Region at a Glance

» Winter 2007: Building Strong Districts

State Support for Districts by Richard Greenough and Bracken Reed

NCLB requires all states to develop statewide systems of support to help both schools and districts in need of improvement. All Northwest states are currently implementing or developing a variety of projects to meet that requirement. What follows is a brief list of some of those projects. This is not a complete list of each state’s efforts, nor is it meant to compare one state to another.

ALASKA

School support teams conduct instructional audits of all schools and districts in need of improvement
Alaska Reading Course—a professional development program
Teacher Mentoring Program
Principal Coaching Project
Personalized technical assistance provided to principals and superintendents in schools and districts that are in corrective action status

OREGON

Regional School Improvement Coordinators (RSIC) serve as external facilitators for schools in need of improvement and also establish school support teams
The coordinator guides the school improvement team for two years via weekly site visits
Distinguished educators serve as RSICs and/or as members of the school support team
Summer literacy and leadership institutes for school support teams

MONTANA

School support team uses a scholastic review tool to audit schools and district in restructuring status
School support team includes distinguished educators
Audits include regularly scheduled follow-ups by the team leader
High-Priority Schools Institutes in core curricular areas, with follow-up
Montana Mentor Project for all districts in improvement status—includes the principals, superintendent, and school board

IDAHO

School support teams are made up of distinguished educators
Teams conduct the Principal Academy of Leadership (PAL)
Follow-up includes monthly coaching for principals and ongoing support from distinguished educators
Teams use the Instructional Review and Surveys of Enacted Curriculum tools as part of the PAL
Schoolwide Solutions Teams
Reading academies based on the tenets of Reading First for all Title IA teachers and paraeducators
Idaho Math Academies to be implemented in 2006–2007
Instructional Coaching Framework
Personalized and customized technical assistance to districts
Continuous improvement planning Plan Builder tool
Recognition of distinguished schools
Funding: $300 per student for remediation and/or professional development to schools identified for improvement

WASHINGTON

Washington state began its assistance program prior to NCLB and has adapted that support system to the requirements of the new legislation
School support teams
Educational Audit tool is used by schools to create and implement school improvement plans
School improvement facilitators are matched to the needs of each school and work with that school for a three-year improvement period
Distinguished educators participate on audit teams and/or as facilitators
District improvement facilitators serve as superintendent/district leadership mentors for a three-year improvement period
Written performance agreements are drawn up between the school in need of improvement, the district, and the state
Principal Mentoring Project in collaboration with the Association of Washington School Principals
Ongoing, transitional fourth-year support is offered as needed; for example, extended coaching time, planning time, and professional development
State Title I Distinguished School Award includes a $2,500 grant
National Title I Distinguished School Award includes a $5,000 grant

This Issue's Table of Contents

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skip navigational links Northwest Education Winter 2007 / Volume 12, Number 2. Home Archives » Winter 2007: Building Strong Districts
	region at a glance State Support for Districts by Richard Greenough and Bracken Reed NCLB requires all states to develop statewide systems of support to help both schools and districts in need of improvement. All Northwest states are currently implementing or developing a variety of projects to meet that requirement. What follows is a brief list of some of those projects. This is not a complete list of each state’s efforts, nor is it meant to compare one state to another. ALASKA School support teams conduct instructional audits of all schools and districts in need of improvement Alaska Reading Course—a professional development program Teacher Mentoring Program Principal Coaching Project Personalized technical assistance provided to principals and superintendents in schools and districts that are in corrective action status OREGON Regional School Improvement Coordinators (RSIC) serve as external facilitators for schools in need of improvement and also establish school support teams The coordinator guides the school improvement team for two years via weekly site visits Distinguished educators serve as RSICs and/or as members of the school support team Summer literacy and leadership institutes for school support teams MONTANA School support team uses a scholastic review tool to audit schools and district in restructuring status School support team includes distinguished educators Audits include regularly scheduled follow-ups by the team leader High-Priority Schools Institutes in core curricular areas, with follow-up Montana Mentor Project for all districts in improvement status—includes the principals, superintendent, and school board IDAHO School support teams are made up of distinguished educators Teams conduct the Principal Academy of Leadership (PAL) Follow-up includes monthly coaching for principals and ongoing support from distinguished educators Teams use the Instructional Review and Surveys of Enacted Curriculum tools as part of the PAL Schoolwide Solutions Teams Reading academies based on the tenets of Reading First for all Title IA teachers and paraeducators Idaho Math Academies to be implemented in 2006–2007 Instructional Coaching Framework Personalized and customized technical assistance to districts Continuous improvement planning Plan Builder tool Recognition of distinguished schools Funding: $300 per student for remediation and/or professional development to schools identified for improvement WASHINGTON Washington state began its assistance program prior to NCLB and has adapted that support system to the requirements of the new legislation School support teams Educational Audit tool is used by schools to create and implement school improvement plans School improvement facilitators are matched to the needs of each school and work with that school for a three-year improvement period Distinguished educators participate on audit teams and/or as facilitators District improvement facilitators serve as superintendent/district leadership mentors for a three-year improvement period Written performance agreements are drawn up between the school in need of improvement, the district, and the state Principal Mentoring Project in collaboration with the Association of Washington School Principals Ongoing, transitional fourth-year support is offered as needed; for example, extended coaching time, planning time, and professional development State Title I Distinguished School Award includes a $2,500 grant National Title I Distinguished School Award includes a $5,000 grant
This Issue's Table of Contents Northwest Education is a product of the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory. It is available online in both PDF and HTML versions. Look for Web exclusives, marked with		View PDF (1p, 210K) Print this Article Write the Editors

Northwest Education

Winter 2007 / Volume 12, Number 2.