Virginia State ESSA Approval: School-Year-Planning Resources for Administrators
Virginia State ESSA Approval: School-Year-Planning Resources for Administrators
Virginia’s ESSA plan was approved by the U.S. Department of Education earlier this spring, and planning for the 2018–19 school year is in full swing for district and school administrators. To support you in that process during the busy days of summer, we've curated a list of our best resources aligned to goals outlined by the Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) and the finalized Virginia ESSA plan.
Boost Content Mastery and SOL Achievement
Building on existing expectations established with its Standards of Learning (SOL) assessment program, Virginia is focused on raising the bar for achievement to ensure that all students are well prepared for college and careers. As you consider your approach to supporting students in attaining a well-rounded education, utilize the following guides to take a fresh approach to your instructional programs or refine your current practices.
Frequent, standards-based formative assessments are a critical piece of effective data-driven instruction. Our formative assessment workbook provides a framework for implementing formative assessments throughout the lesson cycle. Its planning forms and data-tracking worksheets can be used across multiple subjects and grade levels.
Bring the best parts of online learning and traditional instruction together in a blended learning program. Blended learning programs come in many forms and enable scalable personalized learning. Use this workbook to get your district’s or school's blended learning program started.
It’s a well-known fact that a strong foundation in literacy is key to future academic success in any subject. This workbook evaluates the many facets of structuring an effective, research-based reading and language arts block and helps you select the appropriate technology tools to support your approach.
Address Achievement Gaps, and Support English Learners and Special Education Students
With a long-term goal of at least 75% of students across all subgroups achieving proficiency in reading/language arts and 70% achieving proficiency in mathematics on SOL assessments by the end of 2024–2025 school year, Virginia is strengthening its commitment to educate all students. And because academic growth based on SOL scores is also being added as an accountability measure, finding balanced resources that focus on each goal is important to success. The following planning tools provide strategies for helping all students achieve growth, as well as for meeting the needs of special student populations.
Use this worksheet to plan programs to address the needs of special populations of students.
Virginia is dedicated to supporting English learners through its use of the WIDA ACCESS for ELLs 2.0 exam, and the state has set a long-term goal of 58% of ELLs achieving satisfactory progress toward English-language proficiency by the 2024–2025 school year. This collection of blog posts addresses topics like back-to-school strategies to support ELLs, ways to prepare ELLs for high-stakes assessments, and more.
This collection of blog posts addresses topics like dyslexia, ways to navigate IEP meetings, ADHD, and trends in special education.
Personalized learning allows educators to meet the varying needs of all learners, improving learning outcomes. This workbook takes the guesswork out of personalized learning by providing a step-by-step plan from development to implementation.
Support Graduation Rates
Virginia has set an ambitious long-term goal of increasing on-time graduation rates for all students and subgroups to 84% by the 2024–2025 school year, and this will require ramping up efforts to help students who fall behind get back on track. Make sure that your school has a credit recovery program in place so that all students can see a path to graduation.
Our credit recovery worksheet will show you how to set up a new program or enhance your current credit recovery offering.
A virtual implementation may help your school or district offer more flexible and expansive course options to serve populations in need. Use this workbook to evaluate if a virtual implementation is the best option for your school and get guidance on developing a program and selecting a digital provider.
Ensure College and Career Readiness
Connecting high school to college and careers is a key way that many states are ensuring that the workforce will be better equipped to meet the needs of the future job market. Although Virginia’s ESSA plan does not specifically state goals for college and career readiness, it is anticipated that, by 2020, 65% of all jobs will require some postsecondary education or training. The following resources will help support college and career success.
Whereas No Child Left Behind had a narrow focus on math and ELA, ESSA has given states the freedom to allow schools to create programs that allow students to pursue interests that align with future career goals. One way of achieving this alignment is through a career and technical education program. This workbook takes a deep dive into the components of designing a successful CTE program to help hone in on a map for improvement and professional development.
Online curriculum can open up a world of college- and career-focused courses to students that their schools may not otherwise be able to offer, including Advanced Placement®, CTE, SAT®, and ACT® assessment preparation. Our online curriculum guide discusses several different ways that online curriculum can be used, and it even includes a worksheet to guide the process of identifying a provider that meets your needs.
Reduce Chronic Absenteeism
The impact of students being chronically absent is staggering. As a result, Virginia is using this metric as one of its school quality indicators required by ESSA. Check out the following resources for more helpful information and suggestions for improvement.
This blog post looks at the impacts of chronic absence and includes information on initiatives that aim to move the needle on this growing problem.
When it comes to chronic absenteeism, suspension is a big offender in hiking up that rate. As you consider how to keep students in the classroom, taking a hard look at suspension policies is an important step.
Additional Free Resources:
- Marzano Teaching Best Practices
- [Budgeting] New & Creative School Funding Sources
- Marzano-Validated Best Practices for Online Practice
Looking for online programs to help your school or district improve outcomes for all students? Check out Edmentum's suite of K–12 evidence-based assessments and digital curriculum, and see why over 8,000 schools proudly partner with us.
