Dear Superintendent:

Funding for Title 1 Schools Increased Sixfold

This summer, the funding available to districts for School Improvement will be dramatically increased – six-fold! With the passing of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), states will have access to approximately $1 billion for Title 1 grants and another $3.5 billion to carry out additional school improvement activities.

Focus on Measurable Outcomes through Professional Development

Both of these funds must be used in districts that serve the lowest-achieving schools to improve teaching and learning through strategies that include:

• Customized technical assistance or professional development designed to build the capacity of district and school staff
• Research-based strategies to change instructional practices to address the problems that caused the school to be identified for improvement
• Partnerships among the state, districts, and other entities to deliver technical assistance, professional development, and management advice
• Professional development to enhance the capacity of school support team members and other technical assistance providers who are part of the statewide system of support

Regardless of the chosen strategy, schools and school districts that receive funding must demonstrate the following measurable outcomes:

1. An increase in the number and percentage of students who score at the proficient level
2. Yearly progress towards and exit from School Improvement status
3. Administrators and faculty that use data to drive future decisions and continuous improvement

Over the last sixteen years, the UCLA School Management Program (SMP) has partnered with districts to use data and a continuous improvement model to increase the number of students that score at proficient levels and to help schools exit School Improvement status.

UCLA SMP’s Model of Data-Driven Continuous Improvement

All of UCLA SMP’s off-site professional development programs and on-site coaching initiatives are based on a formal appreciative model called the Continuous Cycle of Instructional Inquiry and Improvement. The cycle of inquiry grounds professional development throughout the organization in questions about practice based on short- and long-term student data. The appreciative processes, which use student achievement successes as the basis for planning, foster the experimentation that leads to innovative educational practice.

In our endeavors, UCLA SMP teaches administrators and faculty members to systematically identify desired goals for student and school improvement, examine current reality, and build on areas of strength. Educators learn how to use data from multiple sources to inform their decision making about schedules, structures, content, and pedagogy that have the promise of improving the educational experience of their students. They not only develop better assessments that reveal what their students understand and are able to do, but they also build an accurate picture of the strengths and challenges of their school’s instructional program and of individual students.

Our Results: Improved Student Achievement and Exit from SI Status

UCLA SMP has worked with more than 800 preK-12 schools and districts throughout California. Evaluations of our work have shown improvements in leadership, management, strategic planning, use of research-based instructional strategies, creation of inclusive school environments, and support for the high achievement of all students.

Student data shows the significant impact of our efforts in terms of improved student achievement. From 2002-03 to 2006-07, schools with 15 or more faculty participating in one of UCLA SMP’s programs had 67 percent higher growth in their Academic Performance Index scores than those schools with no participating faculty. Similarly, schools in which 15 or more educators attended a Bridges to Understanding Institute had 82 percent higher API growth from 2002-03 to 2006-07 than those schools with no participating faculty.

Moreover, a number of schools with where we have had comprehensive contracts have exited School Improvement status as a result of UCLA SMP’s professional development program.

Contact Us Now to Get Started.

If you would like to discuss how ARRA funding could potentially impact your district, using UCLA SMP to enhance your efforts to achieve student achievement, please do not hesitate to contact me at dchernow@smp.gseis.ucla.edu or (310) 825-2488. 

Sincerely,

Dan Chernow, EdD
Executive Director

P.S. Additional information on UCLA SMP is available on our website: http://www.smp.gseis.ucla.edu