NORTHWEST
EDUCATION
Building Strong Districts
Winter 2007 / Volume 12, Number 2.
A publication of the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory
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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