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Questions & Answers
What is the definition of a middle-level school that is eligible to submit a Model B or Model C application?
Answer: A school that is eligible to submit either a Model B or Model C application must be a multi-grade school that has a grade 7. The only exception would be for a newly formed school that will eventually house a grade 7 because it is phasing in its grades over time.
Who’s eligible to apply for which Model?
Answer: Any building is eligible to implement Model A and no application is required. If a school is either newly formed or has been identified as a school requiring academic progress (SRAP) in year 3, 4, or 5, including a school identified for school improvement for three or more consecutive years under 20 U.S.C. section 6316(b), or a school under registration review (SURR) pursuant to section 100.2(p) of Commissioner’s Regulations, it is eligible to submit a Model B application. A school that is a newly formed school or does NOT meet the Model B eligibility requirements can submit a Model C-1 or C-2 application.
What is 20 U.S.C. section 6316(b)?
Answer: This citation references the No Child Left Behind (NCLB) federal legislation.
When are applications due for programs that are targeted to begin September 2005?
Answer: Friday, July 1, 2005.
When will applications for programs targeted to begin September 2005 be reviewed and acted upon?
Answer: By July 8, 2005.
When will the application materials be available for programs proposed to begin September 2006 and when must those applications be postmarked?
Answer: The application materials for programs targeted to begin implementation in September 2006 will be available on the State Education Department’s website the end of June 2005. Applications for programs scheduled to begin September 2006 must be postmarked by January 15, 2006.
Will districts and schools whose applications are disapproved be able to appeal?
Answer: This would depend upon the reason for disapproval. If the disapproval is for an easily resolved technical reason (an unsigned assurance, for example), appeal and resolution are possible. If disapproval is because of more substantive concerns, then an appeal and resolution might not be possible in the time available prior to school beginning. Under those circumstances, the district and school should consider resubmitting an application that would begin September 2006.
What is a “newly formed” school?
Answer: A “newly formed” school, for purposes of applications for programs targeted to begin September 2005, is one that will open officially for the first time in September 2005. For subsequent applications, a “newly formed” school will be one that opens concurrently with the beginning implementation of the approved application.
How can a newly formed school conduct a self study?
Answer: In the case of a newly formed school, the needs assessment and pre-planning work done in conjunction with the opening of the newly formed school would be considered in lieu of the self study as long as it met the basic self study conditions of involvement, priority setting, external review, etc.
Who will review the applications once they are submitted to the State Education Department?
Answer: Middle-level practitioners and content specialists will review the applications and submit recommendations to the State Education Department.
What might constitute an automatic disqualification or disapproval of an application?
Answer: Automatic disqualification or disapproval occurs if the school is not eligible to submit an application, if the requested regulatory relief is not allowable, if the six design principles are not being met, and if the assurances accompanying the application are not signed.
Is there a particular “score” a school needs on the rubric to ensure its application will be approved?
Answer: No. A general rule of thumb is that an application should have an overall average rating of “3” or better with no “1” ratings. However, a “1” rating does not necessarily result in an automatic disapproval, particularly if there is a clarifying explanation as to how it will be improved (e.g., a current lack of a certified and qualified staff person will be rectified through the hiring such a person).
Who conducts the external review?
Answer: The external review is conducted by people from outside the school who have not been involved in the self study. The external review people should be people who are familiar with school improvement planning, middle-level education, the Regents Policy Statement on Middle-Level Education, and the Department’s Essential Elements of Standards-Focused Middle-Level Schools and Programs. Their role is to review and comment on the self study process and conclusions. The external review is more a positive critique than an evaluation. Each school decides how it wishes to conduct the external review and must explain the process it used in the application materials.
What are measurable indicators/evidence of school change and improvement?
Answer: Indicators or evidence may include student performance data, changes in those instructional, curricular, or organizational practices that the research has shown to impact student learning and personal development, changes in the climate and culture of the school. Regardless, what a school decides to use as measures must link to what they are proposing to do or change.
How might these indicators/evidence be gathered?
Answer: There are a number of possible options. Achievement tests and State assessments are one source of data; the Indicators of Achievement Checklists developed by the State Education Department for the non-tested areas are another. The rubrics for the Department’s Essential Elements of Standards-Focused Middle-Level Schools and Programs provide a template for gathering and organizing information. Research-based student, staff, and parent surveys that have been closely aligned with the Regents Policy Statement on Middle-Level Education and the Department’s Essential Elements are a third approach.
What is the District Superintendent’s role in relation to the Model C-2 applications?
Answer: Any district outside the Big 5 Cities (New York City, Yonkers, Syracuse, Rochester, and Buffalo) must submit its Model C-2 application to the District Superintendent for him or her to review and make recommendations prior to the formal submission of the application to the State Education Department. No plan should go on to the State Education Department until recommended by the District Superintendent; if any changes are needed after the review, the district would need to make the changes before it goes forward. A letter from the District Superintendent detailing his/her recommendations must accompany the application.
Should you have additional questions concerning either the new regulations
or the application process for Model B, C-1 or C-2, please contact Dr. David
Payton at 518-474-5923 or
nclbnys@mail.nysed.gov.
06/15/2005