District AYP Performance and Our District Plan for Improvement
Education is a priority for our community, our state and our nation. Making sure that every student achieves academic success will take a broad-based effort. Schools can’t do it alone; parents and the community must partner with us.
Why does the district have an improvement plan?
Under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (also known as No Child Left Behind), Federal law requires that the nation’s schools and districts meet certain benchmarks each year.
Districts are measured in 37 categories. Missing the mark in just one category places a district “in improvement”. As a district, Federal Way Public Schools is in Step 2 (it stays at step 2 indefinitely) of “district improvement”, according to OSPI and the U.S. Education Department. In Step 2, a district is expected to have created and be implementing a ‘District Improvement Plan’.
It also must reserve not less than 10 percent of its Title I, Part A funds for high-quality professional development for instructional staff that is specifically designed to improve classroom teaching. The district must continue to reserve and use these funds for this purpose during each fiscal year it is identified for improvement.
It’s important to remember that Federal Way Public Schools has been doing the work called for in this legislation for over a decade. Our District Improvement Plan is a natural extension of our ongoing work to evaluate where we’ve been, and where we still need to go.What’s happened so far? What’s next?
In the 2008-2009 school year, the district assembled a team to develop the district's improvement plan. School staff, principals, parents and the public, as well as the school board reviewed the plan’s elements and offered input. The plan was approved by the board and was implemented during the 2009-2010 school year. Since then, the results have been monitored annually and the plan revised as necessary.
More about No Child Left Behind and Adequate Yearly Progress:
No Child Left Behind requires that students in grades 3-10 take a yearly test. Each state determines which test they will use – in our State, it’s currently the Measurements of Student Progress MSRP (grades 3-8) and the High School Proficiency Exam HSPE (grade 10). The number of students passing the test helps determine whether a school met the benchmarks for Adequate Yearly Progress.
The district and its schools are evaluated based on a complicated matrix that includes categories representing five ethnic backgrounds, special education students, and low-income students. It also has categories dealing with drop out rates, on-time graduation and participation -- 95% of all students must take the test.
Schools are evaluated in up to 37 categories, and districts in up to 111 categories. Larger, more diverse schools and districts have greater hurdles to jump. Missing the requirements in any of the categories – test participation, for example – means that the school will not make AYP.
- A school moves into “improvement” status if it misses its AYP goals for two consecutive years in the same subject, in any of the categories.
- A district moves into “improvement” status when it misses making AYP for two consecutive years in all three grade spans (elementary, middle, secondary) in any category in the same subject area.
Resources and Additional Information
- The District Improvement Plan || Printable PDF (491K PDF)
- Family & Community Partnerships - Addendum to the District Improvement Plan - Final (35K PDF)
- Feb. 24, 2009 Board Presentation (500K PDF)
| Original 2008-09 Improvement Plan Committee Members | ||
| Alma Dansby, Assistant Superintendent | Becky Fife, Special Education Teacher, Enterprise ES | |
| Steffani Jesus, Teacher, Kilo MS | Mark Davidson, Deputy Superintendent | |
| Felix Angeles, Teacher, Decatur HS | Josh Garcia, Executive Director, TFL | |
| Silvia Moysen, Parent | Judy Lemmel, Director of ELL/GATE and Admin Training, TFL | |
| Tina Garcia, Parent | Dave Davis, Director of Standards-based Assessment & Accountability | |
| Sharon Mitchell-Guddat, Title I/LAP Director | Sally McLean, Assistant Superintendent, Business Services | |
| Cindy Black, Principal, Nautilus ES | Forrest Griek, Assistant Principal, TJ | |
| Rita Chaundhuri, Principal, Panther Lake Elementary | Pat Larson, Principal, Kilo MS | |
| Jason Smith, Facilitator, Principal, Adelaide ES | ||
| ** Subcommittee Members (Parent/Community Partnerships) | ||
| Trise Moore, Family & Community Partnerships Director | Teniel Sabin, Hispanic Community Liaison, City of Federal Way |
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