1 Tier 1 Education: Review Participant Training January AmeriCorps External Reviewer Training

Content  The Charge: Turnaround  School Improvement Grants (SIG) Overview  Models  Guidelines  This Opportunity  The Need  The Goals 2

Part 1: The Charge 3

The U.S. ranks 16th in the world in college attainment 4 4 Percentage of 25- to 34-year-olds who completed an associate's or higher degree (2009) “By 2020, America will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world.” – President Obama, February 2009

5 Fewer than 15% of high schools produce half of the nation’s 1.2 million dropouts. “It’s time for all of us, no matter what our backgrounds, to come together and solve this epidemic. Stemming the tide of dropouts will require turning around our low-performing schools. Just 2,000 high schools in cities like Detroit, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia produce over 50% of America’s dropouts…Let us all make turning around our schools our collective responsibility as Americans.” - President Obama, March 2009 Source: Robert Balfanz and Nettie Legters, Locating the Dropout Crisis (2004)

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Part 2: SIG Overview 7

Guiding Principles  Students who attend a State’s persistently lowest-achieving schools deserve better options and can’t afford to wait  Not quantity, but quality  Need to build capacity and supports at all levels  Not a one-year activity 8

9 Outcomes Increased student achievement Increased graduation rates Redesigned SIG Four rigorous intervention models States required to competitively award grants to districts Elements of Reform Effective leaders and teachers Supportive and safe school environment Operational flexibilities and capacity building Strong, aligned, and responsive instruction Resources Historic investment – over $4.5B since 2009 Up to $2M per school The redesigned SIG program requires rigorous interventions and dramatically increases resources for the lowest-performing schools Increased time for teaching and collaboration Family and community engagement

Distribution of SIG Funds  U.S. Department of Education (ED) to State educational agencies (SEAs):  Formula grants based on each State’s share of funds under Title I, Parts A, C, and D  SEAs to local educational agencies (LEAs):  Competitive grants  LEAs to schools: $50,000 - $2M per school 10

LEA Responsibilities Eligible SchoolsApplies to serve all or subset of eligible schools in the LEA Review CriteriaDevelops a needs assessment to determine which of the four required intervention models fits best with the needs of each Tier I, Tier II or Priority school 4 modelsApplies to implement one of the four required intervention models in eligible Tier I, Tier II or Priority schools. LEA selects model after an analysis of local data, resources, and capacity. PrioritizationMust serve Tier I schools it has the capacity to serve. May not apply to serve any Tier III school if it has not served at least one of its Tier I or II schools OR Must serve Priority schools it has capacity to serve that apply for and are awarded SIG funding BudgetSubmits three-year budget for each school it applies to serve ($50K-$2M per year) GoalsProposes achievement goals for each Tier I, II, and III or Priority school 11

Four SIG School Intervention Models TransformationTurnaround RestartClosure 12

Transformation Model Overview Teachers and Leaders Replace principal Implement new evaluation system Developed with staff Uses student growth as a significant factor Identify and reward staff who are increasing student outcomes; support and then remove those who are not Implement strategies to recruit, place, and retain staff Instructional and Support Strategies Select and implement an instructional model based on student needs Provide job- embedded professional development designed to build capacity and support staff Ensure continuous use of data to inform and differentiate instruction Time and Support Provide increased learning time Staff and students Provide ongoing mechanism for community and family engagement Partner to provide social-emotional and community- oriented services and supports Governance Provide sufficient operating flexibility to implement reform Ensure ongoing technical assistance 13

Turnaround Model Overview Teachers and Leaders Replace principal Use locally adopted “turnaround” competencies to review and select staff for school (rehire no more than 50% of existing staff) Implement strategies to recruit, place, and retain staff Instructional and Support Strategies Select and implement an instructional model based on student needs Provide job- embedded PD designed to build capacity and support staff Ensure continuous use of data to inform and differentiate instruction Time and Support Provide increased learning time Staff and students Social-emotional and community- oriented services and supports Governance New governance structure Grant operating flexibility to school leader 14

Restart Model Overview  A restart model must enroll, within the grades it serves, any former student who wishes to attend the school.  A rigorous review process could take such things into consideration as an applicant’s team, track record, instructional program, model’s theory of action, sustainability.  As part of this model, the SEA must review the process the LEA will use/has used to select the partner 15

Part 3: This Opportunity 16

The Need for Tier 1 Education  Throughout the early stages of SIG implementation, States and districts have repeatedly expressed, or demonstrated through department monitoring, a need for capacity building in five primary areas:  Addressing specific school-type challenges (especially small/rural schools and middle schools);  Addressing specific intervention challenges (especially increased learning time, turnaround leadership, students’ nonacademic needs, and community/family engagement);  Building and making transparent turnaround data, knowledge, and evidence;  Sustaining effective interventions in successful turnaround schools;  Developing a comprehensive turnaround approach for schools implementing SIG interventions, turnaround principles under Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) flexibility, and reform strategies through Race-to-the-Top. 17

The Goals for Tier 1 Education  To leverage AmeriCorps’s existing national service infrastructure and national and community partnerships to concentrate AmeriCorps members in schools undertaking turnaround efforts promoted by ED through SIG and/or ESEA flexibility;  To scale up existing AmeriCorps efforts in turnaround schools;  To introduce AmeriCorps members to schools and areas that have difficulty gaining access to AmeriCorps members;  To provide resources to address implementation challenges relating to increased learning time and social-emotional supports; and  To inspire a wide range of local and national partners, including philanthropic organizations, to take on the challenge of school turnaround. 18

Evidence for Aligned and Rigorous Interventions  In addition to exclusively funding turnaround interventions in low- performing schools, Tier 1 Education AmeriCorps grantees must implement interventions that have at least a preliminary evidence basis.  Tier 1 Education AmeriCorps grantees will serve exclusively in low- performing schools where their efforts are needed most, and where there is already a turnaround plan in place through a state’s implementation of its ESEA flexibility plan or a SIG.  Applicants must submit a letter of commitment signed by district and school leaders. Furthermore, applicants must demonstrate how the proposed intervention is aligned with existing district and school turnaround plans. 19

Six Strategies of Focus in the Notice  AmeriCorps members in these schools will work to:  Provide ongoing mechanisms for family and community engagement;  Establish a school culture and environment that improve school safety, attendance, and discipline and address other non-academic factors that impact student achievement, such as students’ social, emotional, and health needs;  Accelerate students’ acquisition of reading and mathematics knowledge and skills;  Increase graduation rates through strategies such as early warning systems, credit-recovery programs, and re-engagement strategies;  Increase college enrollment rates through college preparation counseling to include completing the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) and college applications, and educating students and their families on financial literacy for college; or  Support school implementation of increased learning time. 20

Questions? 21 Please contact using the subject Tier 1 Education Orientation