School Improvement and Accreditation Timeline for progress

The KSDE School Improvement Workgroup and members of the Accreditation and Design team will share the following information with the Kansas State Board of Education during its April 9 meeting.

• The School Improvement Model – The board will receive an outline of the school improvement model including the fundamentals, structures and lead indicators. Districts will develop action plans based on this model. 
• Timeline for the implementation of KESA 2.0.
• Overview of the School Improvement Collaboration process.
• Overview of the facilitator training process and timeline of events.
• Remaining work will take place in May and June to finalize the School Improvement Model.

More information of the upcoming regional informational sessions planned for this spring and summer will be released soon. 

The deadline for facilitator applications is Friday, April 12.
 

Core Instructional Materials Support

In support of school improvement, the Kansas State Department of Education (KSDE) is collecting data on instructional materials used in Kansas schools. This data will help KSDE understand statewide material usage and inform resource allocation. 

On Monday, April 8, superintendents will receive an email from KSDEsurvey@tntp.org with a unique link to a Qualtrics data collection tool. Districts are asked to identify primary instructional materials for K-12 English language arts, K-12 mathematics, and K-8 science, along with adoption years. 

The survey should be completed by staff members who have direct knowledge of the curriculum and instructional materials (such as curriculum directors or teaching and learning directors). A good step to prepare for this is to review the FAQ that is posted on the Division of Learning Services webpage.

Additionally, districts must indicate whether they use the three-cueing system model of reading or visual memory programs. The state legislature now requires KSDE to develop a list of school districts using “curriculum and training materials which include the three-cueing system model of reading or visual memory program.” This data collection will be used to create a report on the status of three-cueing which will be provided to the Senate Committee on Education, House Committee on Education and the House Committee on K-12 Education Budget.

The data collection window is April 8-26. For questions, contact Dr. Ben Proctor at (785) 296-2303 or bproctor@ksde.org. You will also be able to reply to the email you receive for technical assistance or submit additional questions to the FAQ.  
 

Every Child Can Read Act Reporting

The Every Child Can Read Act, enacted on July 1, 2023, requires each school district’s local board of education to provide opportunities for students to participate in targeted educational interventions to promote proficiency. The law requires each school district to measure student achievement through state assessments and other universal screening and assessment tools that are approved by the district’s local board of education, or by KSDE.

Each school district will submit a report to KSDE prior to June 30 of each year that will include the following:

• Interventions and the outcomes of the interventions.
  • Any programs you use for Tier 2 and Tier 3 students.
  • Fall and spring aggregate screening data (and the screener you use).
• The number of third-grade students in the district.
• The screening and assessment data the district used to evaluate literacy.
• The percent of students and subgroups who are “proficient” and moving toward “proficient” in each district.

KSDE is required to submit a report to the Governor’s Office and Kansas Legislature each year based on the data collected.

At-Risk and the Evidence-Based List

The State Board has approved a new list of evidence-based programs and practices for at-risk students. Districts should review this updated list and consider the following:

• The State Board has approved a new Evidence-Based List.
• This is not a list of “good” or “bad” programs and practices but a list of programs and practices that meet the requirements of the law.
• This list reflects what programs and practices that school districts can spend at-risk funds on.
• The new list is contingent upon the Kansas Legislature eliminating the 5-year research requirement.
  • If the legislature eliminates the 5-year research requirement, the new evidence-based list has 72 programs and 78 practices.
  • If the legislature does not eliminate the 5-year research requirement, the new evidence-based list will have nine programs and 78 practices.
• A “provisional” at-risk program means an evidence-based at-risk program or service identified or developed by a school district as producing or likely to produce measurable success that has been submitted to the State Board for review.
• Expenditures shall only be made for a provisional at-risk educational program for a period not to exceed three years after implementation of such provisional at-risk program by a school district. The State Board shall review any such provisional at-risk program, and if such program satisfies the State Board’s requirements, then the program shall be included on the approved at-risk educational programs.
   

Questions should be submitted to stateatrisk@ksde.org.

At-Risk Provisional Application Process

Districts that have identified a promising at-risk program or practice that is not currently on the approved list may submit a provisional application to the State Board requesting the continued use of this program or practice as described above. The application will require the following information be provided:

• District and submitter information.
• Whether the item was on the old list and if the district is currently spending at-risk funds on it.
• Name of the program or practice.
• Publisher information; grade levels; purpose.
• Details of implementation.
• Group delivery method (above and beyond).
• Relevant professional development.
• Data associated with implementation (impact on at-risk students).

Click here to access the At-Risk Provisional Application.
 

Graduation Requirement Questions

For any questions on graduation requirements, please continue to reach out to:

• Dr. Robyn Kelso – rkelso@ksde.org
• Dr. David Fernkopf – dfernkopf@ksde.org