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Comprehensive Support and Improvement

CSI

Carrie Blanton & Sharon Brown

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03/15/2023

Launchpad

What is your best strategy in adjusting to spring forward??

Ice Breaker!!

SMCOE Support

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Carrie Blanton,

Coordinator,

District Improvement and Supports

Sharon Brown

Coordinator,

District Improvement and Supports

Jeff Schmidt

Coordinator,

District Improvement and Supports

Welcome

This meeting will be recorded including comments to “everyone” in chat.

If you have questions, type them in chat or wait until the Q&A session at the end of the recorded portion of our meeting.

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Agenda

• About CSI and Knowledge Building
• Key Highlights
• CSI Plan - Utilizing the SPSA
• Requirements
• Knowledge Building
• LCAP CSI Prompts
• Requirements

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Launchpad

Acronyms and Initialisms

• CSI - Comprehensive Support and Improvement
• ESSA - Every Student Succeeds Act
• SPSA - School Plan for Student Achievement
• LEA - Local Education Agency
• SBE - State Board of Education
• SSC - School Site Council
• LCAP - Local Control & Accountability Plan

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SMCOE CSI Workshops

• Date and Time: March 1, 2023, 10-11 am
• Focus Topic: CSI Technical Assistance
• Recommended Attendees: School Site Leaders, LEA Improvement Coordinators

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• Date and Time: March 15, 2023, 10-11 am
• Focus Topic: CSI Plan Development and Implementation
• Recommended Attendees: School Site Leaders, LEA Improvement Coordinators

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SMCOE Workshop 1

SMCOE Workshop 2

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Comprehensive Support and Improvement

CSI: Reminders

Carrie Blanton & Sharon Brown

​

03/15/2023

Launchpad

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State & Federal Accountability

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Comparing CSI & ATSI

1. SMCOE
2. Ravenswood
3. Redwood City
4. San Mateo UHSD
5. Sequoia UHSD
6. South San Francisco USD

CSI

6 of 23 San Mateo County districts have CSI-identified schools:

versus

ATSI

• Bayshore Elementary
• Belmont-Redwood Shores Elementary
• Brisbane Elementary
• Burlingame Elementary
• Cabrillo Unified
• Hillsborough City
• Jefferson Elementary
• Jefferson Union High
• Pacifica
• La Honda-Pescadero

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19 out of 23 districts in San Mateo County have schools identified for ATSI:

11. Millbrae Elementary
12. Ravenswood
13. Redwood City
14. San Bruno Park
15. San Carlos Elementary
16. San Mateo-Foster City
17. San Mateo Union High
18. Sequoia Union High
19. South San Francisco

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• CSI funds may not be used to support schools that do not meet CSI eligibility criteria on the 2022–23 ESSA Assistance Data File
• CSI Funds may not be used to hire permanent staff

Unlike CSI-eligible schools, ATSI-eligible schools do NOT receive additional federal funds for their eligibility status

Additional Targeted Support & Improvement (ATSI)

Fiscal Considerations

REMINDER: CSI Funds Cannot Go to ATSI Schools

No Additional Federal Funds

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Federal Program Monitoring for CSI and ATSI

Most Common Pitfalls

Use of CSI Funds

• CSI funds used to benefit non-CSI schools
• CSI funds used for district-wide activities that benefitted non-CSI schools
• CSI funds used for employee time spent on unallowable activities

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Documentation

• Lack of time and effort documentation for CSI-funded employees
• Insufficient time and effort procedures/internal controls
• CSI expenditures are not aligned with the Funding Plan reported in GMART

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Planning Requirements

• ATSI schools are not notified of their support status
• No plan in place for schools eligible for ATSI
• CSI expenditures are not aligned with identified root causes

Recommendations from CDE

Use of CSI Funds

• Ensure any positions funded with CSI funds are temporary
• Ensure CSI funds, including those reserved for use at the district-level are only used to benefit CSI-eligible schools (funds may not be expended district-wide at non-CSI eligible schools)

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Documentation

• Keep time and effort records for any CSI-funded positions; these positions require the same documentation as other federally funded positions
• Time and effort procedures should include processes to track employee extra time that is funded with CSI funds
• If adjustments are made to how funds will be distributed, ensure these adjustments are made to the Funding Plan in the GMART
• Ensure equipment purchased with CSI funds is inventoried

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Planning Requirements

• Ensure the CSI plan demonstrates alignment between the identified root causes, strategies, and expenditures to be funded with CSI funds

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Comprehensive Support and Improvement

CSI: Plan Overview

Carrie Blanton & Sharon Brown

​

03/15/2023

Launchpad

CSI Plan Approval Process

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CSI Plan Timelines

Things to Consider:

• Timeline to gather and review data
• Timeline to review previous stakeholder engagement activities
• Time to align the LCAP and SPSA
• Aligning school calendar with individual calendars and the ESSA CSI Grant Timeline

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CSI School Improvement Anchors

Needs Assessment

Root Cause Analysis

Evidence-Based Intervention

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Monitor and Adjust

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To Better Support Outcomes for all Students: Public Education

• Gives us an opportunity to analyze systems and process and determine:
• Who does the system serve?
• Who does the systems underserve?
• What processes press upon and drain the system?
• What processes nurture the system?

Purpose of SPSA

A document that consolidates all planning requirements for schools that receive federal funds through the ConApp

• California Education Code 64001
• ESSA

Plan that communicates to stakeholders how those funds will be spent to stakeholders

• Allows for feedback and discussion

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Purpose of the CSI Plan

Communicate the method the school used to develop actions to address identified inequities that exists within your system.

The CSI Plan shall:

• Be informed by all state indicators
• Include evidence-based interventions
• Be based on a school-level needs assessment
• Identify resource inequities

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CSI Plan Requirements

• Using the CDE SPSA template as the CSI plan ensures that all ESSA related requirements are met.
• CSI Plan Adopted by:
• SSC
• School Board
• COE
• SBE

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CSI Information

• LEAs are required to:
• locally develop and implement a plan for the school to improve student outcomes.
• formally reported in the LCAP
• Schools operating a Title I, Part A schoolwide program:
• Can use the SPSA to meet both schoolwide and CSI planning requirements
• Charter schools and single school districts may use the LCAP as their SPSA/CSI Plan

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Overview of the SPSA Template for the CSI Plan

• Sections of the SPSA to be completed for the CSI Plan:
• Specific if you are a CSI school
• Purpose and Description
• Additional sections the needs included language for your CSI plan
• Stakeholder Involvement
• Resource Inequities
• Goals, Strategies, Expenditures, & Annual Review
• Budget Summary

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Comprehensive Support and Improvement

CSI: Technical Assistance

Carrie Blanton & Sharon Brown

​

03/15/2023

Launchpad

Purpose and Description

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In the description of the school plan, include information about planning for:

• Stakeholder Engagement
• Conducting a Needs Assessment
• Completing a Root Cause Analysis
• Identification of the Evidence-based Intervention

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Stakeholder Involvement

Describe the process used to involve advisory committees, parents, students, school faculty and staff, and the community in the development of the SPSA and the annual review and update.

• Schools must share the SPSA with school site-level advisory groups as applicable
• When completing this section for CSI, the LEA shall partner with the school in the development and implementation of this plan

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Resource Inequities

Briefly identify and describe any resource inequities identified as a result of the required needs assessment and summarize how the identified resource inequities are addressed in the SPSA.

• Schools identified for CSI must identify resource inequities, which may include a review of LEA- and school-level budgeting as part of the required needs assessment. Consider:
• Must - where must funds be spent?
• Needs- where are funds spent to address needs?
• Want - where are funds spent to address wants?

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Goals, Strategies, Expenditures & Annual Review

CSI:The improvement goals shall align to the goals, actions, and services in the LEA LCAP.

Tips:

• “What is the school seeking to achieve?
• SMART Goal: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic, and Time-bound.

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Annual Measurable Outcomes

CSI: The school must include school-level metrics related to the metrics that led to the school’s identification

Tips:

• Metric for evaluating the progress toward accomplishing the goal
• Baseline is the most recent data associated with the metric
• Include data reported in the annual update
• Expected outcomes explain the progress the school intends to make in the coming year.

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Strategies/Activities

CSI: Include evidence-based interventions

Tips:

• Address the finds of the needs assessment consistent with state priorities and resource inequities
• Indicate which students will benefit from the strategies/activities by indicating “All Students” or listing one or more specific student group(s) to be served.

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Strategies and Activities

CSI: cannot use CSI funds to hire permanent staff

Tips

• List amounts and funding sources for the proposed expenditures to implement the strategies/actions for the school year
• Specify funding sources (Ex: LCFF, Federal (Title and Part as applicable, other state and/or local)
• For expenditures included more than once, indicate as a “duplicated expenditure” and include a reference to the goal and strategy/activity.

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Annual Review

Include any changes made to the goals, annual measurable outcomes, metrics/indicators, or strategies/activities

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Annual Review Continued

Tips:

• Analyze actual outcome data, including state indicators from the Dashboard, to determine if the planned strategies/activities were effective in achieving the goal.
• If the school is in the first year of implementing the goal the Annual Review section is not required and may be deleted.

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Budget Summary

From its total allocation for CSI, the LEA may distribute funds across its schools to meet the criteria for CSI to support implementation of this plan

The LEA may retain a portion of its total allocation to support LEA-level expenditures that are directly related to serving schools eligible for CSI

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Budget Summary Continued

Tips

• Total funds provided to the school through the Consolidated Application:
• total amount of funding provided to the school through the ConApp for the fiscal year for which a SPSA is adopted or updated.
• Total funds budgeted for strategies to meet the goals in the SPSA:
• Total of the proposed expenditures from all sources of funds associated with the strategies and activities reflected in the SPSA
• Expenditures should be counted only once
• Total federal funds for CSI
• Total amount of funding provided to the school from the LEA for CSI

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Next Steps

• Start planning for stakeholder engagement - consider stakeholder engagement already completed
• Continue gathering information for needs assessment
• Empathy interviews
• Consider data already collected
• Align Core Team responsibilities and plan for moving forward with work

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CSI: Improvement Tools

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Comprehensive Support and Improvement

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Launchpad

Strategies for Developing the CSI Plan

• Needs Assessment
• Root Cause Analysis
• Identifying Inequities
• Evidence-based Interventions
• Monitoring and Measuring

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Needs Assessment Defined

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1. Helps school teams learn about the following areas:
1. School strengths
2. School areas of improvement.
2. First step in program development and provides your education partners an opportunity to hypothesize about the causes of student achievement.

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Needs Assessment Process

Comprehensive Needs Assessment

• SPSA Monitoring and Evaluation
• Data Analysis
• School and Student Performance Data - Dashboard and Local
• Surveys, Focus Groups, Interviews
• Classroom Observations
• Analysis of Current Instructional Program
• Standards Assessment and Accountability
• Staffing and Professional Development
• Teaching and Learning
• Funding

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• Data Analysis cont.
• Educational Partner involvement including parent engagement
• Identification of resource inequities

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• Identify a problem statement(s)
• Identify root causes of low performance
• Develop an aim statement(s) (SCHOOL GOALS in the SPSA)

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Components of a Comprehensive Needs Assessment

What is a Root Cause?

Root Cause Analysis is an iterative process throughout a continuous improvement journey. An identified root cause is essentially a well informed working hypothesis.

As you test your hypothesis and learn more about you system, you may need to adjust your root cause and/or the actions or methods you are using to address your problem.

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Root Cause Analysis

4 Methods for Root Cause Analysis

In the chat, please share any of these methods that are familiar to you or you have used before.

Root Cause Analysis

5-Why?

Snowballing

Fishbone

Force Field Analysis

Resource Inequities Defined

The disparity between how school resources (people, time, money, actions, practices, programs, etc.) are allocated/ implemented and the actual student needs.

• Resource Inequities can be identified by goal area, student group, or state indicator
• Teams must have a common understanding of Resource Equity to identify resource Equity.

Answer these questions with your team:

• What is your personal understanding of resource equity and inequity?
• Where and how do you identify inequities within your system?

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• Unless all students and every student group are achieving at a high status and demonstrating positive growth, there are resource inequities within the organization and school.
• ID the inequities, with SPSA goal(s) and EBI strategies/activities that address the identified inequities.

If the school plans to address an inequity through providing additional funds, Title I rules still apply.

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Resource Inequities Defined

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Education resource equity is what we need to make sure that schools unlock every child’s power to live a life of their choosing - and that race and family income no longer predicts a sudent’s life trajectory.

Alliance for Resource Equity

Evidence-Based Actions

• EBI are practices, processes, or behaviors that your team identifies to solve the problem in your ATSI SPSA plan.
• These activities have definitive evidence to show that they produce results when implemented.

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• These activities need to be grounded in relevant research.

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Evidence-Based Practice Tiers

Tier 1: Strong Evidence: supported by one or more well-designed and well-implemented randomized control experimental studies.

Tier 2: Moderate Evidence: supported by one or more well-designed and well-implemented quasi-experimental studies.

Tier 3: Promising Evidence: supported by one or more well-designed and well-implemented correlational studies (with statistical controls for selection bias).

Tier 4: Demonstrates a Rationale: practices that have a well-defined logic model or theory of action, are supported by research, and have some effort underway by an SEA, LEA, or outside research organization to determine their effectiveness.

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Every Child Succeeds Act (ESSA)

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• Visible Learning MetaX
• Influence Glossary (developing common language)
• Connecticut State Department of Education
• Data-Based Intervention: DBI is intended to help a small subgroup of students who:
• Are not making adequate progress in their current intervention program (often, a Tier 2, evidence-based intervention)
• Are not meeting individualized education program (IEP) goals
• Have persistently low academic achievement
• Have high-intensity/frequency behavior

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• What Works Clearinghouse
• Evidence for ESSA

• Social and Emotional Learning Interventions Under ESSA: Evidence Review

Resources for Evidence-based Interventions (Practices & Programs)

Resources for EBI identification Practice(s):

Resources for EBI identification Program(s):

Resource for EBI identification Practices and Program(s) Crossover for Social Emotional Learning with Achievement ratings (shows ESSA Tiers):

Identifying Measures for Your Actions

As you develop you identify your evidence-based actions, determine how you will know your action is successful.

• What would a successful outcome look like at the end of the year?
• How will you know you are making progress towards that outcome?

Monitoring and Measuring

Monitoring and Measuring

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LCAP CSI Prompts

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Comprehensive Support and Improvement

Launchpad

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CSI and LCAP

In addition to developing and implementing a 2023–2024 CSI plan for each eligible CSI school, the LEA must complete the CSI Prompts located in the Plan Summary section of its LCAP.

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CSI Prompts in The Plan Summary of the LCAP

• SBE took action in January 2019 to address federal school-level planning requirements through the local accountability planning process and school planning process to support the goal of streamlining state and federal accountability requirements.
• Three CSI Prompts were added to the Plan Summary of the LCAP to serve as the mechanism by which the SBE approves CSI plans.
• COEs play a key role in helping the SBE approve CSI plans.

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CSI & LCAP: Plan Approval Requirements (1)

CSI plans are incorporated into the LCAP and SPSA processes to streamline federal requirements in ESSA.

• This is also an opportunity to discuss and review data, identified needs, and progress for the school/s/ with educational partners.
• As a result, it is critical that all LEAs with schools eligible for CSI complete the CSI Prompts within their LCAP.

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CSI & LCAP: Plan Approval Requirements (2)

• SMCOE will approve your LEA’s CSI plan/s/ by reviewing and approving the CSI Prompts within your LEA's LCAP.
• The SMCOE will provide a list of LEAs and the dates we approved the CSI Prompts to CDE who then submits it to the State Board of Education (SBE) for SEA approval.
• Historically, this happens at the January SBE meeting.

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Must SMCOE Approve CSI Plans for Charter Schools?

• Yes, Charter schools eligible for CSI will complete the CSI prompts in the Plan Summary section of the LCAP.
• The charter school will submit ONLY the Plan Summary section of the LCAP to SMCOE’s County Superintendent of Schools for review and approval
• Sharon Brown: Coordinator, District Improvement and Support Systems for District Improvement (SDI)
• sbrown@smcoe.org| 650.802.5354

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Required CSI Prompts

1. Schools Identified: A list of the school/s/ eligible for CSI.
2. Support for Identified Schools: Describe how the LEA has or will support eligible school/s/ in developing CSI plans.
3. Monitoring and Evaluating Effectiveness: Describe how the LEA will monitor and evaluate the implementation and effectiveness of the CSI plan to support student and school improvement.

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CSI Required LCAP Prompts for Single School Districts & Charter Schools

Single school districts and charter schools must complete the CSI prompts as applicable to meet the CSI requirements.

• Prompt 1 (Schools Identified) does not apply.
• Prompts 2 and 3 (Support for Identified Schools and Monitoring and Evaluating for Effectiveness) are not phrased for single-school districts and charter schools, however, completing these prompts are still required.

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Prompt 1: Identifying School(s) Within The LEA Identified for CSI

When responding to Prompt 1, keep the following in mind:

1. The requirement is to identify to education partners those schools eligible to receive CSI.
2. Use common, readily identifiable name for each school.
3. Use of identifiers, such as a CDS code, which are not readily understood by educational partners, does not meet the requirement.
1. Note: For single school districts & charter schools this section may either identify the school or be marked N/A.

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SMCOE: Reviewing Response To Prompt 1

Guiding Questions:

1. Are the common, readily identifiable names used for each school?
2. Are identifiers, such as CDS code, avoided?
3. Is the list complete and correct according to the list provided to the COE by the CDE?

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Prompt 2: Describe How The LEA Is Supporting The Identified Schools To Develop The CSI Plans (1)

Remember: The CSI plan must be developed in partnership with educational partners and:

1. Be informed by all State indicators, including student performance against State-determined long-term goals;
2. Be based on a school-level needs assessment;
3. Include evidence-based interventions; and
4. ID resource inequities, which may include a review of LEA- & school-level budgets, & address inequities through implementation of the plan.

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Prompt 2: Describe How The LEA Is Supporting The Identified Schools To Develop The CSI Plans (2)

At a minimum, a description of the LEA's process for developing CSI plans:

1. Describe the LEA’s planning and support processes to schools, including the LEA’s improvement model, frameworks, requirements, and/or evidence-based strategies used to develop CSI plans.
2. Include a discussion of the LEA's local context and its process for engaging educational partners and schools in evidence- based planning and decision making.

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Prompt 2: Describe How The LEA Is Supporting The Identified Schools To Develop The CSI Plans (3)

At a minimum, include a description of the LEA's process for developing CSI plans:

• Describe educational partner groups that were included and how the LEA used their feedback to develop the CSI plan.
• Describe the LEA's needs assessment, including the type(s) of data and information that were examined and how these

data informed development of the CSI plan.

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Prompt 2: Describe How The LEA Is Supporting The Identified Schools To Develop The CSI Plans (4)

At a minimum, include a description of the LEA's process for developing CSI plans:

1. Include a brief description of how evidence-based interventions were identified and selected, including a discussion of the LEA's process to match the selected interventions with the identified needs and address the reasons for identification.

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Prompt 2: Describe How The LEA Is Supporting The Identified Schools To Develop The CSI Plans (5)

At a minimum, include a description of the LEA's process for developing CSI plans:

• Describe the way(s) in which the LEA identified resource inequities and how resource inequities are being addressed through implementation of the CSI plan.
• Consider including a discussion of the types of resource inequities identified.

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SMCOE’s: Reviewing Response To Prompt 2 (1)

Guiding Question:

• Did the LEA include details that illustrate how the CSI plan was developed using a needs assessment with education partner engagement and informed by all State indicators?
• Did the LEA include explanations regarding how evidence- based interventions were identified and selected as well as resource inequities identified?
• Are the processes that LEAs used to support schools described with sufficient detail, including any improvement models, frameworks, and/or evidence-based strategies?

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SMCOE’s: Reviewing Response To Prompt 2 (2)

Guiding Question:

• Did LEA discuss local context & process for engaging education partners & schools in evidence-based planning & decision-making?
• Did LEA describe educational partner groups & how the LEA used its feedback to develop the CSI plan?
• Is the needs assessment described including the type(s) of data & information that were examined & how data informed development of the CSI plan?

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Prompt 3: How will the LEA Monitor & Evaluate the Implementation & Effectiveness of the CSI Plan to Support Student & School Improvement (1)

At a minimum: a description of the LEA's process for continuous improvement:

1. Describe the LEA’s process for monitoring and evaluating implementation of the CSI plan, including how the LEA is monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of the selected evidence-based interventions to improve student outcomes.

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Prompt 3 (Continued)

At a minimum: a description of the LEA's process for continuous improvement:

1. Describe types of data & information LEA is collecting & analyzing to inform ongoing decision making.
2. Describe how the LEA is partnering with educational partners to monitor & evaluate implementation & effectiveness of CSI plan.
3. Include a description of supports, resources, services (e.g., Webinar, guidebook, training, coaching, forums, etc.) the LEA is using to build school & education partner capacity for continuous improvement.

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SMCOEs: Reviewing Response To Prompt 3 (1)

Guiding Questions:

• Is there a detailed description of the LEA’s process for continuous improvement regarding how it will monitor & evaluate the effectiveness of evidence-based interventions?
• Are types of data & information included that the LEA will collect & analyze to inform ongoing decision making?
• Is there discussion included concerning how the LEA is partnering with education partners & using their feedback in monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of the CSI plan?
• Is there a clear & sufficient amount of detail describing the supports, resources, & services that the LEA is using to build school & educational partners capacity for continuous improvement?

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Important

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• If the responses to the prompts 2 and 3 state only that support was provided or that monitoring will take place without a description of the actual support provided or a description of processes to monitor and evaluate is conclusory, the response would not be sufficient.

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For more information, refer to the CSI Program Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) on the CDE CSI web page under the Technical Assistance tab located at https://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/sw/t1/csi.asp.

For additional information on the CSI prompts in the LCAP, please see pages 3 and 4 of the LCAP template instructions, located at

https://www.cde.ca.gov/re/lc/.

CSI and LCAP: Resources

SBE Process To Approve CSI Plans (1)

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What Does it Mean for a COE to Approve

CSI plans?

The COE approves LEA CSI plans through the review and approval process of the CSI prompts in the LEA LCAP.

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Closing - Q&A

Where to find additional support:

Program and ESSA Grant Related Support:

• Carrie Blanton cblanton@smcoe.org
• Sharon Brown sbrown@smcoe.org

Website Link:

• SMCOE CSI: Link

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Program and ESSA Grant Related Support:

• CSI Assistance and Information: Link
• ESSA CSI Grant Reporting Requirements

for LEAs: Link

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• CSI Webinar: Link
• SPSA: Link
• SSC: Link

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SMCOE

CDE Links

Appendix

Carrie Blanton & Sharon Brown

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03/15/2023

Launchpad

5 Why? Root Cause Analysis

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The 5 Why? Root Cause Analysis is a group brainstorming process. It works well if you are working with a larger team or group of stakeholders, In smaller groups it is sometimes more difficult to come up with a large number of responses to consider.

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• Ask the question, “Why is this problem happening?” and brainstorm responses.
• Go through the list and eliminate any responses that are assumptions.
• As a team select a response, from those that remain, that you agree is a primary cause for the problem.
• Repeat this questioning process up to five times, or until you are unable to generate responses.
• Look at each response that you selected and decide if each response is a concern, or an area you can control. (Concern refers to a contributing factor that is outside of your team’s ability to directly change. Control refers to contributing factors that are within your locus of control.)

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Force Field Analysis

This protocol is intended to help you better understand the forces that support and hinder your improvement efforts. This process can be used to focus a system investigation, or as a root cause analysis tool. It can easily be used with a group of 2-8 people. It is most effective with groups that know the context well and can speak to the supporting forces (assets that are available) and the restraining forces (barriers to improvement).

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• Individual brainstorm of supporting and restraining forces.
• Group share and clustering of supporting forces.
• Group share and clustering of restraining forces.
• Review the restraining forces and identify those that are within your locus of control. Review the supporting forces for possible levers your team may use to address the remaining restraining forces.

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Snowballing

The snowball method supports individual thinking and group collaboration by supporting a group through a repetitive brainstorming and refining process leading to group consensus. It is best used with small to medium groups (4 - 8 participants).

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• Individual Brainstorm
• Pair Share
• Quad Share
• Whole Group Share

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Fishbone Diagram

A Fishbone Diagram is a tool that can be used for a variety of purposes. One of these purposes is to use it to identify underlying factors or causes of a problem. A fishbone diagram is a way produce a visual representation of cause and effect. A fishbone diagram can be helpful by directing the team to look at that might not otherwise be considered categories and think of possible causes in each category. Participants should include individuals who have personal knowledge of the problem from multiple perspectives.

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• Individual Brainstorm
• Cluster and create categories
• Review for symptoms and assumptions
• Fill out the diagram
• Prioritize categories and causes

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Identifying Inequities

Attendance: The school learned that attendance rates for our low income students is 8% lower than attendance rates for all students. Student and parent surveys indicated that our low income students are required to take care of siblings and sick family members at higher levels than other student groups. The added familial responsibility prevents some students from attending school regularly, and increases their absentee rates which further leads to chronic absenteeism. Additionally, as a result of empathy interviews, our staff learned that when students believe that their absence will be noticed, they are more likely to attend school

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• Document that a needs assessment was done
• Possible root causes were surfaced
• There is specific data related to an inequities
• Further study to understand the problem (survey, empathy interview)

Addressing Inequities

Attendance: To address the inequity created by barriers related to school attendance that some of our low income students face, we have revised our attendance engagement program by providing more time for teachers to connect with families to build trusting relationships and to educate parents, students, and teachers on daily engagement best practices.

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Utilizing the evidence-based practices outlined in “The 4 Strategies of Execution,” (McChesney, Covey, and Huling, 2016) the school will meet weekly to review attendance data, develop ways to celebrate attendance successes with students and families, and help students develop weekly attendance goals.

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Additional Resources - Reflected in the budget

• Evidence-based practices named
• Stipends for teacher after school time
• Stipends and/or additional funds for parent engagement

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Identifying Inequities

Passing Rates: As a result of our needs assessment we learned that the students taking credit recovery classes are 7% more likely to be English Learners than our other student groups, and that our English Learners in credit recovery are more likely to fail in earning their credits for a class. Schoolwide parent and student surveys indicated that there is a feeling that teachers do not keep families of English Learners informed about classroom activities, course requirements, and school events. As a result of empathy interviews, we further learned that many of our English Learners taking credit recovery classes do not feel that they know how to be a successful student, and that they do not feel like their attendance matters.

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• Document that a needs assessment was done
• Possible root causes were surfaced
• There is specific data related to an inequities
• Further study to understand the problem (survey, empathy interview)

Addressing Inequities

Passing Rates: To address the inequity of our English Learners taking credit recovery classes and failing to earn their credits at higher rates, we anchored our change action to the research-based concept that there is a positive relationship between a parent’s involvement with their child’s education and the success of their student. Utilizing the strategy outlined in a field experiment published by the Harvard Kennedy School, we were able to recruit our credit recovery teachers, and community liaison, to complete a PDSA cycle of increasing communication with parents via texting; texts include positive comments and comments related to how students can improve. We recognize that this is not the only change action we need, and that we need to couple this actions with more SEL supports

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Additional Resources - Reflected in the budget

• Evidence-based practices named
• Stipends for teacher after school time
• Stipends and/or additional funds for parent engagement