The Tacoma School Board approved a District Improvement Plan (DIP) in early February of 2008. The plan is a requirement under the national “No Child Left Behind” law, overseen by the Washington State Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction, for those school districts like Tacoma that have not been making adequate yearly progress toward earlier goals.
The plan listed four chief goals, to be achieved by September of 2008:
· Increase achievement for all students each year by 10 percent
· Decrease the gap between underperforming subgroups and the district average performance on the WASL by 10 percent annually
· Decrease the dropout rate by 10 percent annually
· Reduce the number of students not graduating by 10 percent
The plan represented actions inn addition to the instruction currently offered in the classroom, and “encompasses the strategic items the district is adding and emphasizing to help staff members achieve district goals.”
Here is a five page graphic summary of the DIP.
Here are some questions about the DIP.
1. Does the plan come with a budget? Resources are usually stretched thin as it is, and doing new things usually comes out of sacrifices in current levels of activities. If there is no budget for the DIP, are there other activities that will be cut back?
2. What are the measurable outcomes for students in the plan? The four goals listed above are indeed good things. How will anyone know before the end of the plan period if the right activities are underway, and if they are delivering the desired results? If you read the plan, it says things like “develop a system” and “develop a plan” so that improvement occurs. These parts of the plan is not so much a plan as a promise to do some planning. In addition, some of the DIP contents are a bit surprising. One step is to “develop curriculum aligned with state standards.” Aren’t we doing that now? Another is to “identify and implement effective instructional strategies that are evident in every K-12 classroom.” Aren’t we doing that now? There are some new things in here—for example, an online system that allows parents and others to check student progress week by week (a preview of the system suggests it is a very good idea, and will allow school and District leaders to get on top of problems early).
3. What management strategies will ensure the DIP makes a difference? One thing mentioned in the DIP sounds a lot like complementary learning. A group has been working on this for the District—sort of. Some of the members of our little group have attended some of these meetings. Meetings have been cancelled, it sounded like support promised from the interim superintendent’s office has not materialized, and the Board has not looked at it in some time. It is apparently something that has been placed on a back burner. Is this an example of how the various District programs will be coordinated? If so, the prospects for the DIP are not bright.
We believe the Board need to take a closer look at the DIP and activities directed toward its goals.