Florence Unified School District No. 1
Department of Academic Achievement
Mary Grant
Director of Federal Programs and English Acquisition
October 2013
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Board of Education
Bob Dailey, President Denise Guenther, Vice-President
Rose Marie M. Monks, Member Jim Thomas, Member Janeane Candelaria, Member
Director’s Summary
The LEA Continuous Improvement Plan (CIP) has been completed and submitted to ADE through ALEAT. This process involved assessing the district’s needs, prioritizing them, creating goals, strategies and actions steps that will act to improve the district as a whole. Each Title I school must also conduct a needs assessment and create a Continuous Improvement Plan, which must also be submitted to ADE through ALEAT. Florence Virtual Academy has been labeled a Priority School by ADE. FVA will be receiving a grant for professional development for leadership. They also must submit an improvement plan and documentation throughout the year to verify progress in student achievement. Technical support was given to site principals during this process.
ADE has reframed the organization of the district CIP. By using the most common descriptors of significant practices for effective LEAs, ADE has developed the Standards for Effective LEAs. There are six standards, each with their own various strategies and action steps for carrying out the plan. Based on the district's needs assessement, districts are to choose which standards are the highest priority for them to put in the plan, outside of certain statutory requirements. The six standards include: 1. Continous Improvement 2. LEA Leadership 3. Curriculum and Instructional Systems 4. Supplemental Supports and Intervention Services 5. Data, Assessment, and Evaluation 6. Stakeholder Relations. Our CIP concentrated on Standards 1, 3, and 4.
The 301 Performance Pay Plan has been updated, revised and voted on by teachers eligible to vote. The Plan passed with 95% approval rate. By law it had to pass by a 70% approval rate. It is being presented to the Governing Board for approval at this month’s Board meeting, and if approved, will be submitted to ADE.
Schools teaching kindergarten through third grade created and submitted their K-3 Literacy Plans for Move on When Reading. Parents were informed at parent/teacher conferences of the legislation and whether their third grade child was at risk of failing the reading portion of AIMS in the spring. They were also informed on the steps the school is taking to support the student, as well as activities parents could do at home to help their child succeed. DIBELS data must be submitted to ADE after each benchmark of the year.
After attending a meeting for Practitioners of English language learners (PELL), I will be meeting this month with the ELL teachers in the district to share the information about AZELLA, continuing resolution, professional development, College and Career Ready standards and the English Proficiency standards. Writing ILLPs for students, although necessary, is quite time consuming. We will be working on digitizing the process for better communication and ease.
The Elementary and Secondary Education (ESEA) Consolidated grant has been submitted to ADE. These grants have allowed schools to hire reading specialists, master and mentor teachers to help provide service to at risk students and support teachers toward better instructional practices for all students. It also funds the technology education specialists to help teachers integrate instruction and technology. Some of the funds are used for professional development for conferences, workshops, or in-house trainers.
Mary Grant
Director of Federal Programs and English Acquisition
Board of Education
Bob Dailey, President Denise Guenther, Vice-President
Rose Marie M. Monks, Member Jim Thomas, Member Janeane Candelaria, Member