Mississippi Department of Education
Action Plan
For the Teacher and Principal Evaluation System SIG Waiver
5/21/2012
Waiver Request Process and Approval Criteria
Mississippi SIG schools will complete Waiver Request Forms A-D (see attached) and submit to
the Office of School Recovery for consideration. The Office of School Recovery will use two
criteria for approval of the waiver:
1) On Form B and Form C, any area marked less than a “3” must be addressed in the timeline on
Form D with a completion date no later than August 2012 to allow for piloting the evaluation
system during the 2012-2013 school year.
2) The thoroughness of responses on Form D will also be considered in the approval decision.
If a district does not comply substantially with the conditions of an approved waiver, the
Mississippi Department of Education may terminate the waiver and the Mississippi
Department of Education may initiate withholding of SIG funding.
If a district is denied a waiver, the Mississippi Department of Education will take appropriate
enforcement action, which may include initiating withholding SIG funding.
Monitoring Plan
The Office of School Recovery (OSR) utilizes an integrated approach to School Improvement
Grant 1003g (SIG) monitoring and technical assistance. The approach is intended to assess the
district/school’s progress in the implementation of the school improvement intervention model
and to determine the types of support needed in order for the school to meet the goals
identified in their SIG plan.
The integrated approach to school improvement grant monitoring and school accountability
taken by the OSR ensures a comprehensive evidence base. Evidence is gathered through site
visits by OSR Implementation Specialists; the collection of progress data; the completion of online implementation progress reports; and an annual site visit by an external team that includes
a review of evidence, stakeholder interviews, and classroom observations. OSR staff share
findings from the information gathered with the districts and schools to identify where
implementation is successful, where implementation challenges exist, and assist with the
development of plans to address identified challenges/deficiencies.
Technical assistance and monitoring for the teacher and principal evaluation system waiver
will be a part of the overall OSR monitoring plan. This process will ensure schools are on-track
to pilot the new teacher and principal evaluation systems by the 2012-2013 school year.
To ensure that they are on-track, OSR Implementation Specialists conduct monthly site visits
throughout the school year. The purpose of the site visits is to provide technical assistance to
districts and schools as they implement their SIG plans and to gather information on
implementation progress to determine further support to be extended. Implementation
Specialists will use the Indicators of Implementation as the basis for determining
implementation progress of the districts and schools. The Indicators of Implementation are
aligned with the Federal Requirements set forth by the U.S. Department of Education for
Mississippi Department of Education
Office of School Recovery
schools receiving SIG grants.
The Indicators of Implementation are subdivided into five key components: Organizational
Structures, Leadership, Personnel and Professional Development, Curriculum and Instruction,
and Support System/Strategies. Implementation Indicators within the area of Personnel and
Professional Development will be monitored to determine the progress of districts in
addressing the requirement for schools implementing the transformation model to “use
rigorous, transparent, and equitable evaluation systems for teachers and principals that a) take
into account data on student growth as a significant factor as well as other factors, such as
multiple observation-based assessments of performance and ongoing collections of
professional practice reflective of student achievement and increased high school graduation
rates; and b) are designed and developed with teacher and principal involvement.” Specific
indicators include related to this area are:





C02 – LEA/school has a process in place for recruiting, placing, and retaining school teachers and
principals with skills needed for school transformation.
C03 – LEA/school has a rigorous and transparent evaluation system with input from teachers
and principals that includes evidence of student achievement/growth.
C04 – LEA/school implemented the new evaluation system for principals and teachers.
C06 – LEA/school has a system of rewards for school staff that positively impact student
achievement and graduation rates.
C07 – LEA/school identifies and supports school staff that are struggling or removes staff who
fail to improve their professional practice.
After conducting each district and school site visit, Implementation Specialists will complete
and submit a site visit report to the OSR. Following OSR review, site visit reports will be
submitted to the Superintendent, district school improvement specialist, and principal.
Throughout the school year, Implementations Specialists and school staff will assess the
progress of SIG schools using the Mississippi Star Online Monitoring and Reporting System. The
Mississippi Star is a web-based tool that guides a district and school leadership team in charting
its improvement and managing the continuous improvement process. Mississippi Star includes
Wise Ways research briefs to support the indicators, presenting best practice research and
strategies for the indicators as well as Indicators in Action video modules demonstrating the
practices.
Mid-year, Implementation Specialists complete a rating summary to the OSR. On this report,
the Implementation Specialist rates the status of the district and school on their
implementation progress (scale: 1 = not addressed or no evidence, 2 = emerging/limited
evidence, 3 = satisfactory evidence supported from multiple sources, 4 = evidence exceeds
standard, 5 = extensive evidence aligned with exemplary implementation). Ratings are given on
the indicators within each of the five key components, including the aforementioned indicators
specific to the waiver request.
Mississippi Department of Education
Office of School Recovery
Technical Assistance
The Office of School Recovery provides extensive opportunities to SIG schools for training and
technical assistance. Additionally, the SIG schools implementing a transformation model have
been collaborating with the Teacher Incentive Fund grant recipients since October 2011 in the
development of new statewide teacher and principal evaluation systems. This collaboration
involves a series of joint trainings for school district personnel to learn about and participate in
the development of these evaluation systems. Dual training and support will continue during
the pilot year and through the first year of implementation
(Trainings held in conjunction with the TIF grantees in bold.)
School Improvement Grant Leadership Team
Training
Doing What Works Training-SIG Schools
Leadership Teams
School Improvement Symposium/ Principal’s
Evaluation Training
VAL-ED Leadership Assessment Training
VAL-ED Leadership Assessment Training
(follow-up)
SIG Mississippi Star Online Reporting TrainingCentral
SIG Mississippi Star Online Reporting TrainingNorth
The Mississippi Star SIG Monitoring System
Training
Teacher Evaluation System Training
M-STAR Teacher Evaluation Training
(Artifact)
M-STAR Teacher Evaluation Training (Artifact
–phase 2)
Follow-up training on the M-STAR Appraisal
System
Growth component training
SIG Summer Institute
Mississippi Principal Evaluation System
Follow-up training on the M-STAR Appraisal
System (statewide)
Mississippi Department of Education
July 26, 2011
August 23, 2011
September 19-20, 2011
October 17-19, 2011
November 14, 2011
October 26, 2011
October 28, 2011
January 17-18, 2012
February 9-10, 2012
March 7-8, 2012
April 20, 2012
May –July 2012
June-July 2012
July 17-18, 2012
July 24-25, 2012
August –December 2012
Office of School Recovery
Action Plan for meeting School Improvement Grant 1003(g) Requirements for
Teacher and Principal Evaluation System Waivers
US Department of Education Requirement
Mississippi Department of Education (MDE)
Response
Post within 30 days of USDE approval criteria, process
and timeline for reviewing each LEA waiver request

Develop a technical assistance and support plan that
outlines how the Mississippi Department of Education
will differentiate support

Develop a monitoring plan for tracking progress on the
pilot in 2012-2013

Develop criteria that 1) the Mississippi Department of
Education will use to evaluate LEA requests for
timeline extensions including whether the LEA has
demonstrated progress in implementing evaluation
systems and 2) enable the Mississippi Department of
Education to distinguish among LEAs that have met the
requirements, those that are making sufficient
progress toward meeting the requirements, and those
that have not made a good faith effort to meet the
requirements
Approve LEA requests to implement the waiver only if
the Mississippi Department of Education determines,
based on its criteria, that the LEA warrants an
extension



Mississippi Department of Education
Tentative Date to Complete
Waiver requirements and process posted to the
MDE/Office of School Recovery (OSR) webpage
(LEA Waiver Request Application) and Action
Plan for Implementation of Teacher and Principal
Evaluation System Waiver
Webinar for district and school leadership
regarding the waiver and MDE process for
reviewing a waiver request from districts
implementing the SIG transformation model
Provide districts with the Action Plan for
Implementation of Teacher and Principal
Evaluation System Waiver
May 21, 2012
Waiver requests and accompanying evidence
due to MDE/OSR
MDE/OSR staff reviews waiver requests and
supporting evidence
MDE/OSR makes determination of approval or
denial of each waiver request
June 8, 2012
Office of School Recovery
May 21, 2012
June 29, 2012
July 6, 2012
US Department of Education Requirement
Mississippi Department of Education (MDE)
Response


Develop a technical assistance and support plan that
outlines how the Mississippi Department of Education
will differentiate support

Post within 30 days of MDE approval, the school and
district names and NCES numbers for approved
waivers
Develop a monitoring plan for tracking progress on the
pilot in 2012-2013



Mississippi Department of Education
Waiver requests that are denied will be
forwarded to the Deputy Superintendent for
final review
MDE/OSR notifies districts regarding approval or
denial of their waiver request and consequences
of withholding funds if the waiver is denied
MDE/OSR notifies districts of technical
assistance resources available for meeting the
waiver requirements during the Summer SIG
Conference
MDE/OSR posts names and NCES identification
numbers of districts and schools receiving
waivers and submits to USDE
MDE/OSR staff monitors implementation of the
evaluation systems pilot and provides technical
assistance and support in addressing waiver
request requirements
MDE/OSR staff monitors full implementation of
SIG teacher and principal evaluation system
requirements
Office of School Recovery
Tentative Date to Complete
July 11, 2012
July 17-18, 2012
July 27, 2012
July 2012-July 2013
August 2013-July 2014