Tool Released to Help States and LEAs Implement SIG Models
| Date Posted: February 4, 2010 |
Washington, Feb. 1 — States and local school districts now have a handy tool to help them implement the revamped $3.5 billion Title I School Improvement Grant (SIG) program.
In recent weeks, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) has been busy releasing SIG-related application packets, notices, regulations and guidance (see "School Improvement Grants" at http://www.schoolgrants2009.com/content/laws-regulations-guidance-and-applications). Some of the final requirements related to the program have confused the state and local officials charged with implementing it, meaning the new guide likely will be welcomed by educators at all levels.
The SIG program provides funding to states to reform schools based on four prescribed models: turnaround, restart, school closure and transformation. States' "persistently lowest achieving schools" are ranked based on student achievement and graduation rates. The lowest-performing schools are targeted for strenuous interventions, including efforts to replace principals and staff, close schools and extend school days.
ED officials first referenced the 226-page "Handbook on Effective Implementation of School Improvement Grants" during a discussion with state officials at the National Title I Conference held Jan. 21-24 at the Gaylord National Resort in Maryland.
"This is a resource you might want to look through and make available [to] people in your state once you have a chance to look at it and determine its utility," recommended Zollie Stevenson, ED's director of student achievement and school accountability.
Congress appropriated $546 million in school year 2009-10 appropriations and added another $3 billion in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for SIG. Each state education agency will receive a portion of these funds based on its proportional share of Title I Part A funds. State applications are due Feb. 8, and ED expects the application process for local education agencies will run from March to April, with awards made early in the summer.
The guide is a comprehensive roadmap to the various ways state and local educational agencies can implement SIG; the document offers information ranging from how to define and prioritize eligible schools to how to choose interventions to how to best monitor progress.
The guide describes in detail the department's specific vision for each of the four intervention models as well as methods for implementing the required strategies under each. For example, the section on organizational structures spells out how state or local districts can create a "turnaround" office or close schools. Further, the guide covers community-oriented schools, a favorite strategy of the Obama administration.
The guide also has chapters on the following:
— By Erika Fitzpatrick
In recent weeks, the U.S. Department of Education (ED) has been busy releasing SIG-related application packets, notices, regulations and guidance (see "School Improvement Grants" at http://www.schoolgrants2009.com/content/laws-regulations-guidance-and-applications). Some of the final requirements related to the program have confused the state and local officials charged with implementing it, meaning the new guide likely will be welcomed by educators at all levels.
The SIG program provides funding to states to reform schools based on four prescribed models: turnaround, restart, school closure and transformation. States' "persistently lowest achieving schools" are ranked based on student achievement and graduation rates. The lowest-performing schools are targeted for strenuous interventions, including efforts to replace principals and staff, close schools and extend school days.
ED officials first referenced the 226-page "Handbook on Effective Implementation of School Improvement Grants" during a discussion with state officials at the National Title I Conference held Jan. 21-24 at the Gaylord National Resort in Maryland.
"This is a resource you might want to look through and make available [to] people in your state once you have a chance to look at it and determine its utility," recommended Zollie Stevenson, ED's director of student achievement and school accountability.
Congress appropriated $546 million in school year 2009-10 appropriations and added another $3 billion in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act for SIG. Each state education agency will receive a portion of these funds based on its proportional share of Title I Part A funds. State applications are due Feb. 8, and ED expects the application process for local education agencies will run from March to April, with awards made early in the summer.
The guide is a comprehensive roadmap to the various ways state and local educational agencies can implement SIG; the document offers information ranging from how to define and prioritize eligible schools to how to choose interventions to how to best monitor progress.
The guide describes in detail the department's specific vision for each of the four intervention models as well as methods for implementing the required strategies under each. For example, the section on organizational structures spells out how state or local districts can create a "turnaround" office or close schools. Further, the guide covers community-oriented schools, a favorite strategy of the Obama administration.
The guide also has chapters on the following:
- leadership and decision making;
- human capital and personnel and professional development;
- curriculum and instruction;
- scheduling and learning time; and
- student supports.
— By Erika Fitzpatrick
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