1. Planning with a Comprehensive Needs Assessment
Jacki - intro
2016 ESEA Directors Institute
August 24, 2016

2. Renee Palakovic Director of Planning Division of Consolidated Planning & Monitoring (615)

3. Objectives

4. Objectives 2016-17 school planning deadlines and changes
What does a comprehensive needs assessment look like?
Identifying and prioritizing needs
Creation of goals, strategies, and action steps
Required school-wide plan components
Required targeted assistance plan components
Important planning contacts

5. 2016-17 Planning Deadlines & Changes

6. 2016-17 Planning Deadlines Sept. 30 LEAs submit LEA plans in ePlan
Oct. 31
LEA plans reviewed and approved by CORE
Nov. 15
Schools submit school plans in ePlan
All schools must enter a school plan in ePlan
Dec. 15
School plans reviewed and approved by LEA
All school plans must be approved by the LEA in ePlan

7. Changes to School Planning Tool 2016-17
New data available
Human capital
Chronic absenteeism
Embedded data
Entire reports in LEA Document Library
New questions
RTI2 implementation
Technology access and use
Professional development
Family and community engagement
Needs assessment is no longer public information
Sections updated, streamlined, and clarified

8. Comprehensive Needs Assessment

9. What is a needs assessment?
First, what is a need?
A discrepancy or gap between “what is” and “what should be”
A needs assessment is a systematic set of procedures used to determine needs, examine the nature and root causes, and set priorities for action.
What is
What should be
Need
40% of third grade economically disadvantaged students are proficient in ELA
100% of third grade economically disadvantaged students are proficient in ELA
Remaining 60% of third grade economically disadvantaged students must reach proficiency in ELA

10. Comprehensive Needs Assessment
An assessment that takes into account all parts of the whole, not just one targeted aspect or group
Data analysis includes:
Student academic performance
Staff characteristics
School climate and culture
Family and community engagement
Centerpiece of the planning process
Conducted by a school planning team
Broad representation among team members
Reveals the priority needs in which the plan will focus and where resources will be allocated

11. Determining Prioritized Needs
Things to consider when determining the 3-5 priority needs to be addressed by the plan:
Magnitude of difference between “what is” and “what should be”
Causes and contributing factors to the need
Degree of difficulty in addressing the need
Consequences of not addressing the need immediately
Effects on other areas if the need is not met
Cost of implementing strategies to address the need
Need
Cause(s)
Consequences of Not Addressing
Difficulty to Correct (low, medium, high)
Priority

12. Determining Prioritized Needs
Planning team must clearly understand why the need exists in order to address it.
What factors contribute to the need?
What stands in the way of meeting the need?
Priority needs should be things that can be reasonably addressed in the coming year.

13. Goals, Strategies, & Action Steps

14. Goals, Strategies, and Action Steps
The goals are based on “What should be.”
Should be SMART (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Timely)
Break down the need into smaller chunks
Aim high, but don’t set yourself up for failure
Strategies are the solutions that the planning team believes will best address the prioritized needs.
Need represents the gap between “what is” and “what should be”
Strategy is a plan of action designed to achieve the goal
Game plan, grand design, master plan

15. Goals, Strategies, & Action Steps
Action steps are the “verb” in the plan:
Concrete
Causes change
Can be measured

16. Goals, Strategies, & Action Steps in ePlan
In order to align LEA and school plans:
Schools inherit goals and strategies from the LEA.
Schools can extend LEA goals and strategies to allow a connection to school-specific needs.
Goals and strategies can be marked “Not Applicable.”
Action steps require:
Description that supports the strategy
Benchmark(s) indicators
Person responsible
Estimated completion date
Action steps can be linked to:
Funding source(s)
Plan component(s)

17. Required School-wide Plan Components

18. Ten School-wide Plan Components
Comprehensive needs assessment
School reform strategies
Instruction by highly effective teachers
Professional development
Strategies to attract highly effective teachers
Strategies to increase parent engagement/involvement
Strategies for transition to elementary school
Teachers included in assessment decisions
Effective, timely assistance to students experiencing difficulty attaining proficiency
Coordination of federal, state, and local services

19. School-wide Reform Strategies
Effective practices that strengthen the core academic program and address learning needs of all students:
RTI2
Extended learning time
Flexible grouping
Increasing the length of the school day/year
Technology as a learning tool
Pre-K programs
Curriculum mapping to align to academic standards

20. Instruction by Effective Teachers
Highly qualified teacher requirements are no longer required by federal law in
TDOE will develop its definition of a highly effective teacher as part of the consolidated state plan required by ESSA.
School plans should still address:
Incentives for continuing education
Teacher mentoring programs
Frequent teacher observations
Master teachers
New teacher induction programs
Policies and procedures to ensure equity of assignment of new and low performing teachers

21. Professional Development
Professional development must be sustained, high-quality, and ongoing:
Professional development calendar
Built in time for regular teacher collaboration and planning
Book study groups, PLCs
Allow attendance at relevant conferences and workshops
Rotating substitutes to allow teachers to attend meetings
Monitoring for implementation of strategies in classrooms
Must address the priority needs identified through the needs assessment
Extends, as appropriate, to principals, paraprofessionals, and parents

22. Attracting Highly Effective Teachers
Plans must describe the strategies to be implemented to attract and retain highly effective teachers:
Broad range of advertisement when teachers are needed
Partnership(s) with colleges and universities
Mentoring programs
Salary incentives
Hard to staff positions
Teaching at low-performing schools
Additional certifications
Attendance at job fairs
Support to teachers to complete graduate coursework

23. Family & Community Engagement/Involvement
Family and community engagement/involvement is regular, two-way, meaningful communication regarding student academic learning and school activities:
Regular communication home to parents in a language and format easily understood
Inclusion of parents in planning teams
Face-to-face parent/teacher interactions
Meetings at times convenient for parents and families
Information to parents regarding effective ways to promote learning at home
Parent involvement policies and parent compacts

24. Transition Strategies
Plans and strategies to assist preschool students in the successful transition from early childhood programs to elementary programs:
Aligning preschool programs with elementary curriculum
Supporting parents in providing learning experiences at home
Coordination of preschool and elementary professional development
Classroom visits for teachers between preschool and elementary
Communication regarding student needs and sharing of portfolios with future kindergarten teachers

25. Teacher Inclusion in Assessment Decisions
Schools should include teachers in decisions regarding the use of academic assessments in order to improve instruction:
Opportunities for teachers to work together to develop student assessments
Regular time for teacher collaboration and evaluation of student assessments
Professional development for teachers regarding effective assessment and data analysis
Teachers as active members of school-wide planning team and other data teams

26. Students Experiencing Difficulty
Timely assistance must be provided to students who have difficulty attaining proficient and advanced levels of academic achievement:
RTI2 (tiered interventions)
Extended learning activities
Computer assisted learning programs
School counseling services
Small group instruction
Flexible grouping
Professional development for effective strategies
Parent assistance for obtaining outside services (counseling, mentoring programs, etc.)

27. Coordination/Integration of Services
Effective school-wide programs utilize the flexibility available to integrate services and programs to upgrade the entire educational program to help ALL students be successful:
Consolidation of funds into a single pool (blending of funds)
Braiding of funds to ensure coordination of services
Evidence of communication and collaboration across programs within the school:
Title programs
Nutrition programs
Homeless liaison
Parent engagement coordinator
Preschool programs

28. Required Targeted Assistance Plan Components

29. Eight Targeted Assistance Plan Components
Use Title I resources to assist participating children to meet academic achievement standards.
Incorporate planning for targeted students into existing school planning process.
Use effective methods and instructional strategies that:
provide extended learning time;
provide accelerated, high-quality curriculum; and
minimize removal of children from regular classroom.

30. Eight Targeted Assistance Plan Components
Coordinate with and support regular education program, which may include transition services for preschool children.
Provide instruction by highly effective staff.
Provide opportunities for professional development with Title I funds.
Incorporate strategies to increase parent involvement.
Coordination of federal, state, and local services.

31. Important Planning Contacts
School Plan Process Questions
Technical Assistance for School Plans
(Northwest)
(Upper Cumberland)
(First Tennessee)
(South Central)
(East)
(Southwest)
ePlan Help

32. Questions

34. Notifications can also be submitted electronically at:
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