Center Instructional Resource Center (formerly Ish School Bldg.) 3001 S. Pulaski St. Little Rock, AR 72204 (501) 324-0525 Catherine J. Gill, Parent Involvement Coordinator LRSD Title 1 Parent Center We will make every effort to: Train parents to be advocates for students in their schools (Le.) team building, group processes, and ultimately trainers of other parents. Connect home, school and community. Train parents to share responsibility for their childs education. Involve more parents in the decision-making process. Train parents to be pro-active rather than re-active. Make available all kinds of materials imaginable to help our children succeed in school.The Parent Express August 27, 1996 Vol. I No. 1 Greetings from the Little Rock School District Title I Parent Involvement office, located at 3001 S. Pulaski St. (formerly Ish School) , now the IRC building. We are so excited this year to have a separate Parent Center that will house basic books, brochures, cassette tapes, educational games, magazines, puzzles, take home books, and videos. We extend a personal invitation to you to come and see what we are doing for parents and students. The Book Mark is a brief description of our goals for the Parent Center. The Student Prescription will enable the Parent Center staff to fill the student's prescription tailored to the needs of the student. The 1996-97 Calendar of activities will enable you to be informed and involved in all our activities for the school year. The TV Diet sheet is a reminder to encourage students to cut back on TV viewing. Parents should monitor the quality as well as the quantity of television programs for their children. LRSD Title I Parent Involvement sa 9fficQ Sep 4 ^996 r|H| Your Famjjy It is time to put your child on a Television Dief^ During the summer, your kids may have developed the habit of watching more television. Now that school has started, its time to put them on a "TV diet. The National PTA notes that children who spend four or more hours watching television every day: Don work as hard in school. Dont read as well. AUG 2 9 1996 Don H have as many hobbies. OtfiCQ of Monitoring ^^^Qgation Don H play as well with friends. Are more likely to have high cholesterol. Are more likely to gain weight. As the school year begins, set up a schedule to limit the time your child spends watching TV. Some families give each child a certain number of tickets, each good for 30 minutes of TV. Others have a strict rule - no television after dinner on school nights. Think about the plan that will work best for your family. And don't forget that the more TV you watch, the more your kids will. Source: National PTA LRSD Title J Parent InvolvementDate August 21 August 28 September 7 September 14 September 24 October 26 November 12 November 23 December 3 December 7 January 11 January 18 January 25 January February 8 February 15 February 22 March 9 April 5 April 12 May 3 May 18 1996-97 Title I Parent Involvement Dates Day Wednesday Wednesday Saturday Saturday Tuesday Saturday Tuesday Saturday Tuesday Saturday Saturday Saturday Saturday Saturday Saturday Saturday Sunday Saturday Saturday Saturday Saturday Meeting PAC Executive Board PAC Executive Board Key Facilitators Meeting Parent Involvement Kick-Off Key Facilitators Meeting Title I Parent Involvement Mandated Meeting Task Force Facilitators Training Super Saturday Parent Training Title I Parent Involvement Parent Training Super Saturday Parent Training Super Saturday Parent Training Super Saturday Parent Training Super Saturday Parent Training Mid-Winter Conference-Hot Springs Super Saturday Parent Training Super Saturday Parent Training Super Saturday Parent Training Parent Involvement Day Super Saturday Parent Training Super Saturday Parent Training Super Saturday Parent Training Title 1/VI Awards Picnic Time 4:00 P.M. 4:00 P.M. 9:00 A.M. 9:00 A.M. 4:00 P.M. 9:00 A.M. 5:30 P.M. 9:00 A.M. 5:30 P.M. 9:00 A.M. 9:00 A.M. 9:00 A.M. 9:00 A.M. 9:00 A.M. 9:00 A.M. 9:00 A.M. 2:00 P.M. 9:00 A.M. 9:00 A.M. 9:00 A.M. 11:00 A.M.Date Little Rock School District Title I Parent Resource Center Prescription Parents Do Make A Difference! Teacher Students Name Phone# Grade School Subject Skill(s) Needed Dear Parents, Your childs teacher has noted that he/she needs home assistance with the above skill(s). You can help! Bring this prescription to the LRSD Title I Parent Resource Center, 3001 S. Pulaski St. (formerly Ish School). The Title I Parent Coordinator will provide you with free activities for you to use at home with your child. The Parent Center will be open daily to lend assistance to parents and students in the areas of Reading and Math. Very shortly you will receive a list of all materials housed in the Parent Center, available on a check-out basis. For more information, please call 324-0525. Sincerely, Catherine J. Gill, Parent Involvement Coordinator ,07/2741999 15:26 3240567 JQD PAGE 02 Individual A.pproacb to a World of Knowledge" July 27. 1999 Mr. John Walker, Esq. 1723 Broadway Little Rock, AR 72206 Dear Mr, Walker: I am fonwarding your requests regarding information about the District's Title I program to Mr. Leon Adams, the Director of Federal Programs. The final draft of the District plan is not, I know, complete. He will finish it in time to submit it to ADE on or before August 15. Mr. Adams has received the school plans, and I do not have copies of them. Also, Mr. Adams conducted the parent involvement meetings, so his office will need to provide you with that information. The multiple administrative meetings that Mr. Adams referred to in his J. presentation to the Board of Education last week were for the following purposes
' To review the impact on the elementary schools of continuing to provide some level of services to grade 6 at the following middle schools: Mablevale, Forest Heights, Henderson, Pulaski Heights, and Dunbar. Both Southwest and Cloverdale Middle Schools must be 2. 3. served since they are over 75 percent poor. Mann receives no Title I funds since it is a magnet. We decided to continue serving grade 6. To consider the options of schools whose prior commitments for technology purchases exceeded the 1999-2000 allocation. There is no real option except for the schools to pay their debts. To identify schools where Title I staffing costs would have to occur in order for the schools to stay within their budgets and to review processes to achieve those cuts. Mr. Adams and Dr. Hurley worked on this plan. 810 W Markham Little Rock, Arkansas 72201 ww5lrsd.kl2.ar.us 501-324-2000 fax: 501-324-2032 . 07/27./1999 15: 26 3240567 JQD PAGE 03 Mr. John Walker July 26, 1999 Page Two In summary, schools made decisions to cut staff for one or more of the following reasons: 1. What they were doing was not working to improve student achievement, so their plan took a different approach. 2. Escalating costs of teacher salaries and benefits caused staffing costs to exceed allocations for 1999-2000. 3. Costs associated with lease-purchase agreements for technology labs exceeded the allocation. 4. Any school that does not make adequate yearly progress must, by federal mandate, commit at least 10 percent of its allocation to professional development. There may be other reasons that I am not aware of since I haven't seen the plans, but the ones listed above are the ones we discussed. I trust you will follow up with Mr. Adams for answers to your other questions. Yours truly, Bonnie A. Lesley, Ed.D Associate Superintendent for Instruction BAL/adg cc: Dr. Les Gamine Chris Heller Brady Gadberry Junious Babbs Leon Adams Dr. Richard Hurley Ann Brown ,07/27/.1999 15:26 3240567 JQD PAGE 04 JOHN W walker R.4LPH WASHINGTON M.ARK BURNETTE AUSTIN PORTER. JR John W. Walker, P.A. Attorney AT Law 1723 Broadway Little Rock. Arkansas 72206 Telephone (501) 374-3758 FAX (501) 374-4187 SUPEfllNTENI f^KTDl fPTinM JUL 2 6 jggg lEMT Via Facsimile324-0504 July 23, 1999 Dr. Bonnie Lesley Associate Superintendent for Instruction Little Rock School District 3001 South Pulaski Little Rock, AR 72201 Dear Dr. Lesley: Would you please provide a copy of the Districts ESEA Title I Plan includine the current implementation plan for each of the school. In other words, we would also like to know how each respective school intends to implement the program. In addition, I would also like to have a copy of the recommendations and/or findings of the administrative review team that monitored the program for approximately six weeks. Finally, would you please provide a Hsting of all members of the Title I teams at each of the schools by position, race and gender along with the team members at the District level with the same information. Thank you for your attention to this request. Sincerely, , John W. Walker JWW
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2b 3240567 JQD PAGE 05 JOHN W. WALKER RALPH Washington MARK BURNETTE AUSTIN PORTER. JR John w. walker, p.a. Attorney At Law 1'23 Broadway LnrtE Rock. Arkansas 72206 Telephone (501) 374-3758 FAX (501) 374-4187 Via Facsimile - 324-2146 July 23, 1999 Dr. Leslie Gamine Superintendent of Schools Little Rock School District 810 West Markham Little Rock, AR 72201 Dear Les: It is good to see Drs, Roberts and Ross involved with the District in staff development. Each of them is highly competent and communicative. Their work will be useful. I am writing to remind you that this use of their services was not what we contemplated in our settlement agreement. The effectiveness of their presentations rather demonstrates the loss the District has sustained by their relative non-use in the contemplated planning process. Because the matter may still be fixed, though the time schedule may have to be modified, I request a meeting with Mr. Heller, Dr. Roberts, Dr. Ross, a school board designee and you so that we may address the obvious fundamental failing of the plan. On another matter, in observing the presentation of Dr. Lesley, I am left to querty whether some other assignment may not be appropriate for her than as the instructional leader for the District. A fair review of her interactions with the principals can be made if you devise a review instrument at once for all of the participants in the principals meetings and them rate the presenters in content, delivery and effectiveness. Furthermore, because of Dr. Lesleys intent to use past discriminators in imponant positions and because of the quarry I raise herein, I would be remiss in meeting my responsibility of monitoring efforts of Dr. Lesleys department were not materially increased. I believe that she would profit, if you choose not to reassign her, from by extensive association with and assistance from Drs. Roberts and Ross. Without it, the grandiose goals which you announced at the Board meeting last night for student achievement are in peril, if not doomed.K8 07/27/1999 15:26 3240567 JQD PAGE 06 I Sincerely, rwwjs cc
Dr. Bonnie Lesley LITTLE ROCK SCHOOL DISTRICT INSTRUCTIONAL RESOURCE CENTER 3001 PULASKI STREET LITTLE ROCK, AR 72206 (501)324-2131 RECEIVED TO: FROM: SUBJECT: November 17, 1999 Dr. Steve Ross Dr. Terrence Roberts Ann Brown John Walker Clementine Kelly, CTA NOV 3 0 1993 OFFiCEOF DESEGREGATION MONITORINS r. Bonnie Lesley, Associate Superintendent for Instruction Proposed New Policy and Regulations for Title I I am attaching for your review and feedback copies of early drafts of a proposed new policy and regulations to govern our Title I programs. We already have similar documents in place for special education, gifted/talented education, and ESL. If you have questions or suggestions for improvement, please get those to me by Tuesday, December?. BAL/rcm Cc: Les Carnine Junious Babbs Sadie Mitchell Brady Gadberry Victor Anderson LITTLE ROCK SCHOOL DISTRICT NEPN CODE: IHAR TITLE I PROGRAMS The Little Rock School District is committed to the effective use of Title I funds to assist in ensuring that all students meet the rigorous curriculum standards and benchmarks established by the state and the District. Title I programs are to be administered in accordance Avith all federal, state, and local regulations, and they are to be tightly aligned with the LRSD Strategic Plan, the Revised Desegregation and Education Plan, both state and District accountability systems, and the Campus Leadership Plan. Regular education, special education, and English-as-a-Second Language program staff at both the District and school levels share collective responsibility for design, planning, implementation, monitoring, and evaluating results of the program interventions funded through Title 1. Representative parents of Title I students must also be included. Interventions funded through Title I are to be included in the School Improvement Plans that Campus Leadership Teams submit annually so that planning processes are integrated and coherent. The Districts Title I Plan must be approved by the Board of Education annually prior to its submission to the Arkansas Department of Education. The Director of Federal Programs shall include for the Boards approval the following: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. Amount of the Districts allocation
Amount of carry-over from previous year
Mandated amount to be allocated to private and parochial schools located within District boundaries
Total amount reserved for administrative costs and program support at the District level
Amount available for allocations to schools
Amount of per student allocation to individual schools
Description of interventions to be funded at each school
Evidence of mandated parent participation in the design of the District plan
Evidence of use of research and results of Title I program evaluation findings in the design of the District and school-level plans. MOV 0 1999 OmCEOh DESEGREGATION MONlTORiNLITTLE ROCK SCHOOL DISTRICT NEPN CODE: IHAR-R TITLE I PROGRAMS Purpose The Little Rock School District is committed to the effective implementation of federal and state regulations regarding the design and administration of the Districts Title I program. The purpose of these regulations is to establish, within federal and state parameters, the procedures for the design and implementation of the LRSD Title I (district- and school-level) plan so that it is aligned and coherent with the regular education program and so that it supports all students achievement of the rigorous curriculum standards established by Arkansas and the LRSD. Title I programs must also be carefully aligned with the LRSD Strategic Plan, the Revised Desegregation and Education Plan, Smart Start, Arkansas Consolidated School Improvement Planning (ACSIP), Arkansas Comprehensive Testing, Assessment, and Accountability Program (ACTAAP), the National Science Foundation (NSF) project, and the Campus Leadership Plan. Collective Responsibility for the Success of Title I Programs Central office staff share with school-level staff the responsibility for the success of the Title I programs. All members of the Division of Instruction, regardless of fundin: source, are expected to be knowledgeable about Title I federal, state, and local g regulations
about the LRSD schools improvement plans (which include Title I funded interventions)
and about their role in supporting the success of those schools in ensuring that all students achieve the Arkansas and LRSD curriculum standards/benchmarks. The School Improvement Team and the Teaching and Learning Team are charged with special responsibility to provide professional development, technical assistance, research, data analysis, monitoring, and other support to principals and Campus Leadership Teams. The Planning Process The District shall observe the following steps in the design of the District Title I Plan. 1. Assemble analysis of current expenditures, current student achievement data, list of schools identified for sanctions or corrective actions, free/reduced lunch data, and other critical information to determine priority needs for the following year. Who: Director of Federal Programs Manager of Financial Services Testing and Program Evaluation Staff Associate Superintendent for Instruction When
February 1 annually2. 3. 4. 5. Notify schools when cuts will have to be made in staffing. Inform principals that such decisions must be communicated to the Director of Human Resources by March 1. Who: Director of Federal Programs Director of Human Resources When: February 15 annually. Convene a series of meetings of Cabinet members and representative members of the District Title I Parent Advisory Committee to review available data, as well as possible scenarios for allocating funds to schools during the following year. Make decisions regarding school levels to be served and per-student allocations. Who: Director of Federal Programs Associate Superintendent for Instruction When: February 1^February 15 annually Assemble Title I Plan Review Committee: Director of Federal Programs his/her designee
Director of Mathematics/Science or his/her designee
Director of Early Childhood and Elementary Literacy or his/her designee
middle school specialist
Director of Planning and Development or his/her designee
one or more members of the School Improvement Team
and a or a representative from School Operations. Meet to construct/review agreed-upon criteria for approval of school plans. Who: Director of Federal Programs Associate Superintendent for School Services Associate Superintendent for Instruction When: February 15 annually Conduct meetings with principals of eligible Title I schools. Provide them with the following information: (a) status of school in accountability system
(b) copies of any changes in federal, state, or local regulations relating to governance of Title I
(c) projected budget allocations for the following year
(d) forms (supplemental to those required for the School Improvement Plan) for their Title I plans and budgets
(e) instructions for completing the forms
(f) information on how to become a school-wide project or, if not eligible, how to apply for a waiver
(g) menus of recommended interventions (reading, writing, mathematics, school change models, etc.) appropriate for Title I funding
(h) reminders of mandates for parental involvement in the design of the school-level plan
(i) criteria that will be used to evaluate and approve school-level Title I plans
O) other information to facilitate the completion of the Title I plan and budget. Who: Director of Federal Programs Associate Superintendent for Instruction When: February 15-28 annually6. 7. 8. 9. Notify Director of Human Resources of any proposed involuntary transfers of Title I funded staff for the following year. Who: Principals with support of Campus Leadership Teams When: March 1 annually Design the schools Title I Plan and Budget, in collaboration with representative Title I parents. Who: Principals and Campus Leadership Teams When: FebruaryMarch 15 annually Collect school-level Title I plans and budgets. Who: Assistant/Associate Superintendent for School Services When: March 15 annually Conduct series of meetings of Title I Plan Review Committee to review and approve plans. If a plan is not approved by this committee, then the committee shall provide immediate technical assistance to the principal and the Campus Leadership Team for the revision of the plan in a manner that will lead to its approval. Who: Title I Plan Review Committee When: March 15^April 1 annually 10. Submit approved Title I Plans to Associate Superintendent for School Services and Associate Superintendent for Instruction for their review and final approval. If improvements are required before final approval, the principal and the Campus Leadership Team must be provided with immediate technical assistance. Who: Director of Federal Programs When: April 115 aimually 11. Complete the design of the District Title I Plan and budgets for submission to the Associate Superintendent for Instruction, the Associate Superintendent for School Services, and the Manager of Financial Services for their approval. Who: Director of Federal Programs When: May 1 12. Make necessary revisions to the budgets when the District receives official notification of its allocation from the Department of Education. Who: Director of Federal Programs, with the approval of the Associate Superintendent of Instruction, the Associate Superintendent for School Services, and the Manager of Financial Services When: June 1 13. Provide Title I principals with information about their final allocations for the year, about how to do a budget amendment, the deadline for budget amendments, forms for budget amendments, and expenditure cut-off deadlines. I Who: Director of Federal Programs When: August 15 annually 14. Submit the final draft of the District Title I Plan and Budget to the Board of Education for their approval. Who: Director of Federal ProgramsAssociate Superintendent of Instruction When: July 15. Submit the completed and approved District Title I Plan and Budget to the Arkansas Department of Education for their approval. Who: Director of Federal Programs When: August 1 annually 16. Provide a summary of each schools plan to members of the Division of School Services and the Division of Instruction so that appropriate monitoring and technical assistance can be provided schools. Who: Director of Federal Programs When: August 15 annually 17. Communicate the School Improvement Plan, including its Title I components, to the school community so that everyone understands. Who: Principals and Campus Leadership Teams When: MarchSeptember annually Appeal of the Decisions of the Title I Plan Review Committee If a schools Title I plan is not approved by the Review Committee, the Campus Leadership Team may appeal that decision immediately to the Associate Superintendent for School Services and the Associate Superintendent for Instruction. The appeal must be made within five school days of the notification that the plan is not approved
it must include a summary of research, with citations, that supports the plans implementation
and it must be sent to both the Associate Superintendents in writing, signed by the principal and the members of the Campus Leadership Team. The two Associate Superintendents shall review the school plan and the appeal within five school days and issue one of the following decisions: 1. Uphold the appeal and approve the plan as written for implementation. 2. Uphold the appeal with conditions that are delineated for the Campus Leadership Team. 3. Deny the appeal and refer the CLT back to the Review Committee for technical assistance. Parameters for School-Level Plans The following parameters shall be observed in the development and implementation of school-level Title I plans. These parameters ensure alignment with the implementation of the Districts Strategic Plan, the Revised Desegregation and Education Plan, Smart Start, the Campus Leadership Plan, ACSIP, ACTAAP, the NSF project, and the School Improvement Plan. 1. The design of the schools Title I plan must be approved by the schools Campus Leadership Team (CLT). The schools Title I Parent Advisory Committee shall advise the Campus Leadership Team in the design of the plan, and at least two representatives of Title I parents must participate in the approval of the Title I plan in targeted assistance schools. (All parents are Title I parents in schoolwide projects.)2. Accountability for Title I is focused on reading/language arts and mathematics, with an emphasis on grades K-3 at the elementary level. Title I plans, therefore, to be approved, must reflect these areas of focus and emphasis. A priority relating to parental involvement is also recommended. The Districts PreK-3 Literacy Plan, Effective Literacy for grades 4-5, and the NSF Plan for K-5 mathematics are the basic, regular education programs for elementary schools. The grades 6-8 Reading and Writing Workshop and the new grades 6-8 mathematics curriculum are the regular program at the middle school level. The schools Title I plan must be designed to improve the percentage of children attaining the Proficient level or above on the Arkansas criterion-referenced examinations in the areas tested. 3. Schools may choose to implement Reading Recovery or Success for All to supplement the districts PreK-3 Literacy Program. The district also recommends at the elementary and middle school levels an extended-day Reading Clinic strategy to support students at the Basic and Below Basic levels of performance. Proposals to implement other supplemental language arts programs must be approved through the waiver process, and the school must show their alignment with the District curriculum, as well as the research base that would predict childrens success on state examinations if the program is implemented. 4. Schools are encouraged to invest in the staff through an emphasis on professional development that is carefully aligned with the school improvement plan and district priorities. Schools that are on school improvement status must, at a minimum, invest at least ten (10) percent of their allocation in professional development. Little Rock School District elementary and middle school language arts teachers are strongly encouraged to pursue advanced courses in the teaching of reading and rhetoric/composition, and/or to participate in the National Writing Project that is conducted at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. Kindergarten teachers must participate in training to implement Animated Literacy. Elementary teachers are also strongly encouraged to participate in ELLA (Early Literacy Learning in Arkansas) and/or Effective Literacy training. The Reading/Writing Workshop teachers in grades 6-8 are expected to participate in the districts training for that course. Middle school content-area and related arts teachers are strongly encouraged to participate in training on reading in the content areas and/or in writing across the curriculum. Training for elementary and middle school mathematics teachers may be provided through the NSF grant, but schools wishing to supplement what the district provides are encouraged to do so. Additionally, all staff must receive extensive training in the adaptation of instruction, pacing, materials, and assessment for special education, 504, and limited-English proficient students. These populations are increasing in every school, and it is imperative that all schools become skilled in ensuring that special populations also achieve the curriculum standards/benchmarks established by the state and LRSD. 5. 6. 1. 8. Schools wishing to eliminate current Title I staff and ask that they be reassigned in regular education may do so, but the plan must be approved by the Campus Leadership Team and the Director of Human Resources. Generally speaking, such decisions must be communicated to Human Resources no later than March 1 of each year. The focus for the mandated parent involvement component for Title I is the school. The district, therefore, will begin to phase out some of its district-level activities and will, instead, concentrate on developing the capacity of Campus Leadership Teams to involve parents at the school level. Schools should ensure that parent involvement costs are included in their Title I plans and budgets. Schools with students of limited-English-proficiency should include funds to translate critical school documents and invitations to parents whose home language is other than English. Family Math and Family Reading programs are encouraged, as well as any activities necessary to embed the Parent-School Compact in the culture of the school (see the PreK-3 Literacy Plan). The District will continue its District-level Parent Advisory Committee, as well as the individual school Parent Advisory Committees. Within certain federal and state parameters schools may purchase technology to support their Title I instructional programs. Campus Leadership Teams must carefully consider how the proposed software (and hardware) will contribute to the improved performance of students relating to Arkansas and LRSD curriculum standards/benchmarks. Also, instructional technology programs are considered to be supplemental to the district program, not a replacement for it. Schools are cautioned not to over-commit their future Title I allocations in purchasing technology. If lease/purchase contracts exceed the schools allocation, then the school may lose its Title I staff or other programs for the duration of the lease/purchase contract. The district discourages the use of Title I funds for travel to most conferences. Exceptions include visiting exemplary schools that use a program under consideration or implementation by the school or for in-depth training (as opposed to awareness level only) in a priority area for school improvement or the improvement of student outcomes. Rather than spend Title I funds on out-ofdistrict trips, the school is encouraged to bring top-notch consultants to Little Rock to work with all teachers, not just the one or two who might go to the conference.9. Schools are encouraged to collaborate with each other and to leverage their Title I funds to every extent possible. Cabinet-level and curriculum staff, including the federal programs staff, should facilitate such collaboration and networking, particularly in the areas of professional development, parent involvement, summer programs, and extended-day programs. Both principals and teachers are encouraged to visit other schools in the Little Rock School District and in the immediate area that are meeting their improvement goals for information on school improvement and on specific teaching/leaming strategies. 10. Title I schools, especially those on school improvement status, may budget funds for planning retreats of the Campus Leadership Team. Title I Expenditures Once a schools plan and budget are finally approved, then the expenditures are assumed to be approved, as long as they conform to the plan. The Office of Federal Programs is to expedite and facilitate as quickly as possible the approval of all purchase requisitions. Principals should expect that purchase requests will be approved by the Director of Federal Programs within 48 hours of receipt and forwarded to Procurement. Title 1 Program Start-Up The Director of Federal Programs is expected to submit all required information to the Arkansas Department of Education on a timely basis and to secure approval of the District Title I plan at the earliest possible date. The schools Title 1 programs should be fully operational no later than October 1 of each year for maximum impact on student achievement. District Title I Parent Advisory Committee The Director of Federal Programs, the Parent/Community Team, and the Associate Superintendent for Instruction shall ensure that the District Title I Parent Advisory Committee is organized annually and that federal regulations are observed regarding the rights of parents to participate in Title I planning. Regular meetings shall be conducted to keep the members of the Parent Advisory Committee well informed about District programs and services and to listen to their feedback and input.Arkansas Democrat (gazette FRIDAY, SEPlEMBER 15, 1995 Copyngbt O UtO* Roek_NewsoaoefS. Inc. LR district to push parent involvement The Little Rock School Dis- state education goals for academic achievement. trict will host a Title I Parent Involvement Kick-Off Celebration from 9 to 10:30 a.m. Satur- * day at the districts Instructional Resource Center at Sixth and Ringo streets. The event is designed to encourage parents to become more actively involved in the education of their children. More than SlOO in door prizes will be awarded and refreshments will be served as parents are given tips on how to volunteer in their schools, how to help plan Title 1 j activities and how to work with their children at home. Title 1 is a federally funded program designed to give children extra help in meeting IArkansas Democrat (gazette . THURSDAY, APRIL 24,1997 State to lose $2 million for schools New poverty count shaves Title I funds BY CHRIS REINOLDS 1 ARK.\NSAS DEMOCRATXJAZETTS Arkansas public schools will lose about $2 million this fall in federal aid for poor children for extra reading and math programs. Arkansas is one of 14 states that will lose federal aid known as Title I funds. The federal government will send Arkansas $713 million for the program next year. Education officials said the change was needed because the number of Arkansas students eligible for the program has decreas^. In most other states, the number Of poor students increased. Title I money pays for teachere, summer programs, curriculum changes and other efforts aimed at helping help poor children improve their math and reading The U.S. Department of Education said Tuesday that spending in Title I will rise from $6.7 billion to $7.1 bilhon. Although thats a 6 percent overall increase, 16 states will get increases of 10 percent or more in their Title I funds. Connecticut where the gap between rich and poor school districts is among the greatest in the country, will get nearly 30 percent more fundi^ For 14 states and Puerto Rico, the amount of aid will drop. The biggest decline will be for Iowa, which will get 622 percent less. Theres good news that were moving the money, said Maiy Jean LeTendre, head of Title I at the Education Department The not so good news is that theres a lot more poor kids out there than there were before. The national distribution formula is based on a mixture of outdated 1990 census data and some 1994 updates, which have not been approved by a scientific advisory panel. In 1994, Congress called for the use of updated census estimates to See TRIE I, Page 8B Title I Continued from Page 1B distribute Title I money. Without that requirement, money would be sent out for next year on the basis of poverty estimates taken in 1989. Clearence Lovell, associate director for Title I at the Arkansas Department of Education, said the amount of money distributed is based on the number of students in each state who receive free lunches at school. It could mean as much as a 10 percent loss for some districts. Lovell said. While Title I money is intended to help poor children, any child with reading or math problems can be eligible for the classes, Lovell said. I Congress, meanwhile, concerned i tliat the money was being spread ! too thinly, raised the amount allot- j ted toward targeted aid. That amount will increase 46 percent in 1997-1998, compared widi a 2.5 percent increase for "basic aid, which goes to nearly eveiy school district Critics have said too much of that money goes to undeserving schools. The $7.1 billion does not include aid under some smaller Title I programs. Because of special protections in the law, the districts cannot lose all their aid in one year even if the numbers of poor children fall. But as their aid decreases over tlie years, a greater share could become available to the newly poor districts. Information for this aiticfe was contributed by The Associated Press.Arkansas Democrat (Gazelle THURSDAY. APRIL 15. 1999 Education experts urge Title 1 revision Illi: ASSIX lAII.O IRLS.S WASHINGTON Arguing that federal money spent on poor schoolchildren has done little to improve their progress, education officials asked Congress on Wednesday to rethink the way it spends that money. The money should go to the student, who would be free to take it to schools that work, said Diane Ravitch, a New York-based education analyst who worked for the Education Department during the Bush administration. The current system breeds bureaucracy, she said. Schools would get money depending on how many poor kids are enrolled period. Schools that fail to educate stu- unions, want to leave the program dents shouldnt benefit from the untouched, there isnt enough re- $8 billion program commonly search to prove thats a good idea. known as Title 1, Ravitch told the House Education and Workforce Committee. The program, along an organization of large city with other federal education aid, is up for renewal by Congress this year. The money is distributed to stales and districts based on the percentage of poor students they have. Other experts testified that the program for poor students nearly half the $13 billion in education aid the federal government sends to stales and school districts has little to show for itself after 34 years. They cite consistent gaps in the test scores of poor and wealthy children. Lets be creative, said Maris Vinovskis, a University of Michigan researcher. Like welfare reform, lets see what works and what doesnt Although many large education groups, including teachers Vinovskis told the panel. Michael Casserly, who heads school districts, said Title 1 hasnt been all bad. As of last year, it served 71 percent more urban students than in 1994. The House and Senate arc de- $ltX) billion spent, achievement bating how to spend federal edu cation money overall. Although it and disadvantaged. Even Alan Ginsburg, an Educa- supplies on average 7 percent of a states total education budget, some cash-strapped states like Mississippi and Alabama get 15 percent to 20 percent of their school dollars from the program. Conservative lawmakers want to convert the money to grants for states to use more freely. But some Democratic members are resisting that idea, saying money not tied to a school district could follow a poor child to a school that doesnt need the money or might not spend it on the child who brought it. Its a foot in the door for vouchers, Rep. Matthew G. Martinez, D-Calif., said of the suggestion that public money be given to poor students to spend on the schools of their choice, even if money on all students, rather theyre private or religious than providing extra help to a schools. limited number. But critics complain that after more than 30 years and more than lags for students who are poor lion Department researcher, acknowledged that it was hard to measure whether the program has helped poor and disadvantaged students. He cited some gains in national test scores, but added that large gaps still remain between rich and poor students. The Title I program, the largest federal kindergarten through 12th grade program, was created in 1965 to help poor children by paying for items like reading instruction and staff hiring. The law, originally focused on remedial education, was changed in 1994 to focus on high standards. It now allows schools with 50 percent poor students to use the I IRECEiVED LITTLE ROCK SCHOOL DISTRICT INSTRUCTIONAL RESOURCE CENTER 3001 PULASKI STREET LITTLE ROCK, AR 72206 SEP 2. 1999 Office Of DESEGREGAUON MONITORING September 1, 1999 TO: FROM
John Walker Dr. Terrence Roberts Dr. Steve Ross Ann Brown Frank Martin, CTA Dr. Bonnie Lesley, Associate Superintendent for Instruction SUBJECT: 1999-2000 Title I Plan Many changes were made this past spring and summer in our Districts Title I program so that it is more coherent with, supportive of, and supplemental to the Districts regular education program. In addition, we cut significantly the Districtlevel budget so that more funds were available to allocate directly to the schools. The new state accountability system, ACTAAP, and our LRSD Collective Responsibility Plan and Quality Index require more attention to improvement at the school level and, therefore, more resources there. I am attaching a copy of the District Plan that Leon Adams filed with the Arkansas Department of Education on August 31. We can, of course, amend our plan through a process, and we are already thinking about next year. If you have questions or suggestions for improvement, we would be happy to hear from you. BAL/adg Attachment cc: Dr. Les Carnine Junious Babbs Brady Gadberry Sadie Mitchell Dr. Victor Anderson Chris Heller Clay Fendley 8- A LOCAL EDUCATION AGENCY PLAN UNDER TITLE I OF THE IMPROVING AMERICAS SCHOOLS ACT OF 1994 PUBLIC LAW 103-382 Applicant District Little Rock LEA Code 60-01 Address 810 West Markham FAX No. 501-324-2287 Little Rock, Arkansas Zip Code 722W Phone No. 501-324-2110 E-Mail Address LLADAMS@LRSDADM.LRSD.K12.AR.US PART 1: ASSURANCES AND CERTIFICATIONS A. ASSURANCES I ,the undersigned superintendent for the above named local educational agency (LEA), assures the Arkansas Department of Education (SEA) that the LEA will
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. Administer the Title I program in compliance with all statutory, regulatory provisions and in accord with plans/appiications
Have funds/property control with public agency/private nonprofit agency
Use proper methods of administering and correction deficiencies in programs
Cooperate in program evaluations conducted by or for the SEA or the U. S. Department of Education
Comply with fiscal control and funds accounting
Make reports to the SEA and the Department of Education needed to carry out its duties
Assure that opportunity for public comment on the application/plan and consideration of such comment was afforded/provided
Inform eligible schools and parents of schoolwide program authority
Provide technical assistance and support to schoolwide programs
Work in consultation with schools as the schools implement such plans or undertake activities pursuant to Section 1115 (targeted assistance schools) so that each school makes adequate yearly progress toward meeting State content standards and State student performance standards
Fulfill LEA school improvement responsibilities under Section 1116, including taking corrective actions specified under Section 1116(c)(4)
Coordinate and collaborate, to the extent feasible and necessary as determined by the LEA, with other agencies providing services to children, youth, and families, including health and social services
Provide services to eligible children attending private elementary and secondary schools in accordance with Section 1120, and provide timely and meaningful consultation with private school officials regarding such services
Take into account experience of model programs for the educationally disadvantaged and the findings of relevant research indicating that services may be most effective if focused on students in the earliest grades at schools that receive funds under this part
Beginning in fiscal year 1997 and in the case that an LEA chooses to use federal funds under this part to provide early childhood development services to low-income children below the age of compulsory school attendance, ensure that such services comply with the performance standards established under Section Performance standards shall be disseminated to LEAs. Develop a parent involvement plan for the district and each school. RECEIVED SEP 2 WS9 OFFICE OF DESEGREGATXN MONITORS2 B. CERTIFICATIONS I, the undersigned superintendent for the applicant school district, certify that
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. The information provided in this application to support the above assurances is correct, so far as I am able to determine. The LEA will abide by the provisions of the approved plan/application. As the prospective lower tier participant neither it nor its principals are presently debarred, suspended, proposed for debarment, declared ineligible, or voluntarily excluded from participation in this transaction by any Federal department or agency. Where the prospective lower tier participant is unable to certify to any of the statements in this certification, such prospective participant shall attach an explanation to this proposal. (Executive Order 12549, 34 CFR Part 85, Section 85.510) No Federal appropriated funds have been paid or will be paid, by or on behalf of the undersigned, to any person for influencing or attempting to influence an officer or employee of any agency, a Member of Congress in connection with the making of any Federal grant, the entering into of any cooperative agreement, and the extension, continuation, renewal, amendment, or modification of any Federal grant or cooperative agreement
If any funds other than Federal appropriated funds have been paid or will be paid to any person of influencing or attempting to influence an officer or employee of any agency, a Member of Congress, an officer or employee of Congress, or an employee of a Member of congress in connection with this Federal grant or cooperative agreement, the undersigned shall complete and submit Standard Form-LLL, "Disclosure Form to Report Lobbying, in accordance with its instructions
The undersigned shall require that the language of this certification be included in the award documents for all subawards at all tiers (including subgrants, contracts under grants and cooperative agreements, and subcontracts) and that all subrecipients shall certify and disclose accordingly. Following plan/application approval, the contract person named below is authorized to act for me in all matters concerning this program. Name of Contact Person Leon Adams Title Dir. Federal Programs Phone No. 501-324-211Q School Address 810 West Markham Street, Little Rock, AR 72201 Fax No. 501-324-2287 E-Mail Address LLADAMS@LRSDADM.LRSD.K12.AR.US Signature of Superintendent (Submit Original Signature. Please sign in BLUE ink.) Typed Name and Title LESLIE V. CARNINE, SUPERINTENDENT FOR STATE USE ONLY Maintenance of Effort Verified Accountant Date Local Program Number 96-5 Total Amount Approved $ State Program Number Approved by. Program Advisor, Title I, lASA Date Reviewed by. Reviewed by Coordinator, Title I, lASA Date Associate Director for Federal Programs Date3 PART II: PURPOSE OF TITLE I, IMPROVING AMERICAS SCHOOLS ACT (lASA) The Congress has declared it to be the policy of the United States that a high-quality education for all individuals and a fair and equal opportunity to obtain that education are a societal good, are a moral imperative, and improve the life of every individual, because the quality of our individual lives ultimately depends on the quality of the lives of others. PART III: APPLICATION {Section 1112(a)(1) A. THE GOALS FOR YEAR 2000 By the year 2000, 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. All children in America will start school ready to learn. The high school graduation rate will increase to at least 90 percent. American students will leave grades 4, 8, and 12 having demonstrated competency in challenging subject rhatter including English, mathematics, science, history, and geography, and ever^ school in America will ensure that all students learn to use their minds will so they may be prepared for responsible citizenship, further learning, and productive employment in our modern economy. The Nation's teaching force will have access to programs for the continued improvement of their professional skills and the opportunity to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to instruct and prepare all American students for the next century. U.S. students will be first in the world in mathematics and science achievement. Every American adult will be literate and will possess the skills necessary to compete in a global economy and exercise the rights and responsibilities of citizenship. Every school in America will be free of drugs and violence and will offer a disciplined environment conducive to learning. Every school will promote partnerships that will increase parental and participation in promoting the social, emotional, and academic growth of children. Describe the efforts that will be made in the district to meet each of the Goals 2000 in general, and in Title I in particular. ('See Attachment 3a-3f) 3a Program Linkage to State and National Education Goals In each of the efforts delineated below, the Little Rock School District has not only committed its local funds to improvements, but has also aligned its Title I and other federal and state funds with its Strategic Plan and the Revised Desegregation and Education Plan approved by the federal court in April 1998. There are in the District determined and ongoing efforts to align and make coherent and seamless-to the extent possible-the various national, state, and local programs, including grant-funded initiatives, so that schools are tightly focused on the four components of Smart Start: standards, assessments, professional development, and accountability. 1. School Readiness National Goals 2000: All children in America will start school ready to learn. Arkansas Act 236 of 1991: By the year 2000, all children entering first grade will be capable of beginning first- grade work. The Little Rock School District is committed not only to preparing the children of our community for school readiness, but also for preparing our schools to be ready for the children. Multi-programs are in operation for ages 0-5: A. B. C. D. E. Infant and Toddler Program at Rockefeller Elementary HIPPY program for children ages 4-5 in 1998-99
ages 3-4 in 1999-2000 Early Childhood Education program for children with disabilities More than 720 four-year-olds received one-half day Pre-Kindergarten services in 1998-99
up to ten additional classrooms will be open in fall 1999 in collaboration with Head Start and in the use of the Poverty Index funds newly allocated by the state. Pre-Kindergarten children will be served in the LRSDs new elementary English-as-a-Second Language program in fall 1999. LRSD has put into place for fall 1999 several curriculum changes at the kindergarten level to improve childrens readiness for first-grade: A. All kindergarten students will participate in a new phonemic awareness program in 1999-2000 called Animated Literacy. The program is research-based and reflects findings that the single best predictor of childrens ability to learn to read in grade 1 is phonemic awareness. B. LRSD has adopted two language arts programs from which schools can choose, beginning at the kindergarten level: Early Literacy Learning in Arkansas (ELLA) or Success for All (SFA). All kindergarten teachers will receive training in the ELLA or SFA implementation prior to the beginning of school. The schedule in every elementary school day will include a two and one-half hour sacred block of time for English language artsreading, writing, speaking, listening, and thinking. C. Kindergarten teachers will also begin in fall 1999 the implementation of the new mathematics and science curricula funded through the National Science Foundation grant received by the District. At least one hour daily will be spent in teaching mathematics. D. The District will administer in 1999-2000 new criterion-referenced pre- and post-tests to measure progress toward the District goal of every child reading independently by grade 3. Performance on this test will be one of the elementary school Quality Indicators (local accountability system), effective fall 1999. 2, School Completion National Goals 2000: The high school graduation rate will increase to at least 90 percent. Arkansas Act 236 of 1991: By the year 2000, the high school graduation rate will increase to at least 90 percent and the dropout rate will be reduced to accomplish this goal. ACTAAP performance goal: At least 95 percent of students will complete grade 12.3b The Little Rock School District decreased its dropout rate by 15 percent in 1998-99 through several coordinated efforts. These will continue in 1999-2000, plus other new initiatives will be implemented.. A. Expansion of the Alternative Learning Centerthe alternative school for students who, in the past, would have been suspended or expelled. Keeping as many students as possible in school and on track with their academic program helps to decrease the dropout rate. Only one student in LRSD was expelled in 1998-99, in contrast to 109 in 1997-98. B. Creation of and then expansion of the Accelerated Learning Center (ACC) for fall 1999. The ACC is an alternative program for high school students who are over-age and credit-deficient. These are students who just do not achieve well in the traditional school program, but, nevertheless, are motivated to earn a high school diploma. The competency-based curriculum enables participating students to accelerate their completion of credits. C. There is a high, positive correlation of students who participate in co- and extra-curricular activities completing the high school diploma. LRSD, therefore, worked hard in 1998-99 to increase participation in these activities. These efforts will continue in 1999-2000. D. Students who learn to read proficiently by grade 3 are less likely to drop out of school since they are less likely to experience failure and retention. The Districts new PreK-3 Literacy Program Plan has as its major goal that all students learn to read independently by grade 3. E. The District runs a massive summer school program each year to provide additional opportunities for students to make up failed courses or to earn promotion at the elementary and middle school levels. The K-3 summer school is a part of that comprehensive program. F. In fall 1999 the District will implement a new credit-by-examination policy which will enable students to make up failed courses through examination, instead of having to retake them. G. The District will make a major investment of new money into its ESL programs in fall 1999. Ten additional teachers have been added to the elementary Newcomer Centers so that class-size can be reduced and a more comprehensive, effective ESL program can be provided. The tutors who had in the past served this population will be assigned to serve students in schools without Newcomer Centers. New ESL courses in the content areas have been added at the middle and high school levels for fall 1999. A newly employed ESL coordinator will ensure ongoing professional development for all teachers serving ESL students and will coordinate a tuitionreimbursement program as incentives for teachers to earn their ESL endorsement for their teacher certificate. In addition, a tracking/monitoring system will'be established to ensure that ESL students not making academic progress will receive appropriate interventions. A full-time ESL coordinator will be employed from Title VI funds to ensure compliance with the new Resolution Agreement with OCR. H. K-12 curriculum standards will be implemented in fall 1999 in the core areas. Enhanced expectations will expose all students to the curriculum that is tested and will in itself result in higher achievement. I. The District has adopted a policy instituting collective responsibility" for results. Collective Responsibility is one of the four variables identified by Fred Newmann and Gary Wehlage as having positive impacts on student achievement in Successful School Restructuring. 3. Student Achievement and Citizenship National Goals 2000
All students will leave grades 4, 8, and 12 having demonstrated competency over challenging subject matter, and every school will ensure that all students are prepared for responsible citizenship, further learning, and productive employment.3c Arkansas Education Goals, Act 236 of 1991: By the year 2000, Arkansas students will leave grades 3, 6, and 8 having demonstrated competency over challenging subject matter, and every school in Arkansas will ensure that all students are prepared, upon graduation, for responsible citizenship, further learning, and productive employment. ACTAAP established criterion-referenced tests to measure student progress in literacy and mathematics at grades 4, 6, 8, and end-of-level tests in high school. LRSD has also aligned its efforts behind the Revised Desegregation and Education Plan and the National Science Foundation project. A. B. C. D. E. F. K-12 curriculum standards and grade-level or course benchmarks have been established for fall 1999 implementation, enhancing and clarifying the academic expectations for all students. Academic achievement is the major emphasis of the Districts Strategic Plan and the Revised Desegregation and Education Plan. New K-8 language arts curricula will be implemented in fall 1999. I. ii. Grades PreK-2: Early Literacy Learning in Arkansas Grades 3-5: Effective Literacy Grades 6-8: Reading and Writing Workshop New mathematics and science curricula will be implemented in fall 1999, grades K-9. The project funded through the National Science Foundation puts a major emphasis on the enrollment of students, especially minorities, in upper-level and advanced mathematics and science courses. Effective for the Class of 2002, students must earn 24 credits for graduation, including grade-level courses in English, mathematics (Algebra l-ll and Geometry), science (Physics I, Biology I, and Chemistry I), and social studies (Civics, World History, and United States History). Effective for the Class of 2003, in order for students to earn the Honors Seal on their diplomas, they must earn 27 specified credits, take eight Pre-AP or AP courses, and earn a grade-point-average (gpa) of at least 3.5. The LRSD graduation policy requires all students to earn at least three units in an area of Career Focus. Students earning the Honors Seal must complete four units. G. The District will formalize behavior standards for all students in fall 1999. We have applied for funding to begin implementation of the Child Development Project (CDP) in eight elementary schools. CDP is a climate-building, community-building,' parent involvement, instructional enhancement, and character education program for elementary students. It is one of six nationally validated programs that show a reduction in violence and drug use among children. In addition, we have applied for a Safe Schools/Healthy Children grant to fund the training of all secondary teachers in Fred Jones Positive Discipline program. H. I. J. The District will implement in 1999-2000 its own criterion-referenced tests at grades 2-11 to measure student progress each semester in achieving the rigorous curriculum standards/benchmarks established by the District. The District will implement in 1999-2000 its own accountability system that incorporates ACTAPP but goes beyond it in establishing a local Quality Index and in providing coordinated technical assistance, support, and professional development for goals identified for improvement. The Districts Title 1 program was restructured in 1998-99 for implementation in fall 1999 of programs more carefully correlated with the new District reading and mathematics curricula. For instance, the middle schools will employ two teacher leaders to ensure the success of at-risk students in the new grades 6-8 Reading and Writing Workshop.3d K. The District will implement new PreK-12 ESL courses in 1999-2000. L. New District-adopted criterion-referenced tests in grades K-11 will be administered three times annually so that frequent checks can be made on student progress toward meeting curriculum standards/benchmarks. 4. Mathematics and Science National Goals 2000: U.S. students will be first in the world in mathematics and science achievement. Arkansas Education Goals Act 236 of 1991: By the year 2000, Arkansas students will be first in the world in mathematics and science achievement. LRSD has also aligned its efforts behind its Revised Desegregation and Education Plan and the National Science Foundation project that was funded in fall 1998. The LRSD applied for and received a $3.4 million dollar grant from the National Science Foundation in fall 1998 to fund, over five years, curricula enhancements in mathematics and science, professional development for teachers, new teaching materials, and tutoring and summer school support for students. NSF also has a clearly defined accountability system for the continuance of the funding. 5. Safe, Disciplined, and Alcohol- and Drug-Free Schools National Goals 2000: Every school in the U. S. will be free of drugs, violence, and the unauthorized presence of firearms and alcohol and will offer a disciplined environment conducive to learning. Arkansas Education Goals Act 236 of 1991: By the year 2000 every school in Arkansas will be free of drugs and violence and will offer a disciplined environment conducive to learning. The ACTAAP system has as a goal that all schools will be free of drugs, weapons, and violent acts. The District will formalize behavior standards for all students in fall 1999. We have applied for funding to begin implementation of the Child Development Project (CDP) in eight elementary schools. CDP is a climatebuilding, community-building, parent involvement, instructional enhancement, and character education program for elementary students. It is one of six nationally validated programs that show a reduction in violence and drug use among children. In addition, we have applied for a Safe Schools/Healthy Children grant to fund the training of all secondary teachers in Fred Jones' Positive Discipline program. Effective fall 1999, the LRSD is moving grade 6 into the middle schools and grade 9 into the high school, thereby moving hundreds of older students into the higher levels of school and making the elementary and middle schools safer. In addition, students will behavior problems are served first at the school-level through in-school suspension, then in alternative settings, at elementary,'middle, and high school levels. These alternative settings not only enable students to receive targeted help in learning how to behave while continuing to make progress academically, but also enable the students in the regular program to have an improved learning environment with the removal of troubled students. Only one student was expelled from LRSD in 1998-99. More than 97% of LRSD students had no reportable discipline infraction. We believe that the steps that we are taking ensure that LRSD schools are safe, disciplined, and alcohol- and drug-free. 6. Teacher Education and Professional Development National Goals 2000: The nations teaching force will have access to programs for the continued improvement of their professional skills and the opportunity to acquire the knowledge and skills needed to instruct and prepare all American students for the next century. Arkansas Education Goals Act of 1999: Staff Salaries: Salaries for professional educators will be competitive in the marketplace and linked with performance standards and measures. LRSD has also aligned its professional development efforts behind the Strategic Plan, the Revised Desegregation and Education Plan, and its-partnership with ASCD in the Urban Professional Development Initiative (UPDI).3e Several major initiatives in 1998-99 were undertaken to improve the quality of LRSD teachers. Linda Darling- Hammond has found in her studies that 40 percent of the variance between black and white student achievement is due to the difference in teacher quality. A. We are committed through our Revised Desegregation and Education Plan to the equitable allocation of resources." One of the variables that we will monitor and ensure its equity from school to school is related to teacher quality: teachers with at least eight years of experience and a masters degree. B. C. D. E. F. LRSD entered into a partnership in fall 1998 with the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD) called the Urban Professional Development Initiative. This Initiative enables District staff to receive professional development on how to enhance its programs to benefit all students and provides us with a network with educators in similar schools and districts with whom to share. ASCD provides rich video and print resources, as well as access to the web pages to support the work in our District. The District has established threb areas as priorities for professional development
Instructional Strategies (especially for language arts, mathematics, and science)
Campus Leadership (leadership skills, data analysis, action research, school improvement planning, etc.)
and Climate (multiculturalism, prejudice reduction and diversity, classroom management, character education, etc.) The National Science Foundation has provided major funding for professional development in mathematics and science. The District used 18% of its Class-size Reduction funds for professional development leadership in elementary mathematics and for tuition-reimbursement for ESL teachers to earn ESL endorsements to their certificates. Additional Title VI funds are committed in 1999-2000 for enhancement of professional development resources and to fund training for elementary mathematics teachers. G. The District has committed more than $700,000 local dollars to fund the implementation of the Prek- 3 Literacy Program Plan and the middle school Reading and Writing Workshop, as well as the new ESL curriculum. These dollars will be spent chiefly on professional development. H. I. J. K. The District has aligned its elementary professional development programs with Smart Start and has made every effort to leverage state-provided trainin'g in every way possible. The District applied for and received a grant of approximately $170,000 from the state to fund ELLA and Effective Literacy training for teachers. The 1999-2000 Title 1 budget includes some funds for ESL training. The restructured Title I program committed more money to professional development. 7. Parental Participation National Goals 2000: Every school will promote partnerships that will increase parental involvement and participation in promoting the social, emotional, and academic growth of children. The LRSD is strongly committed to improved levels of parent involvement in both its Strategic Plan and the Revised Desegregation and Education Plan. To that end, the parent involvement programs, including those involving Title I, have been restructured for 1999-2000
3f A. B. C. D. E. F. G. The Parent-School Compact required in Title I regulations is a part of the PreK-3 Literacy Program Plan, including a commitment to embed its use in the culture of every Title I school. The school-level Title I Parent Advisory Committees (PACs) will continue, as in the past, but will now serve as Advisory to the Campus Leadership Team, especially in issues related to the schools Title I plans. The district-level PAC will also continue to advise the District on issues relating to the District plan. The Title I parent involvement staff will join a larger work team of staff working on parent and community involvement to ensure compliance with federal Title I regulations, to ensure a tight alignment of parent/community programs with District initiatives for improved student achievement, to leverage all possible resources, to eliminate gaps and reduce redundancies, and to craft a coherent District plan, focussed on the school level, rather than on District events. The Districts new Campus Leadership Plan requires parent involvement on the Campus Leadership Teams. Title I schools have been instructed specifically to ensure that Title I parents are involved in these teams. The District has entered into a partnership with the Southwest Education Development Lab in Austin to establish a Collaborative Action Team. The single focus of this new effort will be to develop and implement a plan for increasing participation of parents in meaningful involvement in their childrens schools. The District will publish in fall 1999 a series of booklets/brochures outlining the new curriculum standards/benchmarks in parent-friendly language. These publications will be sent home with every student and also placed in strategic locations throughout the community. Funds have been budgeted in both Title I and in local budgets to ensure that critical documents for parents are translated into the language of the home. (B. 4 STUDENT ASSESSMENT {Section 1116(a)(2)} 1. 2. 3. The district is in compiiance with the state plan in assessing student progress. Yes X No How is the criteria for success in teaming being established by the LEA on the stategiven norm-referenced test (NRT) and the criterion-referenced test (CRT), and how is it being determined if students are making adequate yearly progress? Criteria for success in learning has been established in the states new ACTAAP as performing at or above the proficient level" on the states benchmark examinations at grades 4, 6, and 8 and the end-of-level examinations administered to secondary students. To triangulate this measure, the District will employ two other methods, both outlined in the LRSD Quality Indicators (the local accountability system). The definitions of school success are defined in the Strategic Plan objectives: A. Nine often students will meet the Districts curriculum standards/benchmarks. The measurement for this objective will be newly adopted criterion-referenced tests for kindergarten and grade 1 literacy and the grades 2-11 tests in literacy and mathematics. Tests will be administered in the fall for diagnostic purposes, at the end of the first semester to check progress and design second-semester interventions, and at the end of the year for summative evaluation. Locally made tests will also be administered at the end of the first and third nine-weeks grading periods to give teachers further information on student performance. Definitions of student performance on the CRTs will be established to align with state definitions (advanced, proficient, basic, and below basic). B. The SAT9 reports include the percent of students performing by quartile. LRSD has established the following performance objectives: that 65 percent of the students in every schools sub-group of race and gender will perform at or above the 50* percentile
that 30 percent of the students will perform in the highest quartile
and that no more than 10 percent will perform in the lowest quartile. C. On both the District-adopted CRTs and the SAT9, the District will examine whether LRSD students grow at or above the growth level of students nationally. Because our students on average perform below the national average, we will be working to accelerate growth so that LRSD students catch up with their national peers. The District will at the end of the first year of a schools not achieving its ACTAAP goals institute a system of information/data gathering and follow-up technical assistance, support, and professional development to assist the school in its improvement efforts. Our plan is one of collective responsibility. That is, the District-level staff will form a partnership with each school to support its improvement and will share in the accountability for results. Describe the multiple assessment strategies used in the LEA Title I schools. If assessments change from school to school, group the schools with the same assessment strategies and describe. (May include NRT, curriculum frameworks, CRT, portfolios, or other.) See #2 above for a description of the Districts assessment strategies and definitions of success.4a Through use of the states benchmark examinations and end-of level tests, the new District CRTs administered quarterly, and the use of the SAT9 scores, the District will be able to triangulate our student achievement instead of using only one snapshot. Multiple measures will provide teachers with sufficient data to make decisions regarding instructional modifications and appropriate interventions and will provide parents and students with information that will help them pinpoint areas of required improvement. In addition to these formal assessment strategies, individual teachers and schools will continue to make use of daily observations, grades, checklists, portfolios (especially in writing), and various performances to determine student progress toward achievement of the curriculum standards and benchmarks. A new grading system and regulations will be designed in 1999-2000 to bring the grading system in alignment with the new standards and instructional programs. 4. Benchmarks set for student performance (advanced, proficient, basic, or below basic) meet the criteria set in the Arkansas State Plan for Improving Americas Schools Act. X Yes No 5. OPTIONAL Other than the assessments described in the state plan that must be complied with, what other assessments are being used? See #2 and #3 above. 6. In the regular classroom, what does the teacher do to insure that children not making adequate progress in meeting State Standards are given assistance that is in addition to the Title I instructional program? A practice that the District endeavors to institutionalize in every classroom is frequent assessment of student progress and then re-teaching as necessary to ensure that every child achieves the standards. This practice is carefully embedded in the new ELLA program, for instance, in that teachers are trained to take running records as individual students read so that frequent assessment and diagnosis can occur. In the upper grades and through high school, teachers are being trained to take students through multiple drafts of their compositions, to use cooperative iearriing strategies to conduct peer editing and then to provide teacher feedback before students turn in the final papers for evaluations. This process approach to all kinds of student vv'ork is designed to provide students with guided practice and formative evaluations so that summative evaluations can be more positive. Another practice that the District supports is collaborative planning involving all the teachers of a group of students. Title I, ESL, special education, and other special program teachers meet regularly with each other and the regular classroom teacher to ensure coordinated instruction and assessment and to provide individual children with necessary support. This practice is not yet institutionalized, but we have restructured in ways that will facilitate it better in 1999-2000, and training continues. A third practice that we have on the drawing board for development in 1999-2000 is the Personalized Education Plan for every student, including those achieving at the top levels, so that every child, with his/her parents involvement, will have his/her own improvement plan.4b The District provides the K-3 summer school for students most in need, tuition-funded summer school for older students, evening high school, and other alternatives to earning promotion/credits. In addition, some schools provide extended-day programs, tutoring, and summer programs. 7. How and how often will teachers inform parents and students about the students progress in meeting State Performance Standards? Teachers inform parents and students about the students progress on State Performance Standards by sending to the parents or guardians four mid-term written student progress reports and four nine-week grade reports and by conducting parent/teacher conferences.5 8. List the procedures that are in use to diagnose teaching and learning to assist students in making progress in meeting the State Performance Standards? Effective fall 1999, the District will implement its new K-12 curriculum standards and grade- level/course benchmarks. These benchmarks replace the old curriculum objectives that were used to set academic goals for each course. Teachers will monitor student progress toward meeting these standards/benchmarks through the assessment strategies outlined in numbers 2 and 3 above. The District will adopt in fall 1999 an instructional framework (such as Dimensions of Learning) to guide curriculum development and professional development. A priority will be to provide opportunities for teachers to acquire a wide range of research-based strategies to ensure much higher levels of student success in achieving the standards/benchmarks. The framework will include creating classrooms conducive to learning, acquiring knowledge, applying knowledge, acquiring and using higher-order thinking skills, and acquiring desired habits.of mindsuch as persistence, metacognition, and self-assessment for quality performance. Schools will be assisted in these efforts through newly established work teams in the Division of Instruction: A. B. C. Teaching and Learningcomposed of the curriculum directors for Early Childhood, English Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, Social Studies, and Career/Technical Education, plus the directors of special programs: Federal Programs, ESL, Gifted/Talented Education, and Exceptional Children. Parent and Community Involvementcomposed of the Title I parent involvement staff, plus the staff now assigned to Volunteers in Public Schools, Partnerships in Education, Adult Education, and Community Education. Planning and Developmentcomposed of staff to ensure alignment of school plans with the Strategic Plan and the Revised Desegregation and Education Plan and to ensure grant proposals are similarly aligned. D. Professional Developmentcomposed of staff in professional development, but also others as appropriate to deliver appropriatfe programs. E. Technical Assistancecomposed of staff to support the ACSIP, Title 1, and Campus Leadership processes for planning school improvement. F. Testing and Program Evaluationcomposed of staff in charge of the assessment programs and program evaluation. Programs targeted for evaluation in 1999-2000 include Title I, ESL, NSF, and middle school implementation. Several new/ teacher leaders w/ere added in summer 1999 to the staff to provide ongoing professional development and in-classroom coaching and technical assistance in A. implementing the new literacy and mathematics/science curricula: One person was funded locally to provide Reading Recovery and ELLA training. B. c. One person funded from Eisenhower funds was reassigned from general Smart Start coordination duties to reading specialist. The Title I specialist overseeing the Success for All program will be on the same work team with other reading specialists.5a D. Two mathematics teacher leaders were funded from the Class-size Reduction funds to assist elementary teachers in curriculum implementation. E. One mathematics teacher leader was funded from Title VI. F. An ESL Coordinator was funded from Title VI to coordinate several administrative duties, but chiefly to train staff in effective implementation of the new ESL programs and services. G. The Districts middle schools used parts of their Title I allocations to employ two teacher leaders to oversee the implementation of the Reading/Writing Workshop and to ensure the success of at-risk students in this new program. Again, we are making a major effort to interweave the Districts improvement efforts with those of Title I and other state/national programs so that they are, to every extent possible, seamless. To achieve that, both the programs and all staff members, regardless of the funding source for their salaries, must assume collective responsibility for the success of all students in the Title I schools. It will take everyone involved to ensure that all students learn to read independently by grade 3, and we are committed to that end. 9. Describe the revisions made in the LEAs program to assure that students will make continuous progress. The following major changes occurred in 1998-99, to be implemented in fall 1999, to ensure more academic success of all students: A. Redistrictingso that all students, except those choosing magnet schools, will attend neighborhood schools instead of being bused across town for desegregation purposes. B. Addition of up to ten more classrooms of Prekindergarten students to improve school readiness. C. Restructuring the HIPPY program to serve children ages 3-4 instead of ages 4-5 since ail five-year olds have access to a full-day kindergarten program. D. Design of K-12 curriculum standards/benchmarks in English language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. E. Design of new K-12 ESL programs and services. F. Design of new PreK-3 Literacy Program Plan, including professional development for teachers, purchase of new materials, restructuring of the school day, interventions, and the addition of a new phonemic awareness program at the kindergarten level. Animated Literacy. G. Design of new grades 4-5 Literacy Plan, emphasizing Effective Literacy. H. Design of new grades 6-8 Reading and Writing Workshop, using Nanci Atwells model, modified by Linda Rief. I. Restructuring of the Title I program to align it with the new District literacy and mathematics programs. J. Design of new grades K-12 mathematics and science curricula, purchase of new materials, and professional development for teachers in implementation.C. 5b K. L. M. N. O. P. Q. Design of new District Assessment Plan to include district-adopted CRTs for grades K-11. Design of new Program Evaluation Plan to target key programs for evaluation: Title I, ESL, NSF, and middle school implementation. Reorganization of Division of Instruction into work teams in support of the work of the schools. Creation of a local accountability system and Quality Indicators that incorporate the components of ACTAAP, but go beyond in creating a system in support of collective responsibility. n Implementation of the new Campus Leadership Plan with an emphasis on creating research-based school improvement plans. Restructuring of parent/community programs to align them with District initiatives
creating partnership with SEDL to form a Collaborative Action Team with a focus on Parent Involvement. Joining a partnership with ASCD, the Urban Professional Development Initiative, to develop an improved plan for delivering professional development to support implementation of new initiatives. RESEARCH {Section 1114 & 1115} List the research and provide a summary of the research on which the program is based. Research should include some or all of the following: a review of the literature on the outcomes of various academic approaches, visitations to successful sites and/or a presentation by experts in the field. The Office of Federal Programs and the Departments of Reading, Mathematics, and Professional Development review current available material and literature that may be added to school programs to help assure continuous student progress. Supervisors, specialists, and teachers provide training and workshops on the proper use of new and innovative strategies. Site visits to exemplary programs are made and written information obtained on successful programs
school personnel and parents, directly involved, attend state meetings. READING RECOVERY Reading Recovery was developed in New Zealand and came to the United States via Ohio State University in 1984. In the 1996-97 school year a total of 9,815 U. S. schools were using Reading Recovery in 48 states. Reading Recovery is an extensive early intervention literacy program. First-grade children who score in the lowest 20 percent of their class (based on individual measures assessment and teacher judgment) are eligible to participate. Regular classroom instruction is supplemented with daily one-to-one, 30-minute lessons for 12-20 weeks with a specially trained teacher. Reading Recovery lessons provide children with individualized instruction that focuses on their strengths, experience with books and stories, accelerated learning expectations, and strategies that help them become independent learners. Reading Recovery teachers record the details of5c every lesson they provide. Instruction continues until participants can read at or above the class average, and demonstrate the use of independent reading and writing strategies. Reading Recovery teachers record the details of every lesson they provide. Instruction continues until participants can read at or above the class average, and demonstrate the use of independent reading and writing strategies. Primary features are: One-to-one tutoring program, Individualized instruction, and Specially trained teachers Results Of all students nationwide who entered Reading Recovery in 1996-97, 60 percent achieved the average of their class. Of students who received a full program with an opportunity to participate for 20 weeks, 83 percent achieved the average reading level of their class. DIRECT INSTRUCTION Direct instruction has evolved from a theory of instruction developed by Siegfried Engelmann of the University of Oregon. His theory of instruction is that learning can be greatly accelerated if instructional presentations are clear, rule out likely misinterpretations, and facilitate generalizations. Over 50 instructional programs have been developed based on this theory. Each program is shaped through field tryouts
student errors are carefully evaluated and lessons revised prior to publication. The lessons are carefully scripted and tightly sequenced. The comprehensive Direct Instruction Model incorporates teacher development and organizational components needed to optimize program use. Through substantial training and in-class coaching, teachers in the lower grades learn to present highly interactive lessons to small groups. Students make frequent oral responses, and teachers monitor and correct errors immediately. Students are placed at appropriate instructional levels based on performance, so those who learn rapidly are not held back and those who need additional assistance receive it. The model calls for inclusion of students with special needs except in the most extreme cases. Primary features include: Field-tested reading, language arts, and rhathematics curricula highly scripted instructional strategies extensive training Results Over the past 30 years numerous research studies on Direct Instruction have been conducted. Beginning with Project Follow Through, a large-scale federal research project that funded and examined a variety of approaches to educating disadvantaged students. The Project Follow Through evaluation found that Direct Instruction was the most effective model in all three areas studied: basic skills (reading, language, math, spelling), cognitive skills, and affective behavior. Many other evaluations conducted since then also have significant positive effects on student achievement in reading, language arts, or mathematics, as measured by a variety of standardized tests. Many of the program benefits appear to endure well past elementary school. Several studies have found that students who received Direct Instruction in grade school have higher high school test scores, graduation rates, and college acceptance rates.5d SUCCESS FOR ALL Success for All was founded by Robert Slavin, Nancy Madden, and a team of developers from John Hopkins University and was first implemented in six school in 1987. By January 1998 Success for All was in 747 schools in 40 states. Success for All restructures elementary schools to ensure that every child learns to read in the early grades. The idea is to prevent reading problems from appearing in the first place and to intervene swiftly and intensively if problems do appear. Success for All prescribes specific curricula and instructional strategies forteaching reading, including shared story reading, listening, comprehension, vocabulary building, sound blending and writing activities. Program features include: schoolwide reading curriculum cooperative learning grouping by reading level (reviewed by assessment every 8 weeks) tutoring for students in need of extra assistance family support team Results Students in Success For All schools have outperformed students in control schools on reading tests
effects have been even more pronounced for students in the bottom quartile. Numerous studies have compared scores on standardized reading tests (specifically, the Durrell Oral Reading Scale and several scales from the Woodcock Reading mastery Test) for students in Success for All schools and control schools. Results indicate that Success for All significantly improves reading performance, especially for students in the lowest 25% of their class. Compared to control groups. Success for All students score about three months higher in the first grade and 1.1 years higher in fifth grade on reading measures. A schools reading performance tends to increase with each successive year of program implementation. Evaluations also indicate positive impacts on the achievement of limited-English proficient students and students who have been assigned to special education. Retentions and special education placements decline significantly in Success for All schools. D. PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT {Section 1119} 1. What kind of staff development has been and will be conducted for teachers, paraprofessionals, support staff members, parents and administrators to insure instruction is provided by highly qualified professional staff, that will enhance the chances of the students in meeting the State Performance Standards? List all professional development that is being done and what is planned? The District has established three areas as priorities for professional development: Instructional Strategies (especially for language arts, mathematics, and science) Campus Leadership (leadership skills, data analysis, action research, school improvement planning, etc.) Climate (multiculturalism, prejudice reduction and diversity, classroom management, character education, etc.)5e Professional development is designed to serve teachers, administrators, paraprofessionals, and support staff by providing opportunities that promote District goals attainment, improve student achievement, employee development, and job effectiveness. Professional development is a continuous grovTth process encompassing district-wide training courses and other courses that have been designed to assist personnel with the best possible training for the improvement of student achievement. The FY 2000 school year begins with extensive pre-school professional development opportunities for all personnel. Continuous personal program development may be scheduled through the Districts Staff Development Department. Program support is provided for personnel in schools with selected models and/or strategies, such as, Great Expectations, Reading Recovery, Direct instruction. Success for All, Onward Toward Excellence II, and others. Listed are selected professional development offerings-workshops: i Teachers Classroom Management Diversity in the Classroom Basic Computer Tools Cooperative Team Learning Multiple Intelligence/Learning Styles Positive Discipline and Instruction Thematic Units Clarity with Instruction Building Study Skills and Test Taking Skills Middle Schools Literature Circles Reading Investigations in Numbers, Data, and Space Training K-4 Crusade Pre-K Teacher Insen/ice Early Childhood Technology in the Classroom - (Word, Internet, Powerpoint) Connected Math Getting Along Early Learning
Roots and Wings Family Support Roots Training, Level Four Tutor Training Implementation Checks Refresher Training Para-professionals Updating Your Skills Classroom Tips Fred Jones Discipline Character Education Strategies Test Taking Tips5f Support Staff Customer Care Ready for the Information Age Updating Your Skills Parents Making The Parent-School Connection How To Help Your Child Improve In Reading Bridging The Gap: Elementary To Middle School Campus Leadership Smart Start Active Parenting Effective Black Parenting Common Sense Parenting Systematic Training For Effective Parenting Home School Connections The Goals of Team Misbehavior The Development of Responsibility Improving Family Atmosphere Administrators The Change Process Systems Change Model Resolving Conflicts in Teams Team Building and Maintenance Team Problem Solving Site-Based Decision Making Goal Setting and Planning New offerings for FY 2000 include
Prejudice Reduction Standards and Benchmarks Curriculum Alignment Reading Recovery Early Learning Literacy in Arkansas Effective Literacy 2. How are staff development and parent training needs identified? To achieve the mission and objectives of the District, effective staff development and parent training are identified as paramount in support of continuous student achievement. As an on-going part of each staff development and parent training activity, participants return an evaluation. In part, evaluations help to determine the quality of the current activity as well as determining its continuing need. Second, in conjunction with local school initiated programs, campus leadership teams, including parents, determine special training needs. Generally, their concerns are about additional assistance with District program directions and individual group needs. Third, staff development initiatives are coordinated through the Districts Staff Development Department. Their continuing responsibilities are: 1. Conduct annual needs assessment to identify professional needs.5g 2. 3. Support programs to facilitate the LRSD Desegregation Plan/Strategic Plan, COE, work teams/clusters, and the culturally diverse population. Support programs to facilitate school improvement, current technology, and diversity. An outgrowth of this broad representation for developing needs, produced a pre-school initiative of more than 150 inservice sessions organized by the Division of Instruction. Reference: pages 5e and 5f (FY 2000 programs for staff and parents).6 E. GENERAL INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAMS 1. TARGETED ASSISTED (SECTION 1115) (a) Student Selection What methods are in use by teachers in consultation with parents, administrators, and counselors to identify students in need of Title I services? Arkansas Student Selection Model X Other - Explain The District uses a modified version of the Arkansas Department of Educations Student Selection Model. Objective criteria (Student learning Profiles) in reading and mathematics are designed to determine the extent to which students have mastered skill's (content standards) by the end of the third quarter in kindergarten through grade'7. Indicators used to determine placement are: Marie Clay's Observation Survey of Early Literacy Achievement, ACTAAP, State benchmarks, District criterion reference tests, classroom grades, teachers recommendations, program assessments (unit test, Success for All, Reading Recovery, Direct Instruction). 2. (b) Description of the instructional program by using the following
(1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) School Name Highly Qualified Staff Number of Students Served Instructional Area Type of Academic Program(s) Grade Levels SEE ATTACHMENT SCHOOLWIDE PROGRAMS (Section 1114) (a) Describe the planning that has takfen place for schoolwide programs in the LEA. Each of the 23 schools participating in the Schoolwide Program has formed a committee consisting of the Campus Leadership Team, principal, classroom teachers, support staff, parents and community representatives. These committees met during the school year to study and discuss data identifying: 1) test information, 2) exemplary programs, 3) professional development needs, and 4) other information impacting school environment. Each school has been a part of the Comprehensive Outcomes Evaluation Process, and some of the schools have reviewed the following: Selected Computer Learning Programs, Reading Recovery, Writing to Read, Direct Instruction, Success for All, Voyager, Helping One Student to Succeed (HOSTS), Accelerated Reader, and McRat.6a (b) Description of the instructionai program by using the foiiowing: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) School Name Highly Qualified Professional Staff Number of Students Served Instructional Area Type of Academic Program(s) Grade Levels SEE ATTACHMENT (c) Has a comprehensive needs assessment been done in each schoolwide school? Yes X No 6b E. GENERAL INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAMS 1. 2. * ATTACHMENT (b) *T/\ReETED ASSISTANCE SCHOOLS (Section 1115) (b) SCHOOLWIDE SCHOOLS (Section 1114) SCHOOL _________NAME Badgett Elem Bale Elem__________ Baseline Elem______ Brady Elem________ Chicot Elem________ Cloverdale Elem *Cloverdale Middle Dodd Elem________ *Dunbar Middle Fair Park Elem *Forest Hgt. Middle * Forest Park Elem Franklin Elem * Fulbright Elem Garland Elem______ Geyer Springs Elem *Henderson Middle * Jefferson Elem STA FF 1.00 1.00 2.00 1.00 2.00 2.00 1.00 1.00 .20 1.00 .20 1.00 2.00 1.00 1.00 1.00 .20 1.00 NO. STUDENTS SERVED 155 249 248 293 379 349 493 182 , 277 151 338 125 365 169 185 219 349 153 INSTRUCTIONAL AREA Read/Math________ Read/Math________ Read/Math Read/Math Read/Math________ Read/Math________ Read/Math________ Read/Math________ Read/Math________ Read/Math Read/Math________ Read/Math________ Read/Math________ Read/Math________ Read/Math_______ Read/Math Read/Math________ Read/Math King Elem 2.00 468 Read/Math TYPE OF _______________PROGRAM_____________ Intervention Remediation______________ ComputersNew Century______________ SFA, ComputersJostens (BLS) SFA, ComputersNew Century_________ ComputersJostens ________________ SFA, ComputersNew Century ComputersJ ostens McRAT, Read Recovery Intervention Remediation ___ Read Recovery________________________ Intervention Remediation______________ HOSTS_______________________________ Read Recovery, ComputersNew Century Read Recovery ___________________ ELITE, Accelerated Reader____________ Read Recovery, ComputersJostens Computers Technology Support_________ Read Recovery, ComputersTechnology Support, Accelerated Reader, STAR___ Extended Day, Intervention Remediation GRADE LEVEL PreK-5 PreK-5 PreK-5 PreK-5 PreK-5 PreK-5 6-8 PreK-5 6-8 PreK-5 6-8 PreK-5 PreK-5 PreK-5 PreK-5 PreK-5 6-8 PreK-5 PrcK-5, 6c E. GENERAL INSTRUCTIONAL PROGRAMS (cont.) Mabelvale Elem *Mabelvale Middle *McDermott Elem Meadowcliff Elem Mitchell Elem 2.00 1.00 1.60 1.00 308 343 170 221 182 Read/Math Read/Math Read/Math Read/Math Read/Math *1 Otter Creek Elem Pulaski Heights Elem .80 1.00 97 135 Read/Math Read/Math Pulaski Heights Middle Rightsell Elem Rockefeller Elem .20 1.00 1.00 454 184 272 Read/Math Read/Math Read/Math Romine Elem______ *5outhwest Middle *Terry Elem______ Wakefield Elem Washington Elem 1.00 1.00 1.00 2.00 2.00 243 388 140 291 425 Read/Math Read/Math Read/Math Read/Math Read/Math Watson Elem_____ Western Hills Elem Wilson Elem 1.6 1.00 1.00 346 224 270 Read/Math Read/Math Read/Math Woodruff Elem 1.00 184 Read/Math ComputersJ ostens_______________ Intervention Remediation, Accel. Read HOSTS________________________________ SFA________________________________ SFA, Voyager, ComputersTechnology Support______________________ Read Recovery, Accelerated Reader______ Accelerated Reader, Computers Technical Support_______________________ Intervention Remediation________________ Computers Curriculum Corporation________ Read Recovery, Accelerated Reader, ComputersTechnology Support_________ SFA, ComputersTechnology Support Intervention Remediation________________ Intervention Remediation_______________ SFA___________________________________ Direct Instruct, ComputersTechnology Support____________________ Onward To Excellence II, ComputersCCC ComputersCCC_____________________ Extended Day, ComputersNew Century, Accelerated Reader, Read Recovery______ SFA PreK-5 6-8 PreK-5 PreK-5 PreK-5 PreK-5 PrcK-5 6-8 PreK-5 PrcK-5 PreK-5 6-8 PreK-5 PreK-5 PrcK-5 PreK-5 PreK-5 PrcK-5 PreK-5 Definitions: Accelerated Reader Corporate Curriculum Corporation Direct Instruction (Accel. Read) (CCC) (bl) Jostens Basic Learning System Reading Recovery (BLS) (RR) Students Targeted to Achieve Reading Success (STAR) Effective Learning In Technical Environment (ELITE) Success For All (SFA) Helping One Student to Achieve (HOSTS)7 (d) (e) Have school support teams or other appropriate technical assistance providers been involved in the development of the schoolwide plans? X Yes__No Every school used the state checklist to develop time lines for school support and technical assistance. Each school developed distinctive Title I programs, beginning with category nine (writing the implementation plan) - thru step 12 (facilitating implementation of plan). External School Support teams will be formed for team visits to new and continuing Title I Schoolwide schools-FY2000. What reform efforts have been made in implementing the schoolwide program? Twenty-three (23) schools are identified as schoolwide. Changing school practices include extensive professional development in proven strategies for parent/family involvement, one-on-one tutoring, instruction, assessment, and classroom management. Listed are selected programs and/or strategies
Direct Instruction, Reading Recovery, Success For All, Onward Toward Excellence II. Other District initiatives are
2-1/2 hours Language Arts, campus leadership teams, lead-teacher coaching (elementary, middle, secondary). 3. Describe all other programs being implemented with Title I funds. (Such as extended day, preschool, summer school) F. SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT (Section 1117) (SEE ATTACHMENTS 7b, 7c) 1. How will the LEA identify a school in need of school improvement? School improvement planning will be based on student achievement, assisting identified schools where performance does not meet expectations. The district will develop a school performance report containing analyzed data from multiple criteria assessments, including: Stanford 9 in grades 5, 7, and 10. Trend goals will be established using the annual rate of reduction in numbers of students below proficient divided by the total percentage of students below proficient by ten (10). Students at or above the fiftieth percentile will be sixty-five percent (65%). No more than ten percent (10%) of the students will fall in the lowest quartile and thirty percent (30%) will be in the highest quartile. Student performance on the Arkansas Comprehensive Testing, Assessment, and Accountability Program (ACTAAP) expectations are one hundred percent (100%) at or above proficient level. ACT/\AP is administered in grades 4, 6, 8. End of course tests are given for Algebra I, Geometry, and Literacy at the 11* grade level. Expectations of student achievement as measured by the LEA Criterion Reference Test (CRT) are one hundred percent of students at or above proficient level. District level Criterion Reference Tests are given in grades 2-5 each quarter in Mathematics and Language Arts.I 7a 2. What corrective action will be taken for a school in school improvement? The District will ensure the following levels of technical assistance and or corrective actions for schools identified for school improvement by ADE. LEA will form a partnership with each school in need of improvement and will assist and support that school in its improvement efforts. Another level of support is the assignment of a Central Office person broker to each school in need of school improvement. Extended day and summer school provisions will be made for students performing below grade level. Campus Leadership Teams will play a central role in school improvement. Corrective actions will stem from data analysis on key elements of school profiles. These profiles will reflect the extent to which initiated programs are reaching desired goals. Among initiated changes will be program modification, professional development and personnel effectiveness. Core training will consist of inservice on student assessment data (meeting needs based on data), curriculum, school evaluation procedures, parent involvement, and securing technical assistance. The school will devote to professional developmentover two consecutive years an amount equal to at least ten percent of Title I, Part A Funds received during the fiscal year
or otherwise demonstrate that the school is effectively carrying out professional development activities. G. COORDINATION {Section 1112(b)(4)} 1. Give specific examples of how the following Title I services are coordinated with Head Start, Even Start, local preschool programs, early childhood transition programs, HIPPY, Goals 2000, School-to-Work, ESL programs, adult education, etc.? The services of the above groups are coordinated through the District administrative staff that meets bi-monthly. Coordination of efforts among supervisors, department directors and school staff is tied together by a weekly publication-Learning Links. This composite document provides all district personnel with timely information about on-going program implementation. The Director of Federal Programs works closely with the Director of Early Childhood and the Supervisor of HIPPY. If necessary, other groups of local daycare providers are contacted to interact with the Districts early childhood personnel to provide training and transition opportunities for our district. Bi-lingual students are assessed and programs defined to meet student needs
ten ESL teachers have been hired to reduce class-size at the elementary level. Title I serves students who have academic needs and provides special services as identified. Identified District personnel coordinate program activities, The Adult Education program is located in the Adult Education Building, and cooperation will continue in the area of parent information for further literacy training.7b LITTLE ROCK SCHOOL DISTRICT NEPN CODE: IHBDA REMEDIAL INSTRUCTION The Board of Education is committed to the philosophy that all children can achieve the State and LRSD standards and grade- or course-level benchmarks in reading/language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies. The District and each school will utilize available .resources- federal, state, and local-to provide expanded learning opportunities for all students. This priority will be accomplished through comprehensive and aggressive early intervention efforts, especially in PreK-3 reading and * mathematics, with continuing support through complementary remediation efforts on an as-needed basis to promote and sustain the standard levels of achievement. Intervention/remediation efforts of the Little Rock School District will be comprised of a ' broad range of alternatives to ensure that all. students are afforded equitable opportunities to perform at or above the Proficient level as defined by the standards of Arkansas and the Little Rock School District. 4 Adopted: Legal Reference: Arkansas Standards7c LITTLE ROCK SCHOOL DISTRICT NEPN CODE: IGA CURRICULUM PROGRAM ALIGNMENT AND COHERENCE The Board of Education directs the superintendent to ensure that ail special curriculum/ instruction programs at the District and school levels be carefully aligned and coherent with the Districts Strategic Plan, the Revised Desegregation and Education Plan, and the regular education program that has been established. The staff responsible for the design and/or delivery of all special programs, including but not limited to, special education,JTitle I, English-as-a-Second Language, migrant education, gifted and talented education, 504 programs, alternative education programs, etc., are to ensure that their programs reflect the district-adopted grade- level/course standards and benchmarks and are coordinated with the overall curriculum' plan. Special programs shall adapt instruction, pacing, materials and assessments, as appropriate, to meet the unique needs of the students served. Special program staff shall be represented in the establishment of course standards/ benchmarks and in the development of curriculum guides. Adopted:7d The following technical assistance and support services schools requiring-improyements: are estab-li-shed for Technical Assistance and Support for Schools Identified for Improvement iSf s! YEAR ONE: WARNED The first year that an LRSD school fails to meet its performance, trend, and/or. Improvement goals. The Superintendent will ensure that staff are designated to: 1. Inform the principal, the central office broker, the Campus Leadership Team, the Cabinet, and the Boafd pf Education of the designation of the . school arid Its Implications. 2. Provide appropriate levels of technical assistance to the school as It develops and Implements Its School Improvement-Plan so that it addresses specific elements of student performance problems and iricludes waivers of any policies or regulations that impede the ability of the school to education its students. 3. Conduct a School Improvement Audit to determine the extent to which the Campus Leadership Plan is being Implemented at the school. 4. Require the recommendations from the School Improvement Audit to be addressed in the following years School Improvement Plan, if not possible to do so immediately. 5, Monitor regularly and conduct formative evaluations of the implementation of the School Improvement Plan, reviewing with the principal and the Campus Leadership Team formative data and making suggestions for rfiedifications and adjustments to the implementation plan, 6. Provide the principal, the broker, members of the Campus Leadership Team, and other appropnate staff opportunities to participate in professional development activities that should lead to school Improvement Testing and Program , Evaluation Team Technical Assistance Team
Curriculum/ Instruction Team Technical Assistance Team Associate Superintendent for School Services Associate Superintendent for School Services Professional Development Team
Curriculum/ Instruction Team
Associate Superintendent for School Services / I7e s'ls-ta n cszo-upp ?4{ YEAR TWO: HIGH PRIORITY STATUS The Superintendent will ensure that staff are designated to
A school identified by ADE that for two consecutive years falls to meet the performance, trend, and/or improvement goals. 1, Inform the principal, the central office broker, the Campus Leadership Team, the Cabinet, and the Board of Education of the designation of the school and its implications. 2, Provide appropriate levels of technical assistance to the,,school as it develops and Implements its Schoo) Irhprovement Plan so that it addresses specific elefnents of student performance problems and Includes waives of any policies or regulations that impede the ability of the school to educate its students, , 3. Conduct a comprehensive Curriculum Audit to determine the extent to which the school is implementing the District curriculum and the quality of its interventions for students not meeting the standards. 4. Require that the recommendations from the Curriculum Audit be addressed in the following year's School Improvement Plan, if impossible to do so Immediately, Possibly mandate the implementation of specific actions, professional development, or programs to address needs identified In the Curriculum Audit and/or the analysis of disaggtegated student performance data. 5. The District shall take correctiye action during the High Priority Status Year through one or more of the following
(b) (c) (d) Decrease the decision-making authority of the Campus Leadership Team, (b) Require participation in remedial training or professional development, and then implementating the necessary changes, Reflect the school's 10?/ performance In the evaluation of the principal, as well as teachers and other staff who contributed to the low performance of the school. Replace ths school principal,. Testing and Program Evaluation Team Technical Assistance Team
Curriculum/ Instruction Team Curriculum/ Instruction Team
Planning and Development Team Associate Superintendent for School Services Associate Superintendent for School Services 1'^1 II rel 7f Year Three: Alert Status A school Identified by ADE that for three consecutive years fails to meet the performance, trend, and/or Improvement goals. The Superintendent will ensure that staff are , designated to: 1.- 2. 3. 4. Inform the principal, ths Campus Leadership . . ... w. _____t 1 C Jl,/^OTI/ Team, the Cabinet, and the Board of Education of the designation and its Implications. Conduct follow-up or monitoring of Implementation of School Improvement and Curriculum Audit recompiendations. Mandate appropriate specific actions, proiesslonai jVlaH\JCii.c ay^jji vjji IOV5S ^wwuw ---------------- i J development, and/or programs to address student needs. Continue to provide appropriate technical 'assistance as the school develops and implements Its School Improvement Plan. Testing and Program Evaluation Team Technical Assistance Team
Curriculum/ Instruction Team Associate Superintendent for School Services Technical Assistance Team
Curriculum/ instruction Team yai^^fia^
' I J 5. The District shall take corrective action during the Alert Status Year through one or more of the following: .. (a) Decrease the decision-making authority or me Carnpus Leadership Team
(b) Require participation in remedial training or professional development and then implementing the necessary changes
_ (c) (Reflect the school's low performance in tne evaluation of the principal, as well as teachers and other staff who contributed to the low performance of the school. (d) Reconstitute the school sfeff-by replacing the principal and up to 50 perde'nt of the teachers and other staff, as appropriate. Associate Superintendent for School Sen/ices L Jf X*7g Year Four: Low Performing Status A school identified by ADE that for four consecutive years falls to meet Its performance, trend, and/or Improvement goals. The Superintendent will ensure that staff are , designated to apply one or more of the following sanctions: 1. 2. 3. Revoke the authority of the school to design its School Improvement Plan. Require participation in remedial training or professional development and then implementing the necessary changes. Refle'pt the low performance of the school in the performance evaluations of responsible staff, Including the principal, as well as teachers and other staff who contributed to the low performance. 4, Conduct follow-up audits to determine the extent to which the school has effectively Implemented the recommendations of the School Improvement Audit and the Curriculum Audit conducted in years one and two. 5 Reconstitute the school staff by replacing the principal and up to 50 percent of the teachers ana other staff, as appropriate. __________ ( Associate Superintendent for School Services Technical Assistance Team
Curriculum/ Instruction Team Associate Superintendent for School Sen/ices I (7h YEAR FIVE: ACADEMIC DISTRESS PHASE f STATUS A school identified by ADE that for five consecutive years fails to meet its performance, trend, and/or Improvement goals. L The Superintendent will ensure that staff are _ designated to apply one or more of the following sanctions: 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Revoke the authority of the school to design its School Improvement
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