Archived -- Implementing Schoolwide Programs; Section II - An Overview of the Schoolwide Planning Process

Implementing Schoolwide Programs - An Idea Book on Planning - October 1998

A r c h i v e d I n f o r m a t i o n

Section II
An Overview of the Schoolwide Planning Process

It comes as no surprise to school leaders and staff that it takes time, energy, and commitment to move any initiative from goals and principles to concrete action. When developing a Title I schoolwide program, the essential component—to make the transition as smoothly and comfortably as possible—is planning. This section outlines the rationale and basic process of schoolwide program planning, with particular attention to the important aspect of combining funds. Each step in the process is discussed in more detail in Section III. For information on technical assistance for planning, see Section IV.

Why Plan?

Planning for school improvement is a systematic process for developing a new or refined vision, setting priorities, and defining a more effective school organization and governing structure. It is a mechanism for building a constituency to support school change. Staff, parents, and the community can use the planning process to reflect on their school's uniqueness—its history, traditions, strengths, and commitments—and to redirect instruction so it serves each student well. With the right planning process, a school community can reframe its educational program on the basis of data collected by its members about where changes are needed.

" Planning is the most critical area in becoming a schoolwide; it's a skill to know [what areas to] focus on."

Jean Burke
Title I Teacher and administrator
Kenton Elementary School
Aurora, CO

Planning is valuable because it requires colleagues to think systemically about the changes to make. This means moving from intervention to prevention; from categorical initiatives to whole-school programs; from rigid adherence to rules to flexibility tied to accountability; and from coordinating separate programs to collaborating to build comprehensive programs. Because these processes represent major changes in the way some schools operate, experienced technical assistance providers caution against plunging prematurely into schoolwide program implementation without taking the time to craft a safety net of alliances and strategies. "Take the time to plan; resist the urge to hit the ground running," experts warn (WestEd, 1996, p. III-5). As principal Michael Rivera of the Andalucia Middle School in Phoenix, Arizona, noted, careful planning allowed his schoolwide collaborators to "make decisions based on data and not on perceptions. When we make a decision, it is well thought out. We are working smarter, not harder."

What Does Planning Consist of?

Schoolwide program planning usually begins with the formation of a planning team, which explores the benefits of establishing a schoolwide program, identifies strategies and goals, and presents a proposal to teachers, administrators, and others in the school community. Because a comprehensive schoolwide plan reflects the entire school's responsibility for achieving results, the plan—and the planning process—should unify staff, resources, and classes into a whole program. A plan may incorporate research-based programs being used by other schools, but this should only occur when the program explicitly responds to needs and opportunities of your own school.

ESEA lays out eight improvement components that must be present
in all schoolwide plans:

A comprehensive needs assessment

Schoolwide reform approaches

Instruction by a highly qualified professional staff

Professional development for all professional and paraprofessional staff

Strategies to increase parent involvement

Strategies to assist preschoolers make the transition into elementary school

Teachers as decision makers in using assessments

Timely and effective educational support to students who have difficulty mastering the state's standards

Although ESEA requires no special format for a schoolwide plan, it does lay out eight improvement components that must be present in all plans [Section 1114(b)(1) of Title I]. The components are (ED, September 1997, pp. 8-9):

(1)	A comprehensive needs assessment of the entire school that is based on information on the performance of children in relation to state content and student performance standards.
(2)	Schoolwide reform approaches that— Provide opportunities for all children to meet the state's proficient and advanced levels of student performance Are based on effective means of improving children's achievement Use effective instructional strategies that— Increase the amount and quality of learning time, such as extended school year, before- and after-school, and summer school programs Help provide an enriched and accelerated curriculum Meet the educational needs of historically underserved populations, including girls and women Are consistent with, and are designed to implement, the state and local improvement plans, if any, approved under Title III of Goals 2000 Address the needs of all children in the school, but particularly the needs of children of target populations of any program that is included in the schoolwide program, and address how the school will determine whether these needs are met. These programs may include counseling and mentoring services; college and career preparation, such as college and career guidance; services to prepare students for school-to-work transition; and the incorporation of gender-equitable methods and practices.
(3)	Provide instruction by highly qualified professional staff.
(4)	Offer professional development for teachers and aides, and, where appropriate, pupil services personnel, parents, principals, and other staff to enable children in the schoolwide program to meet the state's student performance standards (in accordance with Sections 1114(a)(5) and 1119 of Title I).
(5)	Include strategies to increase parent involvement, such as family literacy services.
(6)	Reflect strategies for assisting preschool children in the transition from early childhood programs, such as Head Start and Even Start, to local elementary school programs.
(7)	Include teachers in the decisions regarding the use of assessments.
(8)	Ensure that students who experience difficulty mastering any of the state's standards receive timely and effective additional educational support that must include: measures to ensure that students' difficulties are identified on a timely basis and to provide sufficient information on which to base effective assistance; training for teachers in how to diagnose and address students' educational weaknesses, to the extent the school determines it to be feasible using Title I, Part A funds; and parent-teacher conferences for any student who has not met the standards.

In determining why a student is having difficulty mastering the standards, if the school or LEA suspects the student has a learning disability, in addition to seeking other educational support, consider referral for evaluation to determine eligibility for services under Part B of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).

In addition to these eight improvement components, IASA [Section 1114(b)(2) of Title I] requires schoolwide plans to (ED, September 1997, p. 13):

(1)	Incorporate the components of a schoolwide program.
(2)	Describe how the school will use resources under Title I, Part A and other sources, including other federal education funds, to implement those components.
(3)	Include a list of state, LEA, and federal programs that will be included in the schoolwide program.
(4)	Describe how the school will provide individual assessment results to parents.
(5)	Provide results from state and local assessments. If the state has developed or adopted a final assessment system, schoolwide plans must provide for the disaggregation of data on the assessment results of students and the reporting of those data, but only when those data are statistically sound. (Note: It is the responsibility of the state and district, not the school, to seek to produce, in schoolwide programs, statistically sound results through the use of oversampling or other means.) If the state does not have a final assessment system, plans must describe the data on the achievement of students in the school and effective instructional and school improvement practices on which the plan is based.

In summary, guidance from the U.S. Department of Education (ED, September, 1997) highlights the following essential elements in schoolwide planning:

Build on an existing comprehensive plan. A school that already has a comprehensive plan for school improvement should build on the existing plan, using any organizational structure it chooses, as long as it bases its schoolwide plan on a comprehensive needs assessment and addresses the eight components the law requires.

Include a comprehensive budget. The schoolwide plan should address each of its program components but need not indicate which funding stream or resource pays for it. In fact, a single, comprehensive budget that does not distinguish funding sources proves a commitment to a whole-school orientation. Continuing to refer to program elements as "Title I," "LEP," or "ESEA" perpetuates old programmatic divisions that should be phased out as the schoolwide concept is implemented.

Let the schoolwide plan evolve and grow as changes occur in the school. The schoolwide plan remains in effect as long as the school continues to use Title I, Part A funds with other ESEA resources. Schools should modify their plans to reflect new student needs, opportunities, or changes in the state's standards or assessment program. Schools should continually review and update their plans as often as necessary.

Understand that schools remain eligible for schoolwide programs even if their student population drops below the school's initial poverty threshold. The law no longer requires a periodic reassessment of a school's eligibility.

Define student expectations according to state and local requirements. Schoolwide programs must meet the same accountability requirements as most Title I programs. There is no federally specified test or minimum level of achievement expected, other than that required by the state. The law requires all Title I programs to review student achievement annually; schools that do not meet the state-established achievement targets are identified by SEAs to receive technical assistance. They will be expected to develop school improvement plans that hold them accountable for better results.

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[Section I - What Are Schoolwide Programs?]

[Section II - An Overview of the Schoolwide Planning Process (part 2 of 2)]

A r c h i v e d I n f o r m a t i o n

Section II An Overview of the Schoolwide Planning Process

Why Plan?

What Does Planning Consist of?

Section II
An Overview of the Schoolwide Planning Process