Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 18, September 16, 2024
(a) A
Comprehensive School has the opportunity to be reviewed based on the exit
criteria every three years and when the Department identifies a new cohort of
schools.
(b) A Comprehensive School
shall be eligible to no longer be identified as such if the school meets the
following exit criteria:
1. Has a summative
score above the fifth percentile for Title I schools;
2. Demonstrates schoolwide improvement on an
accountability indicator as compared to schoolwide performance at the time of
the most recent identification as a Comprehensive School. In addition to the
applicable accountability indicators, the Department will also consider the
following to be indicative of notable schoolwide improvement:
i. Increases in the percentages of students
with scores on Statewide assessments that approached, met, or exceeded
expectations;
ii. Academic progress
scores that met or exceeded the annual target;
iii. Schoolwide proficiency rates that met
annual targets; and
iv. Schoolwide
rates of chronic absenteeism that met the average for the respective grade
configuration.
3. If a
high school, has a four-year graduation rate above 67 percent; and
4. Successful implementation of its annual
school plans during the period of identification, as confirmed by the
Department. Evidence that allows the Department to confirm successful
implementation shall be provided through the Department's online Annual School
Planning System and may include, but is not limited to:
i. Consistent, effective implementation of
evidence-based interventions;
ii.
The timely expenditure of Federal school improvement funds;
iii. A robust formative assessment system to
monitor student progress throughout the school year;
iv. Stakeholder engagement in the drafting
and monitoring of the annual school plan;
v. Principal evaluations;
vi. Active participation in regularly
scheduled collaborative opportunities that facilitate professional learning and
develop teacher leaders; and
vii.
Job-embedded professional development that supports teachers' mastery of
instructional best practices related to annual school plan goals.
(c) If the Department
does not confirm that the Comprehensive School successfully implemented its
annual school plans pursuant to (b)4 above, the school shall remain in status
for one additional year and be eligible to cease to be identified as a
Comprehensive School the following year if it meets the conditions set forth at
(b) above.
(d) The Commissioner
will notify a Comprehensive School by January 31 as to whether it has met the
criteria at (b) above and is eligible to cease to be identified as a
Comprehensive School effective June 30.
1.
The chief school administrator shall submit a sustainability plan for an
eligible Comprehensive School to the Department within 30 business days of the
date of notification of eligibility by the Commissioner.
2. The sustainability plan shall:
i. Identify the strategies and initiatives
directly linked to improvements in academic achievement;
ii. Demonstrate in the goals section how the
school district will continue to provide support to the school to sustain noted
improvements; and
iii. Demonstrate
the equitable distribution of resources to support continued school
improvement.
3. The
Commissioner may determine that a school will cease to be identified as a
Comprehensive School upon approval by the Department of the school's
sustainability plan. Department approval of a sustainability plan may require,
but is not limited to, plan revisions, school visits, and/or interviews with
school district and school leadership.
(e) Comprehensive Schools that do not meet
the exit criteria will remain in status as Comprehensive II Schools. The
Commissioner shall notify a Comprehensive School of its Comprehensive II status
by January 31.
1. Chief school administrators
of Comprehensive II Schools shall provide to the Department, no later than 45
business days after the date of notification of Comprehensive II status, a
report describing how the school district will increase equity in resource
distribution to the Comprehensive II School relative to previous
years.
2. School districts with
Comprehensive II Schools may be eligible for additional funding for new
initiatives contingent upon a formal agreement of external program
evaluation.
3. School districts
with Comprehensive II Schools shall hire a leadership coach for building
principals.
4. All district board
of education members of school districts with Comprehensive II Schools shall
undergo additional training to strengthen their knowledge and understanding of
their governance and oversight responsibilities.
5. Comprehensive II Schools shall be subject
to the same exit criteria and exit process as Comprehensive Schools.
Comprehensive II Schools that do not meet the exit criteria shall remain in
Comprehensive II status. The Comprehensive II School status shall be
re-examined every three years and when the Department identifies a new cohort
of schools.
