AYP Improvement Plans outline schools' goals, measures

All 35 public school principals were required to design an Adequate Yearly Progress Improvement Plan for their schools by the end of September, mandated not by the No Child Left Behind Act, but by the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District chief school administrator Bob Doyle.

"We shouldn't be reactive, we should be proactive," said Doyle when asked why he required all schools, regardless of AYP status, to design and implement an improvement plan. "We know we can be better, so lets get on with it."

Eighteen of the schools in the district did not meet AYP this year, but federal law does not require those schools to implement an improvement plan unless they do not meet AYP during the second year of testing. The 17 schools that did meet AYP also were not required by law to implement an improvement plan. But Doyle said he wants to see all schools improve, before law requires it.

"Even the best school can still do better," he said. "Just because a school met AYP does not mean there is not a child that doesn't have the need for improvement."

The district's executive director of curriculum and assessment Constance Lutz agrees.

"We know the schools are doing good things, this is just a way to focus that improvement," Lutz said. "All of our schools have successful practices, we are continuing to build on that."

Each principal was required to work with staff to create and document three measurable goals for their school in the areas of participation rate, language arts or mathematics. Principals were given flexibility in creating goals to fit the schools' needs: Some chose to implement three goals in just one area, while others have goals listed in all areas. Principals were encouraged to be innovative, and goals could be measured by state testing data or data collected in the classroom. Goals range from teaching testing strategies to avoiding anxiety to providing water-free hand sanitizer in the classroom to prevent illness and therefore increase attendance. The plans follow national AYP Improvement Plan guidelines, and principals were encouraged to focus their goals on schoolwide practices.

"Focusing on schoolwide practices, instead of focusing on subgroups, benefits everyone," Lutz said. "This is not new, it's just documenting some of the goals that the principals have each year."

Some schools were already required to document goals; the 18 Title school principals in the district are required to keep a formalized plan for their schools. Instead of requiring these schools to come up with different goals for AYP, Doyle allowed the principals to use goals set forth through the Title program.

"We're making a conscious effort by putting these goals down in writing," Doyle said. "By making them measurable, it becomes a reflective practice."

School board president Mike Chmielewksi is also in favor of implementing AYP Improvement Plans before they are required by law.

"I think the act of looking at the requirements under AYP lets us improve. Otherwise we tend to have some sort of knee-jerk reaction without understanding what this really means," Chmielewski said.

And what if the school doesn't meet all its goals for the year? Not to worry, Lutz said.

"We want to see growth," she said. "We are looking at what happens in our schools through different lenses, this is going to create conversations. We want to do this to build upon our continued success."