Louisiana School Improvement Plans

Louisiana School Improvement Components

Characteristics of an Effective Objective

Each objective should be:

• Stated in a clear and understandable manner
• Verifiable/measurable
• Linked to an identified goal
• Challenging but realistically achievable within an established time frame

Differentiating goals, objectives and strategies can be confusing, as these terms are frequently misused and/or used interchangeably.   Therefore, it is important that the School Improvement Team maintain its focus on the process of school improvement while completing the school improvement plan.  Because there may be multiple strategies for each objective, the same objective may be entered on multiple Strategy Planning Worksheets.

Each recommendation/strategy should:

• Be clearly aligned with the objectives and designed to achieve the objectives, which are tied to the priority needs in the questionnaire
• Be based on sound and current research
• Be appropriate for the special needs of the student population of the school
• Have clear content, instruction, and classroom assessment (CIA) for the targeted content areas when appropriate

For any reform program that improves student achievement to work successfully, at least 75% of the school’s faculty and staff must commit to implementing the program.  The faculty indicates its commitment by signing the Assurance of Faculty Review of the School Improvement Plan.  Furthermore, the students and community must also indicate their support of the improvement efforts.

The Action Plan section of the School Improvement Plan (SIP) is composed of the following six (6) sections:

1. Expected Impact
The Action Plan begins with the end in mind.

2. Activities
Activities will accomplish the strategy, and these may include the accompanying ongoing professional development, the necessary family involvement, the engaging of external experts.

3. Person(s) Responsible
Who is responsible for monitoring the implementation and evaluation of the activity?

4. Target Audience and Target Date
Who is involved in the activity and for what date is it planned?

5. Funding Sources, Object Code, and Cost
The costs, if any, of activities are broken out into these areas.

6. Evaluation
Activities and their implementation are periodically evaluated.

Characteristics of an Effective Action Plan

An effective action plan:

• Is clearly linked to all identified strategies
• Provides a logical sequence of activities
• Presents how each activity will be performed
• Identifies who will be responsible for each activity
• Provides a reasonable time frame for each activity

Funding Sources, Object Code and Cost

Guiding Questions

1. What resources (time, equipment, human, and technology) will be needed in order to implement this activity to improve student learning and to reach the Growth Targets? 
2. What funding sources are available for this type of activity?
3. What expertise, items and/or services are essential for the successful implementation of this activity?  What are the costs associated with these items?
4. How can the SIP show that this allocation is the most strategic use of resources?
5. What resources can the school reallocate to accomplish the objectives more efficiently?
6. What types of resources are available for coordination and integration?
7. Who can assist in determining the availability of the resources?
8. What actions will be necessary to secure resources?

The School Improvement Team (SIT), with the District Action Team (DAT), if in place:

1. Consults representatives of the district office to clarify funding allocations.
2. Identifies the anticipated funding source(s) for this activity.
3. Breaks down the total cost of this activity into the appropriate object codes.
4. Lists the total costs associated with the implementation and evaluation of this activity.

Evaluation

What use will the school make of the results of the evaluation?

Steps to Take

1. Design evaluative instruments when activities/strategies are planned.
2. For consistency and reliability, use the same instruments to evaluate similar activities, judging results over time.
3. Include the evaluation information on the Strategy Planning Worksheet.

Definition

Evaluation provides procedures to assess the degree of implementation and the effectiveness of all steps taken for school improvement.

Characteristics of Effective Evaluation

Effective evaluation

• Includes valid procedures for evaluating all strategies and activities
• Efficiently monitors all aspects of the implementation
• Provides frequent assessment of short-term effects (e.g., teacher behavior, student behavior)
• Provides procedures for evaluating the overall impact of school improvement efforts on student achievement
• Includes valid multiyear procedures for evaluating the degree to which the goals of school improvement have been achieved

1. Which external expert will conduct Concerns-Based Adoption Model (CBAM) interviews to evaluate periodically the levels of implementation of the strategies?
2. How will the school determine that enough time has been allocated for the implementation for each strategy?  Is the timetable reasonable?
3. How will the school identify the short-term effects of implemented strategies (formative evaluation)?
4. Who will design standard formats for formative and summative evaluative checks on implementing the strategies? Who will keep the record of the implementation?
5. How will the staff know if these efforts are better than what was done in the past?
6. What evidence will the SIP accept that new strategies have become regular practice in classrooms?
7. How will the school show that implementing the strategies will lead to accomplishing the objectives?
8. Is this effort worth the cost?

Evaluation of Objectives

1. Who will design the procedures that will be used to evaluate the effectiveness of each objective? 
2. What timelines and milestones have been identified for monitoring progress?
3. If applicable, what plans are in effect for assisting paired/shared/feeder grade levels in improving their student achievement by articulating curriculum (e.g.,  pre-school or early childhood in transition to elementary; elementary in transition to middle school)?
4. Evaluation of the School Improvement Plan
5. How will the SIT monitor the effectiveness of the SIP? How is implementing this plan leading to the desired reforms?
6. Who will conduct periodic, informal meetings of activity leaders (Persons Responsible) to identify barriers to implementation as well as successes that can be expanded upon?
7. How can questions from the National Study of School Evaluation (NSSE) “Survey of the Extent of Implementation and Effectiveness of the School Improvement Plan” be incorporated into the evaluation structure?
8. How will the school measure the overall effectiveness of the planning process?
9. Who can develop an innovation configuration matrix to evaluate the level of implementation of the SIP?

Strategy 1
Allow students 20 minutes to eat lunch, counting from the time they are seated.

Activity
Work with cafeteria manager and district director to set up a third sandwich line to decrease the time students are standing in line.

Materials, Resources, and Personnel
School Food Service (SFS) Director will purchase equipment to establish a sandwich line. Equipment to purchase will include a milk cooler, serving line, extra pans, utensils, etc.
SFS Director will add two extra food service workers to prepare, serve, and clean up for the third serving line.
SFS Director will create menus that are reimbursable and purchase food.
SFS Director will work with the SFS manager to establish work schedules.

Time Frame
May 2002 - SFS Director - Order equipment for serving line. Process paperwork to hire two additional employees.
June 2002 - SFS Director - Set menus for sandwich line; order food
July 2002 - SFS Department - Install new equipment and arrange layout of cafeteria to accommodate new serving line.
August 2002 - SFS Manager - Set work schedules for sandwich line.
August 15 2002 - First day of school; promote the new sandwich lines to students and teachers by using PA announcements and having the art department develop posters.
September 15, 2002 - Make adjustments to serving line as needed.

Evaluation
Compare participation rate in the SFS Program in October 2002 to that of October 2001. A ten percent increase in participation will note a success.

Strategy 2
Implement activity-based learning for health education using behavior-oriented activities.

Activity
Teachers will initiate professional learning communities where, for three days of after-school study groups, they will read selected articles to consider which instructional changes need to be made in teaching activity-based lessons using manipulatives Follow-up will consist of five hours of peer coaching and modeling during individually scheduled times.

Materials, Resources, and Personnel
Lead teachers will train all second and third grade teachers on ABC program using XYZ funding.

Time Frame
Train teachers in August 2002. >Provide follow-up training in October 2002.

Evaluation
Using the designated observation form, lead teachers will conduct classroom observations in the spring 2003 to assess the degree to which the new instructional strategies are being used.