Title I Schools Identified for Improvement (SIFI) Level 1 Requirements

Within three months after being identified for improvement, the school shall develop a new or revise an existing school improvement plan that:

• Covers a two year period;
• Incorporates strategies based on scientifically-based research to strengthen core academic subjects and address specific core concerns;
• Adopts policies and practices that have the greatest likelihood of ensuring all groups of students will meet the state’s proficiency levels of achievement;
• Incorporates strategies to promote high quality professional development that directly address the academic achievement area that caused the school to be identified for improvement;
• Specifies how Title I, Part A funds set aside for professional development will be used to remove the school from school improvement status;
• Establishes specific, annual, measurable objectives for continuous and substantial progress by indicators;
• Describes how the school will provide written notice about the identification of school improvement status to parents in a format that parents can understand;
• Specifies the responsibilities of the school, the district, and the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI) serving the school under the plan including the technical assistance to be provided by the district;
• Includes strategies to promote effective parental involvement in the school;
• Incorporates, as appropriate, activities before school, after school, during the summer, and during any extension of the school year; and
• Incorporates a teacher mentoring program.

The district, within 45 days of receiving the school plan, shall:

• Establish a peer review process to assist with a review of the school plan and
• Promptly review the school plan, work with the school as necessary, and approve the school plan if the plan meets the statutory requirements listed above.

The district should involve as peer reviewers, teachers and administrators from schools or districts similar to the one in improvement, but significantly more successful in meeting the learning needs of their students.

The district may conditionally approve the school improvement plan on feedback from school and community leaders.

The school shall implement the school improvement plan, including a revised plan expeditiously but not later than the next full school year following the identification for improvement. If a plan is not approved prior to the beginning of the school year, such plan shall be implemented immediately upon approval.

The district shall:

• Set aside up to 20 percent of the district’s Title I allocation, if needed, for purposes of providing transportation for students electing to transfer to another public school served by the district; and
• Provide an assurance that the Title I SIFI will spend not less than 10 percent of the funds allocated to the school for the purpose of providing high quality professional development that addresses the indicator that caused the school to be identified as a SIFI.

A district may count the costs of parent outreach and assistance for choice-related transportation to meet this 20 percent obligation (up to an amount equal to 0.2 percent of its Title I, Part A allocation).

Before a district uses its unspent funds from its 20 percent obligation for other allowable activities, the district is required to:

• Meet at a minimum, the following criteria:
• Partner, to the extent practicable, with outside groups to help inform students and parents of the opportunities to transfer to another public school;
• Ensure that students and their parents have had a genuine opportunity to sign up to transfer to another school by:
  • Providing timely, accurate notice to parents; and
  • Ensuring that sign-up forms are made widely available and accessible and that they have been distributed directly to all eligible students and their parents.
• Maintain records demonstrating that the district has met these criteria and has notified the DPI that it has met the criteria; and
• Inform the DPI of the amount of funds remaining from the 20 percent obligation that it intends to spend on other allowable activities.

The district must provide technical assistance to the Title I SIFI. Such technical assistance shall include:

• Assistance in analyzing assessments and other examples of student work to identify and address problems in:
• Instruction;
• Implementing the parental involvement requirements;
• The professional development requirements; and
• The responsibilities of the school and the district under the school improvement plan and to identify and address solutions to such problems.
• Assistance in identifying and implementing professional development, instructional strategies, and methods of instruction that are based on scientifically-based research and have proven effective in addressing the specific instructional issues that caused the school to be identified for improvement; and
• Assistance in analyzing and revising the school’s budget so that the school’s resources are more effectively allocated to the activities most likely to increase student achievement and to remove the school from improvement status.