Grant County School
Bylaws & Policies
 

2120 - COUNTY AND SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT

The Board of Education supports the concept of county and school improvement as established by the State Board of Education and will seek to create and/or maintain effective schools as defined by State guidelines.

In addition to adopting a Vision Statement and Mission Statement for the County, the Board shall create, as needed, policies which support the School Improvement Process.

The Superintendent shall establish administrative guidelines which will ensure that the following can be achieved:

 A.The County Board shall revise, pursuant to 18-2E-5, Code of West Virginia, and applicable State Board policy, the School System’s Unified County Improvement Plan, on an annual basis, and shall submit the revised plan to the State Department of Education. The plan shall continue to specify how the County school system, intends to strengthen the County education program in order to increase student achievement. The revised plans must be developed through a strategic planning process and incorporate data from the revised Unified School Improvement Plans of the County schools.
  The Unified County Improvement Plan or strategic plan must contain at least the following:
  1.procedures and activities to strengthen the County education program in order to increase student achievement
  2.a) core beliefs and mission statements; b) needs assessment; c) improvement goals; d) improvement objectives and activities; e) professional development activities; f) a system for monitoring the implementation and effectiveness of activities; g) an evaluation process, and h) a budget
 

The plan shall be revised annually in each area in which the school or system is below the standard on the annual performance measures. It shall also identify any deficiency which is reported on the checklists identified in 18-2-E-5(j)(5)(g) of the Code, including any deficit more than a casual deficit by the County Board. The Plan shall include each annual performance measure upon which the school or school system fails to meet the standard for performance and progress, the action to be taken to meet each measure, a separate time line and a date certain for meeting each measure, a cost estimate and, when applicable, the assistance to be provided by the State Department and other education agencies to improve student, school or school system performance and progress to meet the annual performance measure.
 B.The Board shall have a County School Support Team which is responsible for supporting all county schools identified for improvement. The County School Support Team members are appointed by the County Superintendent and may include distinguished teachers, distinguished principals, special education professional, Title I professionals, WVDE professionals, RESA professionals, curriculum and instruction professionals, and/or data analysis professionals.
  The County School Support Team shall have the following responsibilities:
  1.review all facets of the schools’ operations, including the design and operation of the instructional program, and make recommendations for improving student performance
  2.collaborate with the School Support Team, County staff, and the WVDE in the review of school improvement goals, development of the plan, and plan implementation
  3.continuously monitor the implementation of the school improvement plan
  4.make additional recommendations to the County and the WVDE concerning assistance that is needed by the School or the School’s Support Team
 C.Each new school shall develop and each existing school shall revise its Unified School Improvement Plan by September 30th and annually submit to the West Virginia Office of Education Performance Audits a checklist indicating compliance with the high quality standards and performance measures and specific plans to meet standards and performance measures not met. The plan, whether revised or new, shall include a safe and productive school plan, a technology plan, the integration of special needs students plan, and the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (No Child Left Behind Act of 2001) school based improvement plan. The plan shall be established, implemented, and reviewed annually. The plan must specify how the school intends to increase student achievement. It must be developed through a strategic planning process and must be based on all appropriate data regarding student achievement.
  The plan and its revisions shall be designed and implemented to improve the academic achievement of the students in the school and adhere to the following criteria:
  1.prepared by the LSIC under the leadership of the school principal and in cooperation with the faculty senate, school technology team, and school curriculum team
  2.based upon:
   a.core beliefs and mission statement,
   b.needs assessment,
   c.improvement goals,
   d.improvement objectives and activities,
   e.professional development activities,
   f.a system for monitoring the implementation and effectiveness of activities,
   g.an evaluation process, and
   h.a budget
  3.predicated on the establishment of high expectations for performance of all students in the school
  4.presented to the County Board of Education as part of the annual meeting between the LSIC and the County Board of Education
 D.Each school identified for improvement shall have a School Support Team. The members of the School Support Team are appointed by the principal and may include representatives from the Curriculum Team, Faculty Senate, Technology Team, and/or the LSIC.
  The School Support Team shall have the following responsibilities:
  1.analyze all facets of the school’s operation, including the design and operation of the instructional program, which may include: all measures of students’ achievement, discipline, school climate, graduation rate, school survey results, Office of Education Performance Audits Review data, Title I monitoring results, special education monitoring results, and master schedules
  2.make recommendations for improving student performance in the school
  3.collaborate with parents, school staff, County, and the County School Support Team in the identification of school improvement goals, school improvement plan development, plan implementation, and continuous plan monitoring
  4.make additional recommendations to the County Support Team concerning additional assistance that is needed by the school or the School Support Team as the school implements the plan
 E.Schools will be selected to receive technical assistance based upon their status with regard to the performance measures and high quality standards set forth in Policy 2320. The County Board and the schools in the system shall seek the assistance of the WVDE’s school improvement program the purpose of which is to build the capacity of County school systems to adequately support schools identified for improvement. The school improvement process shall operate so as to provide targeted technical assistance to the most challenged schools through the distinguished educator program.
 F.The County Superintendent and Board President and each school’s principal shall sign a statement verifying that the information submitted in the County and school Unified Improvement Plan and checklist is accurate in accordance with W. Va. Code 18-2E-6. Willfully or knowingly falsifying information contained in the annual school checklist shall result in the administrative leader’s certificate being revoked.
 G.The County Board shall advise each individual school that at the direction of the West Virginia Board of Education or by weighted selection by the West Virginia Office of Education Performance Audits, on-site review teams will assess the County’s or a school’s compliance and progress with the high quality standards and performance measures. (W.Va. Code 18-2E-5) The teams will review effectiveness of the Unified County Improvement Plan and the Unified School Improvement Plans. Compliance with the annual checklist provided by the schools will also be determined. The on-site reviews may or may not be announced but, will be conducted in a manner intended to permit accurate assessment.

WV Board of Education Policy 2320, Policy  2510, and Policy 2520

18-2E-5, 18-2E-6, Code of West Virginia

Goals 2000 – Educate America Act