1. Lessons from Virginia: Growing a System of Support for
Capacity Building
Indistar® Summit III
April 10, 2013
Yvonne A. Holloman, Ph.D.
Associate Director
Office of School Improvement
Virginia Department of Education

2. School Designation Type of OSI Support
The Virginia Department of Education’s Office of School Improvement (OSI) is responsible for supporting schools that do not meet requirements per the Regulations Establishing Standards for Accrediting Public Schools in Virginia and/or the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) flexibility waiver requirements.
School Designation
Type of OSI Support
Accredited with Warning
Academic Review visits
Regional high school liaisons
Indistar® Web-based improvement planning tool
Differentiated Technical Assistance
Conditionally Accredited
Alternate Governance Committees
Indistar® Web-based improvement planning tool
Focus Schools
Division liaisons
Differentiated Technical Assistance
School Improvement Grants (SIG) Recipients – Priority Schools
Lead turnaround partner (LTP) facilitators
Title I and non-Title I Schools that did not meet an annual measurable objective
523 schools representing 106 school divisions are currently using the
Indistar® Web-based planning tool.

3. One set of indicators will not meet the varied needs of
Lesson #1
One set of indicators will not meet the varied needs of
low-performing schools.

4. The OSI has collaborated with the Center on Innovations in Learning (CIL) to create specialized sets of indicators. Each set of indicators is designed to meet the needs of specific groups of schools.
Elementary and middle schools that did not meet a state and/or federal benchmark
Priority schools and School Improvement Grant (SIG) schools
FY 2009 SIG recipients
High schools that did not meet state and/or federal benchmarks
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5. Lesson #2
Although school teams need autonomy in selecting indicators, the state educational agency should provide guidance.

6. Targeted Intervention Indicators
All schools required to complete an improvement plan using the Indistar® Web-based planning tool must include the following targeted intervention indicators.
TA01
The school uses an identification process (including ongoing conversations with instructional leadership teams and data points to be used) for all students at risk of failing or in need of targeted interventions.
TA02
The school uses a tiered, differentiated intervention process to assign research-based interventions aligned with the individual needs of identified students (the process includes a description of how interventions are selected and assigned to students as well as the frequency and duration of interventions for Tier 2 and Tier 3 students).
TA03
The school uses a monitoring process (including a multidisciplinary team that meets regularly to review student intervention outcome data and identifies “triggers” and next steps for unsuccessful interventions) for targeted intervention students to ensure fidelity and effectiveness.
Display the list of indicators

7. He is a third-grade student at Happy Hills Elementary which has been
identified as a focus school based on Proficiency Gap Group 2.
Based on the Happy Town adaptive reading assessment, he has
been identified for Tier 2 interventions.
The results of the Happy Town mathematics diagnostic assessment
indicate that he needs Tier 3 interventions.
His teacher provides him with the following research-based
interventions included in his Individualized Intervention Plan (IIP):
Roaring Reader intervention program – small group lessons led
by his classroom teacher 3 to 4 days per week during the 120
minute language arts block.
Small group math lessons led by his teacher 3 to 4 days per week
and minutes per day on the Magnificent Math computer
adaptive program.
On a monthly basis, his teacher meets with the administrative team to
analyze his intervention data and review work samples.
On a quarterly basis, the student support team meets with his teacher
and mother to review his response to interventions included in his IIP.
On a quarterly basis, his principal shares the results of all Tier 2 and
Tier 3 students with the division leadership team.
Meet Evan
TA01
TA02
TA03

8. Lesson #3
A division leadership team’s improvement efforts must be intentional and congruent with the indicators selected by the school.

9. Division Leadership Teams
Local education agencies with identified low-performing schools are required to convene a division leadership team comprised of administrators and other key staff representing:
Title I
Instruction
Special education
English language learners
Identified principals
The division leadership team is tasked with developing, implementing, and monitoring an improvement plan aligned with the needs of its lowest-performing schools.

10. Question: What district improvement indicators could the
Happy Hills Elementary School is identified as a focus school due to Proficiency Gap Group 1. The school improvement team identified a need for teachers to plan units of instruction in reading based on student data. As a result, the following rapid improvement school indicator was selected for inclusion in the school improvement plan:
ID13 – Instructional teams meet for blocks of time (4 to 6 hour blocks, once a month; whole days before and after the school year) sufficient to develop and refine units of instruction and review student learning data.
Show worksheet and sample district plan
Question: What district improvement indicators could the
Happy Hills division leadership team include in
their improvement plan to support the school’s
selected indicator?

11. Sample Worksheet for Aligning
Division- and School-Level Improvement Plans

12. Lesson #4
Division- and school-level teams must continually analyze data associated with their respective improvement plans, and use this information to make informed decisions regarding instruction and revision to tasks.

13. Decisions Division School Indistar Data Focus Questions
Division leadership teams meet with school leadership teams to review data related to tasks included in the division- and school-level improvement plans as well as the data included in the Virginia Department of Education-approved data query system. These data will be used to revise the plans as appropriate. Decisions made as a result of these discussions must be entered into the meeting minutes for the division leadership team.
Focus Questions
Based on the data, what school-level tasks were successful? Division-level tasks?
Based on the data, what are the major areas of concern for students who received Tier 2 interventions in reading? In mathematics?
Based on the data, what are the major areas of concern for students who received Tier 3 interventions in reading? In mathematics?
Based on the data, what are the major areas of concern for students representing the identified proficiency gap groups?
What additional support is needed from the division to support intervention efforts for Tier 2 and Tier 3 students?
6) What tasks need to be added, revised, or discontinued in the school-level plan? Division-level plan?
School
Division
Data +
Discussions
Decisions =
Continuous
Improvement
Decisions
Display pages of the focus school guide
Indistar
Data

14. Lesson #5
The Indistar® Web-based planning tool should be the “one-stop shop” for improvement planning and other requirements.

15. How does Virginia use Indistar® to support its ESEA flexibility waiver requirements?

16. Answers: Indistar® is the required improvement
planning tool for identified focus and
priority schools as well as any Title I
school that did not meet an annual
measurable objective.
The division- and school-level plans will be
the key to monitoring each local educational
agency’s compliance with the ESEA
flexibility waiver provisions. In Virginia, both
plans are submitted via the Indistar®
Dashboard.
All required documents for focus and
priority schools are maintained on the
Indistar® Dashboard. Examples include:
Meeting agendas and minutes
Leading and lagging indicator reports
Data query system approval forms

17. The Indistar® Web-based planning tool serves as a “one-stop shop” for Virginia schools that are receiving services from the Office of School Improvement.
A variety of essential reporting documents are posted on the dashboard for school and division leadership teams to use.
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18. School and division leadership teams submit the required reporting documents via the Indistar® Dashboard.
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19. Additional documents to help school and division leadership teams with developing and implementing their improvement plans are posted under the tab, “Doc and Links”.

20. If you build it, they will come!
Lesson #6
If you build it, they will come!

21. Good News Travels Fast! Thirteen (13) Virginia school divisions
are using Indistar® on a voluntary basis.