Schoolwide Programs: Campus Improvement Plan

Schoolwide Programs: Campus Improvement Plan

If your campus would like to operate a Title I, Part A schoolwide program, you must develop a comprehensive planto reformyour campus's total instructional program. This is the second step of a required, year-long process, after your campus conducts a comprehensive needs assessment (CNA). The campus improvement plan (CIP) serves as the blueprint for how your campus will actually address the needs identified during the CNA. An effective CIP can bring focus and coherence to reform activities and help ensure unity of purpose, alignment, and clear accountability. To be approved by your local educational agency, your CIP must include the required accountingand program components described below.

There is no required format for a CIP, but, in addition to the required components,most CIPs contain the campus’s vision and mission statements and a concise version of the campus profile.

Per federal statute, the CIP must be

“developed with the involvement of parents and other members of the community to be served and individuals who will carry out such plan, including teachers, principals, and administrators (including administrators of programs described in other parts of this title), and, if appropriate, pupil services personnel, technical assistance providers, school staff, and, if the plan relates to a secondary school, students from such school” (Elementary and Secondary Education Act,Section 1114[b][2][B][ii]).

Required Accounting Components

Your CIP is a crucial part of your campus’s fiscal accountability as you take advantage of the flexibility provided by consolidating funds. Your campus will not be required to maintain separate fiscal accounting records by program to demonstrate that specific activities are allowable under the program, but your CIP must still identifythe specific programs that will be consolidated, and the amount each program will contribute to the schoolwide pool.

Additionally, if TEA selects your campus for fiscal monitoring, TEA monitors will review your CIP, or excerpts from your CIP, for the following:

• A description of how your campus will use Title I, Part A and other resources to implement the CIP.
• A list of the federal, state, and local programs that will be consolidated (if applicable), with the amount that each program will contribute to the schoolwide pool.

TEA recommendsthat you keep your CIP accurate in terms of the amount that each program contributes to your schoolwide pool. If the amount of a grant award changes for any reason, and the change affects how much a program contributes to your schoolwide pool, your CIP should reflect the adjustment.

Please note that your campus must also maintain records that demonstrate that your schoolwide program addresses the intents and purposes of each of the federal programs whose funds are consolidated to support the schoolwide program. TEA monitors may require these records during a fiscal review.

TEA has separate web pages with information about fiscal issues, including theconsolidation of funds,appropriateaccounting structures,and theadditional fiscal requirements,such as supplement not supplant, that your campus must stillmeet while operating a schoolwide program.

Required Program Components

In addition to the fiscal requirements given above, your campus's CIP must also address the following ten program components, as required by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA):

1. The summary of the outcome of the CNA.The summaryis a report or other document that describes the data your campus gathered and used during the CNA, the conclusions your drew from the analysis, and the needs you identified. It should be created by the schoolwide planning team.
2. Schoolwidereform strategies.Your CIP must include specific instructional strategies and initiatives, which must be based on scientifically based research, strengthen the core academic program, increase the quality and quantity of learning time, and address the learning needs of all students on your the campus.
3. Instruction by highly qualified teachers.Student achievement increases in schools where teaching and learning have the highest priority, and students achieve at higher levels when taught by teachers who know their subject matter and are skilled in teaching it. High-poverty, low-performing schools are sometimes staffed with disproportionately high numbers of teachers who are not highly qualified. To address this disproportionality, federal statute requires that all teachers of core academic subjects and instructional paraprofessionals in a schoolwide program campus meetcertain qualifications(given in Section 1119 of ESEA). Your CIP must describe the specific plans and activities that you will implement to meet this requirement.
4. High-quality and ongoing professional development.Teachers and other staff in schoolwide program schools must be equipped to face the challenge of helping all students meet the state’s academic achievement standards. To do this, they must be familiar with the goals and objectives of the CIP, and receive the sustained, high-quality professional development required to implement them. Federal statute requires that professional development be extended, as appropriate, to those who work with teachers to support student achievement, such as principals, paraprofessionals, and parents. Your CIP must describe the specific plans and activities that you will implement to meet this requirement.
5. Strategies to attract highly qualified teachers to high-need schools.Although recruiting and retaining highly qualified teachers is an ongoing challenge in high-poverty schools, low-performing students in these schools have a special need for excellent teachers. Therefore, your CIP must describe the strategies you will use to attract and retain highly qualified teachers.
6. Strategies to increase parental involvement.Research continues to demonstrate that successful schools have significant and sustained levels of parental involvement. Therefore, your CIP must contain strategies to involve parents, especially in helping their children do well in school. Your CIP must also demonstrate how parents will be involved in planning, implementing, and evaluating your schoolwide program.
7. Plans for assisting preschool students in the successful transition from early childhood programs to local elementary schoolwide programs.This component emphasizes the value of creating a coherent and seamless educational program for students at risk of dropping out of school. Early childhood programs provide a foundation for later academic success, and effective schoolwide programs capitalize on this strong start.Your CIP must include your plans for assisting preschool students.
8. Measures to include teachers in decisions regarding the use of academic assessments.In addition to state assessment results, teachers need current and ongoing assessment data that describe student achievement. This data often come from less formal assessments, such as observation, performance assessments, or end-of-course tests. Your schoolwide program should provide teachers with professional development that increases their understanding of the appropriate uses of multiple assessment measures and the use of assessment results to improve instruction. Your CIP must describe the specific plans and activities that you will implement to meet this requirement.
9. Activities to ensure that students who experience difficulty attaining proficiency receive effective and timely additional assistance.The schoolwide program campus must identify students who need additional learning time to meet standards and provide them with timely, additional assistance that is tailored to their needs. This assistance must be available to all students in the campus who need it. Your CIP must describe the specific plans and activities that you will implement to meet this requirement.
10. Coordination and integration of federal, state, and local services and programs.Schoolwide program campuses are expected to use the flexibility available to them to integrate services and programs with the aim of upgrading the entire educational program and helping all students reach proficient and advanced levels of achievement. In addition to coordinating and integrating services, schoolwide program campuses may combine most federal, state, and local funds to provide those services. Exercising this option maximizes the impact of the resources available to carry out your schoolwide program.Your CIP must demonstrate how your campus will coordinate and integrate federal, state, and local services and programs.

Additional Guidance from TEA

Additional guidance about Title I, Part A schoolwide programs is available at the following web pages:

Schoolwide Programs
This is the home page for Title I, Part A schoolwide programs, andprovides general information about choosing to implement a schoolwide program, eligibility, and basic requirements.

General Information about Schoolwide Programs
This page describes the general purpose, goals, and fundamental principles of Title I, Part A schoolwide programs.

Schoolwide Programs: Comprehensive Needs Assessment
This page provides detailed information about the required comprehensive needs assessment, including recommended steps to follow.

Schoolwide Programs: Annual Evaluation Plan
This page provides detailed information about the required annual evaluation plan, including recommended steps to follow.

Choosing a Consolidation Option for Schoolwide Programs
This page contains a chart showing the differences between the three ways you can consolidate funds in schoolwide programs.

Fiscal Issues Related to Operating a Schoolwide Program
This page describes various fiscal issues related to operating a schoolwide program, including adequate documentation, appropriate accounting structures, and specific fiscal requirements such as set-asides, supplement not supplant, and time and effort.

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