Program Improvement
With funding for our local efforts through RSDSS, Santa Clara County provides technical assistance and training in the state and federal requirements for change with low performing Title I schools and districts.
Program Improvement Services for Schools and Districts through the Santa Clara COE
What is Program Improvement?
Under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), an escalating series of interventions and consequences occurs if a school does not meet the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) target each year. Program Improvement (PI) is a formal designation for Title I funded schools or districts that do not make AYP for two consecutive years on the same indictor (English/language arts, mathematics) schoolwide/districtwide or for any numerically significant subgroup, or on the same indicator (Academic Performance Index [API] or high school graduation rate) schoolwide or districtwide. Schools and districts are eligible to exit PI status once they make AYP for two consecutive years which includes making Safe Harbor schoolwide and in all numerically significant subgroups.
… Think movement, positive motion, and new and improved direction. …
We are thus talking about changing direction for the better – dynamic, exciting, the boiled-down essence of how to make the complex simpler and more powerful.”
- J. Fullan Motion Leadership (2010, p 15)
Title I schools must implement required services and/or interventions each year they are in PI. Directing the work of PI requires specialized knowledge and action on the part of the site administrator and district. Technical assistance in this endeavor can be obtained through the District and School Support Services (DSSS) team at the Santa Clara County Office of Education.
What services and technical assistance are available?
The members of the District and School Support Services (DSSS) team work collaboratively with schools and districts in Program Improvement to complete a comprehensive needs assessment, revise the site or LEA Plan based on a set of recommendations, and implement and monitor the key actions. The goals of this work are to:
- Improve teaching and learning
- Increase effective leadership
- Promote professional culture and collaborative relationships
- Provide structures for system-wide improvement
- Establish aligned, job-embedded professional development
- Align resources – time, money, people – to ensure sustainability of the change effort
For more information on these services, please see the Regional System of District and School Support (RSDSS) website at http://rsdss5.sccoe.org or, for LEAs in Corrective Action, see the DSSS services at http://www.sccoe.org/depts/dsss/dait.asp
Who facilitates the work:
The members of the District and School Support Services team bring a variety of educational expertise and experience to support districtwide, systems change. From Assistant Superintendents to classroom teachers, the team members have worked with urban and rural districts, small to very large districts, and high performing to low performing districts. They have direct experience working with district and site leadership to create lasting change that improves educational outcomes for all students.
Date last updated: October 4, 2010
