Integration of State Planning and
Reporting Functions Using Indistar®
Indistar® Summit
March 24-25, 2014
Office of School Improvement
Virginia Department of Education
Kathleen M. Smith, Ed.D.
Yvonne A. Holloman, Ph.D.
The Office of School Improvement (OSI) has collaborated with the Office of Program
Administration and Accountability (PAA) to use the Indistar® Web-based planning tool to
assist with the planning and monitoring of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of
1965 (ESEA) flexibility waiver requirements for identified Focus and Priority Schools.
http://www.doe.virginia.gov/federal_programs/esea/flexibility/index.shtml
U.S. Department of Education’s ESEA Flexibility Waiver Monitoring
Key Questions
1. Where are the state educational agency’s focus/priority schools in their preparations to implement
interventions in the first semester?
2. What processes, such as needs analyses, are local educational agencies and schools using to
determine what interventions will be implemented?
3. How is the state educational agency ensuring that its local educational agencies implement
interventions aligned with the reason for the school’s identification as a focus/priority school?
4. What resources and supports are the state educational agency providing to those local
educational agencies as they develop their plans for interventions?
5. What process does the state educational agency have in place to ensure that all focus/priority
schools will begin implementing interventions in the first semester? For example, do local
educational agencies have a plan or report that they must submit?
6. How is the state educational agency planning to hold local educational agencies accountable for
improving school and student performance?
7. How and when does the state educational agency plan to monitor local educational agency
implementation of interventions in priority and focus schools?
The division- and school-level plans are
the key to monitoring each local educational
agency’s compliance with the ESEA flexibility
waiver provisions. Both plans are submitted
via the Indistar® dashboard several times
throughout the school year.
OSI contractors and division-level coaches
enter monthly coaching comments regarding
the implementation of the improvement plans.
The Indistar® Dashboard enables schools that are being served by the OSI
and PAA offices within the Virginia Department of Education to complete
required forms, and develop, implement, and monitor improvement plans.
Priority Schools
http://www.doe.virginia.gov/support/school_improvement/priority_schools/index.shtml
Priority schools use the Indistar® Dashboard to complete and submit forms required by
Virginia’s approved ESEA flexibility waiver. State educational agency (SEA) staff members
review the forms and provide written feedback to the local educational agency (LEA). In
addition, supplemental documents may be uploaded by the LEA using the Document Upload
feature.
Leading Indicators Form
Lagging Indicators Form
Annual Interventions Form
Adaptive Reading
Assessment Approval Form
Quarterly Data Analysis
Report
Focus Schools
http://www.doe.virginia.gov/support/school_improvement/focus_schools/index.shtml
Focus schools also use the Indistar® Dashboard to complete and submit forms required
by Virginia’s approved ESEA flexibility waiver. State educational agency (SEA) staff members
review the forms and provide written feedback to the local educational agency (LEA). In
addition, supplemental documents may be uploaded by the LEA using the Document Upload
feature. Both Priority and Focus Schools submit their improvement plans several times
throughout the school year via the Indistar® Dashboard – the tool captures a copy of the plan
in portable document format (pdf).
OSI contractors assigned to divisions with focus schools complete a ESEA Progress Monitoring Report
for Focus Schools. The purpose of the report is to monitor the division and school’s implementation of the
ESEA flexibility requirements regarding interventions for students at risk of failure.
Documents related to the parental notification requirements of Virginia’s approved ESEA
flexibility waiver may be housed in the Document Upload feature of the Indistar® Dashboard.
A-16.
What is the role of parents and the broader community in developing a request for, and then implementing, ESEA flexibility?
An SEA developing a request for ESEA flexibility must meaningfully engage and solicit input from teachers and their representatives, as well as diverse
stakeholders, such as students, parents, community-based organizations, civil rights organizations, organizations representing students with disabilities
and English Learners, business organizations, and Indian tribes (see D-2). An SEA must also consult with its Committee of Practitioners, which includes
parents, regarding the information set forth in its request (see D-3). If the SEA’s request for flexibility is granted, an LEA with one or more priority
schools must seek input from families and the community in selecting the meaningful interventions aligned with the turnaround principles
that will be implemented in these schools. Additionally, an LEA’s interventions in priority schools must include ongoing mechanisms for family and
community engagement (see C-37).
Under ESEA flexibility, parents will continue to receive information on their children’s progress in meeting State academic achievement standards as
well as their school’s success in helping all students meet those standards. Parents will know whether their children’s schools are succeeding, by
being identified as reward schools, or falling short, by being identified as priority or focus schools. When schools fall short, parents can be
assured that school leaders will adopt strategies focused on school needs and targeted towards the students most at risk.
4/13/2015
13
Parental notification
letters for Priority and
Focus Schools are
uploaded by individual
school improvement
teams
Next Steps
The Virginia Department of Education’s State Team for Systems of Recognition,
Accountability, and Support (SRAS) have begun planning to integrate certain reporting
requirements associated with:
• Title III division improvement plans
• Planning for school-wide Title I programs (in progress)
• Data related to services provided by the Training and Technical Assistance Centers
(TTAC)
• Corrective action plans required for local education agencies as a result of federal
program monitoring
SRAS Team Members include representatives from the:
• Office of Special Education Program Improvement (SEPI)
• Office of Program Administration and Accountability (PAA)
• Office of School Improvement (OSI)
• Appalachia Regional Comprehensive Center (ARCC)
Thank you. You have been a great
audience.
Dr. Kathleen M. Smith at 804-786-5819 or
kathleen.smith@doe.virginia.gov
Dr. Yvonne A. Holloman at 804-225-2064 or
yvonne.holloman@doe.virginia.gov