Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) and Accountability Information Session: Parent/Guardian Communications, NCLB School Choice and SES August 17, :00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m. Kenneth Klau, Accountability Coordinator

2 Overview AYP and MCAS Reporting Timeline General Parent/Guardian Communication Requirements NCLB School Choice Supplemental Educational Services (SES) Funding for Choice-related Transportation and SES Where to Go for More Information

3 AYP and MCAS Reporting Timeline August 6-12: MCAS and AYP discrepancy review window August 11: Notice sent to superintendents and principals whose district and schools the Department expects to identify for improvement, corrective action, or restructuring based on preliminary 2010 AYP data September 8: Official AYP Reports posted to security portal for school and district review September 9: Public release of Official AYP and MCAS results September 9: AYP teleconference held to assist superintendents and principals in understanding their NCLB Accountability Status, state Level designation, and required actions September 17: Drive-in AYP information session at Marlborough High School

4 Parent/Guardian Communications General Requirements When a school is identified for improvement, corrective action, or restructuring, the district must promptly provide parents or guardians of each student enrolled in the school an explanation of what the identification means, the reason(s) for the identification, what the district and school is doing to address the problem of low achievement, how parents/guardians can become involved in addressing the academic issues that led to identification, and – for Title I schools – information on NCLB School Choice and supplemental educational services (SES). When the district is identified for improvement or corrective action, the district must promptly notify the parents of each student enrolled in the schools served by the district. In the notification, the district must explain the reasons for the identification, how parents can participate in improving the district, and what corrective actions the district will take to improve student performance.

5 NCLB School Choice The district must give parents of all students enrolled in Title I schools identified for improvement, in corrective action, or in restructuring the choice of two schools in the district that are not identified for improvement, in corrective action, or in restructuring to which such parents may transfer their children. The choices may include non-Title I schools that are not identified for improvement, in corrective action, or in restructuring. These choices must include non-Title I schools if less than two Title I schools not identified for improvement, in corrective action, or in restructuring are available as transfer options. The district must ensure that parents/guardians are notified in writing of the option to exercise choice at least 14 days prior to the start of the school year.

6 NCLB School Choice (Continued) The notification must: Be in a comprehensive, easy-to-understand format and, to the extent practicable, in a language the parents can understand; Inform parents that their child is eligible to attend another public school due to the identification of the current school as in need of improvement; Describe the districts policy for funding choice-related transportation costs. For instance, students whose parents/guardians exercised the choice option one year may remain enrolled in the new school the next year, even if the sending school is no longer identified for improvement, corrective action, or restructuring. However, districts are not required to pay for choice-related transportation beyond the period in which the sending school is identified for improvement, corrective action, or restructuring; Name each public school that the parent can select; Include information on the academic achievement of the schools that the parent may select; and Include an explanation of why the choices made available to parents may have been limited.

7 NCLB School Choice (Continued) Additional Information This notice, along with related district policies, may be incorporated into other back-to-school communications if appropriate. To the extent practicable, districts must inform parents/guardians of arrangements with neighboring districts to accept students who wish to transfer if the district cannot offer receiving schools not in improvement status at the appropriate grade level(s). If necessary, districts may prioritize students with low student performance from low-income families who wish to transfer. Districts are required to maintain documentation of attempts to enter into arrangements with neighboring districts and make that documentation available for review by parents/guardians or the Department. NCLB Choice does not apply to charter schools or regional vocational technical schools; however, parents must still be notified in writing that because their childs school is a school of choice, they have the option of sending their child to another school.

8 Supplemental Educational Services (SES) Districts must make supplemental educational services (free tutoring in the areas of math, reading, language arts, and science) available to low-income students in Title I schools identified for improvement (year 2), corrective action, or restructuring from a provider approved by the Department. Parents of eligible students must be informed in writing at the beginning of the school year of the continuing status of the school and of the availability of services for their child. This notification must: Be in a comprehensive, easy-to-understand format and, to the extent practicable, in a language the parents can understand; Identify each approved service provider in or near the district able to serve; Describe the services, qualifications and evidence of effectiveness for each provider; Describe the procedures and timelines parents must follow in selecting a provider, including contact information; and Prioritize eligible students with low student performance if needed.

9 Supplemental Educational Services (SES) Arranging for Services At the beginning of the year, parents/guardians of eligible students are notified by the district of the availability of SES, along with a list of providers approved by the Department to serve the district and information about the enrollment process. Parents/guardians may select any approved provider that they feel will best meet their childs academic needs. With parental input, the district will then develop an SES Student Learning Plan with the provider, and the provider will provide services to the child and report on the childs progress to the parents and to the district. A list of approved providers and a search tool for finding providers by district, subject area, grade, or keyword may be accessed from

10 Supplemental Educational Services (SES) Each year, a district with schools required to provide SES must: Reserve funds for SES on Title I grant application Determine how many students can be served Develop enrollment and outreach policies Develop contracts/agreements with providers that specify billing procedures and other logistics Notify parents and conduct community outreach, including provider fairs Develop SES Student Learning Plans with providers selected by the parents/guardians of eligible students with input from the students teacher, the provider, and parents/guardians Display SES data on the districts website Work in partnership with providers to monitor the implementation of SES Ensure communication on students progress between the parents, the provider, and the students teacher Report SES data to the Department

11 Funding for Choice-related Transportation and SES Each school district shall reserve up to an amount equal to 20 percent of its Title I, Part A allocation, from which the district shall spend: An amount equal to 5 percent for choice-related transportation; An amount equal to 5 percent to provide SES; and An amount equal to the remaining 10 percent for choice-related transportation, SES, or both, as the district determines. The district shall spend these sums unless a lesser amount is needed to meet demand for choice-related transportation and to satisfy all requests for SES. An amount equal to means that the funds required to pay the costs of choice-related transportation and SES need not come from Title I, Part A allocations, but may be provided from other Federal, State, local, and private sources. A district may spend an amount exceeding 20 percent of its Title I, Part A allocation if additional funds are needed to meet all demands for choice-related transportation and SES. The district may spend up to 1 percent of its 20 percent obligation on parent outreach and assistance.

12 Choice-related Transportation and SES Unspent Funds If the district intends to spend less than the amount needed to meet its 20 percent obligation on choice-relation transportation and SES in a given school year, it must meet the following criteria: The district must partner, to the extent practicable, with outside groups to help inform eligible students and their families of the opportunities to transfer or to receive SES; The district must ensure that eligible students and their parents had a genuine opportunity to sign up to transfer or to obtain SES, including offering two enrollment windows at separate points in the school year; The district must ensure that eligible supplemental educational services providers were given access to school facilities using a fair, open, and objective process, on the same basis and terms as are available to other groups that seek access to school facilities; and The district must maintain records that it has met these criteria. We would not expect the district to notify the Department of its intention to amend its FY11 Title I grant to use funds reserved for choice-related transportation and SES for other allowable activities prior to December 2010.

13 Where to Go for More Information | | Sample notification letters for NCLB Accountability Status, NCLB School Choice, and SES are all available on the Title I Monitoring webpage at as well as from their respective web pages: NCLB School Choice: SES: School and District NCLB Accountability Status and Required Action: School Leader's Guide to the 2010 Accountability Reports: Technical Assistance Handbook for District Administrators & SES Providers: For a list of all accountability-related federal guidance, type guidance into the ESE search box at