According to the Michigan School Improvement Framework, school improvement is a collaborative process through which staff identifies strengths and weaknesses of the school program and uses that information as a basis for making positive changes in observable and measurable student outcomes.
Counseling: A School Improvement Tool
The purpose of the School Improvement is to improve the local school's total instructional program by assessing the skills and knowledge of students and by providing supplemental services that meet their needs. Each participating school has a state-mandated School Site Council (SSC) composed of the principal, staff, parents, and community members and, at the secondary level, students. The council is a decision-making body in (1) operating procedures and bylaws, (2) selecting and maintaining membership, (3) developing the school plan and budget for Board of Education approval, and (4) evaluating the annual progress of educational improvement under the school plan. The School Improvement Program receives funding from the state.
A school is in its first year of "school improvement" when it has not made AYP for two consecutive years. In order to exit school improvement status it must make AYP for two consecutive years. A school can be identified for a second year of school improvement if it does not make AYP for another year, after initially being identified as in need of improvement.
Once a school fails to make AYP for two consecutive years it goes on Title I School Improvement. In the first year of Title I School Improvement, the school must offer choice. In the second year of School Improvement the school must provide supplemental services.
Programs and/or activities organized for the purpose of increasing the academic achievement levels of all students.
The first phase of the improvement process for schools and school districts who have not achieved Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). Schools that do not achieve AYP for two consecutive years enter School Improvement and face a variety of consequences. Schools in School Improvement must develop plans for improving the performance of the student subgroups that failed to meet the state's performance targets. Schools receiving Title I funds must offer public school choice and transportation. In the third consecutive year that a school does not achieve AYP, students must be given the opportunity to participate in supplemental educational services. Schools and school districts that do not achieve AYP for four or more consecutive years are subject to more extensive corrective actions and restructuring. See Also: Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), AYP Target, Title I
Schools are considered "in need of improvement" when they have received federal Title I funds to improve learning among disadvantaged children and fail to make AYP for two years in a row. Schools in need of improvement face consequences which include offering public school choice and transportation, providing supplemental educational services to low achieving disadvantaged students, and implementing certain corrective actions. Additional sanctions apply to schools not making AYP for three or more consecutive years. For more information on how this state defines AYP, please see Principle 3 of the state's accountability plan.
Under NCLB, schools are considered "in need of improvement" when they fail to make AYP for two years in a row. Maine identifies schools that have failed to make AYP for two or more consecutive years as "Continuous Improvement Priority Schools." These schools face a variety of consequences which include public school choice, supplemental education services and other corrective actions depending upon the number of years the school has been in school improvement. Maine identifies schools in "Monitor Status" as those that have failed to make AYP for one year. These schools will enter school improvement and be identified as "Continuous Improvement Priority Schools" if they do not make AYP the following year. For more information on how this state defines AYP, please see Principle 3 of the state's accountability plan.
A school that is identified by the local district for school improvement is one served under Title I, Part A, that for two consecutive years has not made adequate progress or has failed to meet the criteria established by the state through the state's transitional procedure.
