FLORIDA DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
     
    S
      
    TATE BOARD OF EDUCATION
     
    T. WILLARD FAIR,
    Chairman
    Members
    PETER BOULWARE
    AKSHAY DESAI
    ROBERTO MARTÍNEZ
    PHOEBE RAULERSON
    KATHLEEN SHANAHAN
    LINDA K. TAYLOR
     
    Dr. Eric J. Smith
    Commissioner of Education
      
     
      
     
      
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    DR. FRANCES HAITHCOCK
    CHANCELLOR OF PUBLIC SCHOOLS
     
     
     
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
      
    Contact Person:
    Sandra Dilger
    850-245-0824
    sandra.dilger@fldoe.org
    DPS: 2009-083
     
     
     
    MEMORANDUM
     
    TO:
    District Superintendents
     
    FROM:
    Dr. Frances Haithcock
     
    DATE:
    May 15, 2009
     
     
    SUBJECT:
     
    ANNUAL ASSURANCE OF SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLANS AND
    SCHOOL ADVISORY COUNCIL COMPOSITION
     
    Each year, the Department of Education collects, via a Web-based report, assurances on school
    improvement requirements. The purpose of this memo is to request your assurance that all
    schools in your district have approved School Improvement Plans and the required School
    Advisory Council composition. In compliance with Section 1008.345(6)(c), Florida Statutes,
    “…the Department shall not release funds from the Educational Enhancement Trust Fund to any
    district in which a school, including schools operating for the purpose of providing educational
    services to youth in Department of Juvenile Justice programs, does not have an approved school
    improvement plan, pursuant to s. 1001.42(18), after one full school year of planning and
    development, or does not comply with school advisory council membership composition
    requirements pursuant to s. 1001.452.”
     
    The 2009 due date for assurance of compliance (during the 2008-2009 school year) is
    June 30,
    2009,
    to ensure receiving district lottery funding in a timely manner. Please forward district
    information via online reporting.
     
    325 W. GAINES STREET • SUITE 514 • TALLAHASSEE, FL 32399-0400 • (850) 245-0509 • www.fldoe.org

     
    District Superintendents
    May 15, 2009
    Page Two
     
    This year, reports from each district will certify the following information:
     
     
    Whether
    ALL
    schools in the district, as established in s. 1001.42(18)(a), F.S., have a new,
    amended, or continuation School Improvement Plan in the process of revision approved by
    the school board as of
    June 30, 2009.
    It is understood that many plans are revised due to
    2009 school achievement data. It is also understood that some revisions will be required by
    the State Board of Education and these revisions will need to be approved by district school
    boards at a later date.
     
     
    Whether
    ALL
    schools in the district have a School Advisory Council with a majority of its
    members not employed by the school district, pursuant to s. 1001.452, F.S., as of
    June 30,
    2009.
     
     
    Whether
    ALL
    schools in the district have a School Advisory Council (SAC) that is
    comprised of the principal and an appropriately balanced number of teachers, education
    support employees, students, parents, and other business and community citizens who are
    representative of the ethnic, racial, and economic community served by the school, as
    established in s. 1001.452, F.S. (If a charter school does not have a SAC, the Governing
    Body should participate in the School Advisory Council’s stead.)
     
     
    Whether
    ALL
    schools in the district operating for the purpose of providing educational
    services to youth in Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) programs have an approved new,
    amended or continuation individual School Improvement Plan or district plan that covers all
    DJJ sites as of
    June 30, 2009
    ,
     
    as established in s. 1001.42(18)(a), F.S.
     
     
    Whether
    ALL
    schools in the district have a School Improvement Plan designed to achieve
    the state education priorities pursuant to s. 1000.03(5), F.S. and student proficiency on the
    Sunshine State Standards pursuant to s. 1003.41, F.S. Each plan addresses student
    achievement goals and strategies based on state and school district proficiency standards and
    includes an accurate, data-based analysis of student achievement and other school
    performance data pursuant to s. 1001.42(18)(a), F.S.
     
     
    Whether each secondary school’s (grades 6 through 12) plan includes a redesign component
    based on the ten guiding principles established in s. 1003.413(2)(a-j), F.S.
     
     
    Whether each school in the district that earns a school grade of “C” or below, or is required
    to have a school improvement plan under federal law, has a plan, pursuant to s.
    1001.42(18)(a), F.S., that includes:
    1. Professional development that supports enhanced and differentiated instructional
    strategies to improve teaching and learning.
    2. Continuous use of disaggregated student achievement data to determine effectiveness of
    instructional strategies.
     

     
     
    District Superintendents
    May 15, 2009
    Page Three
    3. Ongoing informal and formal assessments to monitor individual student progress,
    including progress toward mastery of the Sunshine State Standards, and to redesign
    instruction if needed.
    4. Alternative instructional delivery methods to support remediation, acceleration, and
    enrichment strategies.
     
    Whether each school that establishes a dropout prevention and academic intervention
    program at that school site reflects that program in the School Improvement Plan, as
    established in s. 1003.53(2)(b), F.S.
     
    Whether each school district and high school develops strategies as a part of the School
    Improvement Plan to improve student readiness for the public postsecondary level based on
    annual analysis of the postsecondary feedback report data, as established in s. 1008.37(4),
    F.S.
    This year, reporting is to be done online at the following Web site:
    http://www.flbsi.org/SIPAssurance/login.aspx.
     
    Should any schools NOT be in compliance, you are to check those individual schools by name as
    provided in the online district list. If any school or DJJ site needs to be reported but is not on the
    list, you should list each missing school in the fields provided.
     
    If you have any questions, please contact Dr. Sandra Dilger, Bureau of School Improvement, at
    sandra.dilger@fldoe.org for assistance. In support of Florida’s education goal for Highest
    Student Achievement and the implementation of the State Board of Education’s Next Generation
    PreK-20 Strategic Plan, the Florida Department of Education appreciates your continued
    commitment to enhancing the quality of education of all of Florida’s students.
     
    FH/sdf
     
    cc: District School Improvement Contacts
    District Directors
    of Charter Schools
    District Juvenile Justice Contract Managers
    District Educational Administrators for DJJ Programs
    District Finance Officers
    Linda Champion, Deputy Commissioner
     
     
     
     
     

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