D-1. What is the LEA's responsibility for providing technical assistance to a school in improvement?

The LEA bears the primary responsibility for ensuring that the school in improvement receives technical assistance as it develops or revises its school plan and throughout the plan's implementation. Technical assistance is practical advice offered by an expert source that addresses specific areas for improvement.

The LEA is not required to provide the technical assistance directly, although it may choose to do so. Other acceptable technical assistance providers include the SEA; an institution of higher education; a private, not-for-profit or for-profit organization; an educational service agency; or another entity with experience in helping schools improve academic achievement.

D-2. In what areas must the LEA assist a school in improvement?

Technical assistance for a school identified for improvement must focus on strengthening and improving the school's instructional program. It must help the school address the issues that caused it to make inadequate progress for two consecutive years. Specifically, the LEA must ensure that the school in need of improvement receives technical assistance based on scientifically based research in three areas:

• Data analysis: The LEA must help the school to analyze results from the State assessment system and other relevant examples of student work. The LEA must teach school staff how to use these data to identify and develop solutions to problems in (1) instruction; (2) implementing the requirements for parental involvement and professional development; and (3) implementing the school plan, including LEA and school-level responsibilities for carrying out the plan.
• Identification and implementation of strategies: The LEA must help the school choose effective instructional strategies and methods and ensure that the school staff receives high-quality professional development relevant to their implementation. The chosen strategies must be grounded in scientifically based research and address the specific instructional issues that caused the school to be identified for improvement.
• Budget analysis: The LEA must provide the school in improvement with technical assistance in analyzing and revising its budget to fund activities most likely to increase student achievement and remove it from school improvement status. Reallocating resources to support improved student achievement is crucial to the successful implementation of the initiatives contained in the NCLB. §1116(b)(4); §200.40(c)(1)

In all three of these areas, the LEA has the opportunity to support thoughtful analysis and capacity building at the local level, both of which will not only help schools to improve, but will also help them to sustain their improvements over time.

D-3. What factors should the LEA take into account as it devises an assistance plan for a school in need of improvement?

Assisting schools in need of improvement creates a major accountability challenge for LEAs. Because of the likelihood that many schools will be identified for improvement under the rigorous accountability provisions contained in the NCLB, LEAs may be tempted to consider formulating a single assistance plan for all of its schools so designated. To the extent feasible, the LEA should avoid taking this approach. Schools in need of improvement are more likely to be in need of individualized assistance comprised of strategies and interventions that recognize and address their unique student needs.

It is crucial that the LEA align its assistance with the improvement plan being developed by the school. Both the school improvement plan and the LEA assistance plan should be based on a close analysis of the school's demographic and achievement data, such as on subgroup performance, and a comprehensive needs assessment that identifies both strengths and weaknesses. This close analysis will enable the LEA to target more accurately available resources to address identified deficiencies. The goals, objectives, and action steps that result from the comprehensive analysis must realistically address the identified needs of the school's students and systematically move it toward improvement. Involving teachers, school administrators, and parents in this planning and decision-making is crucial to the successful design and implementation of the LEA's assistance.

D-4. What is the SEA's responsibility for providing technical assistance to a school in improvement?

The specific technical assistance responsibilities of the SEA are (1) to reserve and allocate Title I, Part A funds for school improvement activities; and (2) to create and sustain a statewide system of support that provides technical assistance to schools identified for improvement.

D-5. How much funding must an SEA reserve to assist with school and LEA improvement efforts?

The State must reserve two percent of its Title I, Part A total allocation for fiscal years 2002 and 2003, and four percent for fiscal years 2004 through 2007, to support local school improvement activities, provide technical assistance to Title I schools identified for improvement, and provide technical assistance to LEAs that the SEA has identified for improvement or corrective action. This reservation, however, must not reduce the amount of funding each LEA receives to a funding level below the amount the LEA received in the preceding fiscal year. §200.49(b)(1)(iii)

D-6. How are these funds to be distributed?

Of the amount it reserves, the SEA must allocate not less than 95 percent directly to LEAs that operate schools identified for improvement to support improvement activities. The SEA may, with the approval of the LEA, directly provide these improvement activities or arrange to provide them through such entities as school support teams or educational service agencies. §1003(b)

D-7. How must the State prioritize the distribution of these funds?

In prioritizing the distribution of these reserved funds, the SEA must give preference to LEAs that serve the lowest-achieving schools. However, in order to receive priority, these LEAs must also demonstrate the greatest need for assistance and the strongest commitment to ensuring that the funds will be used to enable their lowest-achieving schools to meet progress goals detailed in their school improvement plans. §1003(d); §200.49

D-8. If a State does not need all of the funds it reserves for school improvement activities, how must the extra funds be used?

If the SEA, after consulting with LEAs around the State, determines that the amount of funding it reserved to carry out school improvement activities is greater than the amount needed, the SEA must allocate the excess amount directly to LEAs. This allocation must be made on the same basis that Title I funds were distributed or on the basis of other criteria developed by the SEA. For example, the alternative criteria could include targeting the funds for LEAs and schools that have missed AYP for a single year, but are not yet in school improvement. §1003(d); §1126(c)

D-9. What must the State do to assist schools identified as in need of improvement?

A State must use a portion of its reserved Title I, Part A funds to create and maintain a statewide system of intensive and sustained support and improvement designed to increase the opportunity for all students and schools to meet the State's academic content and achievement standards. Within this statewide support system, the SEA must make technical assistance available consistent with the following priorities:

• The first priority must be (a) LEAs with schools in corrective action, and (b) schools for which an LEA has not carried out its statutory and regulatory responsibilities regarding corrective action or restructuring.
• The second priority must be LEAs with schools identified as in need of improvement.
• The third priority must be Title I LEAs and schools that need additional support and assistance. §§1116(b)(14); §1117(a)(2); §200.49(b)

D-10. What actions must the SEA take to create a statewide system of sustained support and continuous improvement?

To establish the required statewide system of support and improvement, the SEA must:

• Establish school support teams: The purpose of these teams is to work in schools throughout the State that are in corrective action status, school improvement status, or otherwise in need of support and assistance. The SEA must provide these teams with all of the support it deems necessary to ensure their effectiveness.
• Designate and use distinguished teachers and principals: The SEA must choose these participants from Title I schools that have been especially successful in improving academic achievement.
• Devise additional approaches: The SEA must draw on the expertise of other entities to provide assistance as needed, such as institutions of higher education, educational service agencies or other local consortia, or private providers of scientifically based technical assistance. To the extent practicable, the statewide support system must work with and receive assistance from the comprehensive regional technical assistance centers and regional educational laboratories funded under ESEA, or other providers of technical assistance. §1117(a)(3) and (4)(A)

A State may add more elements to its statewide support and improvement system that are congruent with a statewide technical assistance plan.

D-11. Does the statute express a preference for one method of school support over another?

The statutory provision outlining the statewide system of support requires that the SEA give priority to the creation of school support teams to assist schools that are in corrective action, in need of improvement, or in need of support and assistance. §1117(a)(4)(B)

D-12. What is a school support team?

A school support team is a group of skillful and experienced individuals charged with providing struggling schools with practical, applicable, and helpful assistance in order to increase the opportunity for all students to meet the State's academic content and student academic achievement standards. Each support team must be comprised of individuals who are knowledgeable about scientifically based research and practice and its potential for improving teaching and learning. In addition, support team members should be familiar with a wide variety of school reform initiatives, such as schoolwide programs, comprehensive school reform, and other means of improving educational opportunities for low-achieving students.

Typically, support teams will include some or all of the following: (1) highly qualified or distinguished teachers and principals; (2) pupil services personnel; (3) parents; (4) representatives of institutions of higher education; (5) representatives of educational laboratories or regional technical assistance centers; (6) representatives of outside consultant groups; or (7) other individuals that the SEA, in consultation with the LEA, may deem appropriate. An extensive knowledge base, wide-ranging experience, and credibility are essential qualifications for support team members. §1117(a)(5)(a)

D-13. What are the responsibilities of the school support team?

The school support team has one primary responsibility: assisting the school in strengthening its instructional program to improve student achievement. Specifically, the school support team must:

• Review and analyze all facets of the school's operation, including the design and operation of the instructional program, using the findings from this review to help the school develop recommendations for improved student performance;
• Collaborate with school staff, LEA staff, and parents to design, implement,and monitor a meaningful and realistic school improvement plan that can be expected to help the school meet its improvement goals if implemented;
• Monitor the implementation of the school improvement plan and request additional assistance from the LEA or the SEA that either the school or the support team needs; and
• Provide feedback at least twice a year to the LEA, and to the SEA when appropriate, about the effectiveness of the personnel assigned to the school. The team must also identify outstanding teachers and principals.

Clearly, the overall charge of the support team is to help the school create and implement a coherent, efficient, and practical plan for improvement. Effective support team members will possess the knowledge, skills, experience, and interpersonal skills that will enable them to address and counter the chronic problems that are symptomatic of schools in need of improvement. §1117(b)

D-14. How long should the school support team continue to work with a school in need of improvement?

After one year of working with the school, the support team should consult with the LEA and make a "next-steps" recommendation to the SEA. The team should recommend either (1) that the team continue to assist the school or (2) that the LEA or the SEA, as appropriate, take alternative action with the school.

D-15. What responsibility does the SEA have to assist schools in need of improvement?

The LEA has primary responsibility for assisting its schools that do not make adequate progress toward meeting established student academic achievement targets. However, if the LEA does not carry out its responsibilities in this area, the SEA must take the actions it determines to be appropriate, in compliance with State law concerning school governance. §200.49(d)