Turnaround

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Upcoming

The Office of School Improvement and Turnaround (OSIT) leads numerous federal and state initiatives to dramatically improve Indiana's persistently low-achieving schools. On a federal level, OSIT is charged with overseeing both the 1003(a) and 1003(g) school improvement grants as well as working with Priority and Focus schools.

1003(a) School Improvement Grants

Title I-served schools that received a “D” or “F” letter grade for the 2011-2012 academic year qualify to apply for 1003a funds. 1003a funds will be awarded to Local Education Agencies (LEAs) that apply on behalf of one or more low-performing (i.e., “D” or “F”) Title-I served schools. LEAs are strongly encouraged to include school-level leaders in the application planning and writing processes.

1003a funds are designed to support school improvement plans that take a new, innovative and systemic approach to improving student achievement and school quality. As such, the plan must fulfill each of the United States Department of Education’s (USDE) “Turnaround Principles” and thus may not be repurposing of prior years’ school improvement plans. Only applicants that clearly demonstrate how their school improvement plan completely and effectively fulfills each of the Turnaround Principles and that has a high likelihood of leading to increased student learning will be considered for funding.

1003(g) School Improvement Grants

1003(g) school improvement grants are awarded to schools that have been identified as Tier I or Tier II schools. The purpose of the 1003(g) school improvement grant, authorized by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) (20 U.S.C. 6303 (g)), is to provide public school districts with additional funds and resources to assist their persistently lowest-achieving schools. The Indiana Department of Education (IDOE) contacts districts that are eligible for this competitive grant.

Public Law 221

OSIT is also charged with implementing school interventions required under Indiana's Public Law 221-1999, including quality reviews of schools in the fourth consecutive year of academic probation and follow-up site visits of schools in the fifth consecutive year of academic probation. If a school reaches a sixth consecutive year of academic probation, OSIT (working with numerous other divisions of the IDOE, the school corporation and community stakeholders) is responsible for overseeing the implementation of an intervention, approved by the State Board of Education, to dramatically improve the school. These interventions could include closing the school and sending students to a nearby higher-performing school, assigning a Turnaround School Operator to run part or all of the school, other recommendations as determined by the IDOE (e.g., lead partners), ideas expressed at a community hearing, or modifying the school’s improvement plan. Ultimately, through numerous federal (e.g., 1003a and 1003g) and state (e.g., school quality reviews and follow-up visits) efforts, OSIT provides targeted technical assistance and monitoring in an effort to curb the number of persistently low-achieving schools in Indiana.

Resources