School Improvement & Reform

1003(g) Title I School Improvement Resources

Resource Spotlight

These websites provide hands-on tools and research-based resources for SIG schools and school divisions.

Spotlight on School Improvement is a collection of articles and commentary selected by the editors of Education Week for their insights on:

School Improvement Grant awards in urban, rural, and suburban schools;
Understanding the four federal models for school improvement;
How one Kentucky high school implemented a turnaround model with a School Improvement Grant;
The role of leadership in advancing turnaround goals.

Nine articles and commentary are available in a free, downloadable PDF from the site.

Doing What Works (DWW), sponsored by the U.S. Department of Education (USED), provides an online library of resources that may help teachers, schools, divisions, states and technical assistance providers implement research-based instructional practice. Much of the content is based on information from USED’s Institute of Education Sciences What Works Clearinghouse (WWC), which evaluates research on practices and interventions and reports the results. From that, DWW provides examples of ways educators might apply those research findings.

The School Turnaround Learning Community (STLC) is an online community of practice for state, division and school leaders implementing school turnarounds. Available resources on the STLC include research-based practices and practical examples from states, districts, and schools inventing on-the-ground solutions. In addition, it facilitates activities including training, discussions and Q&A sessions with experts on school turnaround implementation.

Important Information for 2011-2012 SIG Cohorts

To assist schools and divisions in utilizing data to assist students at risk of failure or who are not meeting expected growth measures, the Virginia Dashboard is being developed and will soon be available. This web-based data analysis and reporting tool offers a single platform for collecting and analyzing multiple types of longitudinal student data such as student achievement, attendance and discipline data. It will be available to any Virginia public school at an annual cost of $500 per school.

The Virginia Dashboard can be used as an alternative to the existing Virginia Early Warning System (VEWS) tool. It can also can be used by schools in improvement to streamline the quarterly reporting process. Webinar training for technology staff and for administrators who will use the data is offered September 19-22.

Cohort 1
(Year 2 School Improvement Grant recipients)

Checklist for Lead Turnaround Partner Schools (Cohort 1) (Word)
TA session dates and topics
The complete webinar schedule and directions are available on the Webinar Training page.

September 21 – Site Visit (Richmond area, State Capitol for debrief)

November 10 – Site Visit (Richmond area, State Capitol for debrief)

January 12 – Mock Board Meeting & Mid-Year Reflections (Holiday Inn - Airport, Richmond)

Implementation Progress Table (XLS)

Mock Board Meeting Assignment (PDF)

18-Month Powerpoint (PPT) Presentations

Armstrong High School (Richmond City)

Boushall Middle School (Richmond City)

Colonial Beach High School (Colonial Beach)

E.W. Chambliss Elementary School (Sussex Co.)

Fries School (Grayson Co.)

James Russell Middle School (Brunswick Co.)

John Langston Focus (Danville City)

King & Queen Central High School (King & Queen Co.)

Norfolk City Public Schools (Lake Taylor Middle School and Ruffner Middle School)

Peabody Middle School (Petersburg City)

Prince Edward County High School (Prince Edward Co.)

Sussex Central Middle School (Sussex Co.)

T.C. Williams High School (Alexandria)

Thompson Middle School (Richmond City)

Vernon Johns Junior High School (Petersburg City)

March 14 – Site Visit (Richmond area, State Capitol for debrief)

April 26 – Mock Board Meeting & 2012-13 Planning – Hilton Garden at the Richmond Airport in Sandston

Cohort 2
(Year 1 School Improvement Grant recipients)

Checklist for Lead Turnaround Partner Schools (Cohort 2) (Word)
TA session dates and topics
The complete webinar schedule and directions are available on the Webinar Training page.
- September 20 – Strands B & G – Building Autonomy & Leading Change (State Capitol)
- November 9 – Strand K – Reforming Instruction (State Capitol)
- January 11 – Strands D & H – Working with Stakeholders & Building Support, and Evaluating, Rewarding and Removing Staff (Holiday Inn - Airport, Richmond)
- March 13 – Strands I & J – Professional Development & Increasing Time (Holiday Inn – Airport, Richmond)
- April 25 – Reflections and Planning for 2012-13 – Hilton Garden at the Richmond Airport in Sandston

Roles and Responsibilities (PPT) – slides from Summer Institute presentation by Dr. Kathleen Smith July 18, 2011

Summer 2011 SIG Institute Slides (PDF)

LTP Facilitator Resources

Office of School Improvement Change Map (Word)
Guiding Questions for Needs Sensing Interviews (Word)

Guidance & Training

Section 1003(g) of Title I, Part A, allocations require receiving schools to use a portion of their funds to hire a coach – to work with the school on the area(s) that caused them to enter school improvement – as one of their selected strategies for improvement.

U.S. Department of Education Guidance on School Improvement Grants under Section 1003(g) of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) of 1965, federal fiscal years 2009 and 2010
Training and webinar instructions and resources

1003(g) Approved Grant Applications

Federal Fiscal Year 2009: Project Period July 1, 2010 – September 30, 2013
Federal Fiscal Year 2010: Cohort 2 (All documents below are PDF files )

FY 2009 1003(g) Grant Recipients

Office of School Improvement Checklist for:

Schools Receiving 1003(a) Awards in Spring 2011 or FY 2009 1003(g) Grant Funds (Word)
Division Leadership Support Team Contact Persons (Word) – for Schools Receiving 1003(a) Awards in Spring 2011 or FY 2009 1003(g) Grant Funds

Grant Application Materials & Resources

Federal Fiscal Year 2010 1003(g)
The application for federal fiscal year (FFY) 2010 School Improvement Grant (SIG) funds, authorized under Section 1003(g) of Title I of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), is available to school divisions for use in Title I schools in Title I School Improvement or Title I eligible schools that meet certain criteria. Applications are due by Friday, June 17, 2011.

Continuation of Federal Fiscal Year 2009 1003(g)
Applications are due by Friday, June 17, 2011

Application for Continued Funding for the 2009 1003(g) School Improvement Grant (SIG) (Word)
Title I School Improvement Grants 1003(g) Funding for Fiscal Year (FY)2009 (PPT) – Presentation used during May 24, 2011 webinar

Resources for 1003(g) Title I Schools

Handbook on School Improvement Grants – from the Center on Innovation & Improvement (CII)
Handout - The New Stupid (Word)
Self Assessment, Instructional Indicators from The Mega System, CII (XLS)
Technical Assistance Workshop - Reforming Instruction (PPT)
Evidence Based Resources For Keeping Students On Track To Graduation (PDF)

Intervention Models

School divisions receiving SIG funds for "Tier I" and "Tier II" schools must implement one of the following four USED intervention models in their persistently lowest achieving schools:

Turnaround Model
Restart Model
School Closure
Transformation Model

Schools in “Tier III” must implement the Virginia state transformation model, which includes the assignment of a school-improvement coach. See definitions of the three Tiers.

The Reform Models (Word)
How to Select a School Improvement Model – from the Center on Innovation & Improvement (CII)
Virginia’s Lead Turnaround Partner Initiative (PPT)
Crosswalk Between RFP and SIG (Word)
RFP#DOE-2010-03 Low Achieving Schools Turnaround Partners (PDF)
- Notice of Contract Award (PDF)
- Cambridge Education (PDF)
- Edison Learning (PDF)
- Johns Hopkins University (PDF)
- Pearson (PDF)
- More about VDOE Request for Proposals
Transformation Toolkit for Implementing the SIG Transformation Model (PDF) – Center on Innovation & Improvement
Mass Insight: Designing MOUs for Lead Turnaround Partners (PDF)
Mass Insight: Lead Turnaround Partners (PDF)
Mass Insight: School Turnaround Models – Emerging Turnaround Strategies and Results (PPT)

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