· School Improvement Plan (ALL Components) should be done by late May or early June (depending on your central office needs … ignore the fact legislation states September 1 and finish plans before teachers leave for the summer)
· Building SIPs inform the District Improvement Plan and Consolidated Application which are DUE on June 28.
Every School and District has 4-7 components to complete and submit either the School Improvement Plan or District Improvement Plan, simply follow these 10 steps:
- Log in to ASSIST and click the “School (or District) Improvement Plan is Due in xxx days on xxx
- (same as above) Click SIP on the overview page
- This has taken you to the “Portfolio” tab and revealed the 4-7 components you are required to complete. Once completed, the Portfolio is also where buildings will submit the SIP and districts will approve the SIP. The HSAT is the only optional components, all other components are required: Executive Summary, Improvement Plan Stakeholder, School Data Analysis, School (or District) Additional Requirements, Goals and Plan (Plan is simply the Goals you have selected to submit), Title I Requirements (only for Title I schools)
- For every component labeled in the Section “Diagnostic” you need to activate the report on the Diagnostic Tab, then return to the Portfolio Tab to attach the activated component to the SIP. Don’t worry, there is a brief podcast on how to do this at the top of the SIP page referenced earlier. NOTE: You should not attach the Goals & Plan to the Portfolio until you are done writing your Goals.
- Start with an early and easy win by completing the “Additional Requirements Diagnostic.” Virtually every question should simply be Yes or n/a (therefore mark No and explain that it is not applicable).
- Next tackle the School Data Analysis (SDA). This is one of two components that will take the most time. As mentioned in last month’s update, you should utilize the School Data Profile on IRIS and the SDA Guidance Document which is featured on the Practical SI Timeline. In addition, Macomb ISD has just compiled a very comprehensive documents to support the Study Stage and the SDA called the Data Points Reference Manual. Since it is fairly long, the website breaks it into chapters. Schools that follow a practical timeline are most likely done with the SDA already.
- Complete the Executive Summary with your Mission, Vision, and Beliefs, you may wish to reference the template available on the SI Timeline website. Question 3 would be a great place to articulate your AREAS of FOCUS as seen when completing the SDA and your BIG IDEAS for solving those deficiencies.
- The second component that is very time consuming is the Goals. You will need to work on this under the Goals tab and there are several resources on the SI Timeline. You must have a minimum of three goals and Title I buildings must address all four core content areas. The four most popular resources online include: Definitions of Terms and Guidance, Blank Template with comments, Sample Goal for Reading, and Resources for Strategies and Research. If you cannot find the guidance you need or you have suggestions for additional guidance for the website, please call or email.
- Finally, complete the final two components HSAT (optional) and Title I Requirements (only for some). The site has two templates available with comments from the actual auditor trainer … so be prepared for an OSR and follow the guidance online.
- Once all components have been completed, you’ll need to create a collection of Goals, Objectives, Strategies and Activities by creating a “Plan” on the Goals Tab. Once this is created, you can then attach the “Plan” to the “School Improvement Plan” found on the Portfolio Tab.
- Once all components are attached and there is a green check showing complete, buildings may then submit and districts may preview, send back and/or approve.