1. Alabama State Department of Education Federal Programs FY 2011 FY 2011 SIG Application Technical Assistance Session

2. Technical Assistance Mini-Webinar This is the second of a series of technical assistance mini-webinars for LEAs/schools applying for FY 2011 School Improvement Grant funds. The purpose of the technical assistance mini-webinar is to provide a transparent approach to addressing questions and inquiries regarding the SIG application process.

3. Technical Assistance Mini-Webinar These sessions are developed from individual questions and inquiries from Alabama LEA and school personnel developing SIG Tier I, Tier II and Tier III Applications. These sessions do not take the place of individual questions or inquiries, so please feel free to contact the SIG coordinators with additional questions or inquiries not covered in this and upcoming sessions.

4. Reference Handouts As a reference for questions and inquiries addressed in this session, participants should have the following handouts: SIG Guidance February 23, 2011 – USDOE Web site SIG Guidance February 23, 2011 SIG Final Requirements – USDOE or ALSDE Web sites SIG Final Requirements

5. Questions Answered in This Session Can an LEA opt to submit an application for a Tier III school, even though it has a Tier I and/or a Tier II school for which it chooses not to submit an application? Does the turnaround model have an option where a school may “start over” in its school improvement timeline? What will happen to the C-BAM evaluation protocol? Are District Grant Coaches still a part of choosing the transformation model?

6. Questions Answered in This Session Can an LEA opt to submit an application for a Tier III school, even though it has a Tier I and/or a Tier II school for which it chooses not to submit an application? To get a accurate answer to this question, please reference the SIG Guidance, dated February 23, 2011, sections H-6 to H-13. The chart on pages 59-60 are very helpful. Also, review page 25 of the SIG Information Webinar Presentation dated March 10, 2011.

7. Questions Answered in This Session Does the turnaround model have an option where a school may “start over” in its school improvement timeline? The School Improvement timeline waiver allows a Tier I or Tier II Title I school implementing the a turnaround or restart models to “start over” in the school improvement timeline. Note that Tier I and Tier II school that do not receive Title I, Part A funds are not subject to the school improvement timeline in section 1116(b)(12) and therefore do not need the benefit of a waiver. Please reference the SIG Guidance, February 23, 2011, sections G-4 and G-4a.

8. Questions Answered in This Session What will happen to the C-BAM evaluation protocol? We are in the process of field testing C-BAM with the FY 2010 SIG grantees. Although the C-BAM evaluation is extremely effective in gathering results, the model’s time of commitment is a bit cumbersome for the SIG Final Requirements, processes, and procedures that are in practice. For this reason, we will field test another model to appropriately compare the results.

9. Questions Answered in This Session Are District Grant Coaches still a part of choosing the transformation model? District grant coaches will not be a part of choosing the transformation model this year. We are replacing the district grant coaches with a Progress Monitoring Specialist that will only monitor the progress of SIG implementation along the lines of the Final Requirements, SIG Guidance dated February 23, 2011, Annual Goals and Leading Indicators, and other assignments that may become required, recommended, or suggested by the USDOE or the SDE.

10. Technical Assistance and Support Eligibility and Awards Contact Dr. Marcus Vandiver– mvandiver@alsde.edumvandiver@alsde.edu Development of the application Contact Dr. Marcus Vandiver – mvandiver@alsde.edumvandiver@alsde.edu SIG General Questions Contact Dr. Marcus Vandiver– mvandiver@alsde.edumvandiver@alsde.edu Contact Ann Allison – aallison@alsde.eduaallison@alsde.edu

11. References U. S. Department of Education http://www2.ed.gov/programs/sif/legislation.html Alabama Department of Education http://www.alsde.edu Click on the School Improvement Grant button located on the homepage