Reauthorization of ESEA: Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)
On December 10, 2015, President Obama signed into law a reauthorization of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA). Previously referred to as No Child Left Behind (NCLB), the newly reauthorized ESEA is being referred to as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). This new law makes many changes to key programs that we administer. States, however, will be given a transition period to work through these changes, with much of the new law going into effect in the 2017-18 school year. We will continue to review the law in depth and will keep you posted on new information as we move forward.
For questions about this information, contact Mary Jo Christiansen (608) 266-2158
The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) reauthorizes the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to create a long-term, stable federal policy that gives states additional flexibility and encourages innovation, while at the same time holding us accountable for results.
Limits power of federal government to set education policy for states
Increases state flexibility to design accountability systems, interventions and student supports
Increases state and local flexibility in the use of federal funds
Gives states flexibility to work with local stakeholders to develop educator evaluation and support systems
Maintains annual assessments for grades 3-8 and high school
The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) reauthorizes the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to create a long-term, stable federal policy that gives states additional flexibility and encourages innovation, while at the same time holding us accountable for results.
Limits power of federal government to set education policy for states
Increases state flexibility to design accountability systems, interventions and student supports
Increases state and local flexibility in the use of federal funds
Gives states flexibility to work with local stakeholders to develop educator evaluation and support systems
Maintains annual assessments for grades 3-8 and high school
The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) reauthorizes the Elementary and Secondary Education Act to create a long-term, stable federal policy that gives states additional flexibility and encourages innovation, while at the same time holding us accountable for results.
Limits power of federal government to set education policy for states
Increases state flexibility to design accountability systems, interventions and student supports
Increases state and local flexibility in the use of federal funds
Gives states flexibility to work with local stakeholders to develop educator evaluation and support systems
Maintains annual assessments for grades 3-8 and high school
ESSA Work Groups will be convened to review rough drafts of the state plan for implementation of the Every Student Succeeds Act. Participants will be sent rough drafts as completed by the Internal Design Team. Feedback will be given through online surveys, webinars, and participation in select meetings of the Internal Design Team.
Public comment on the ESSA implementation in Wyoming was accepted through an online form through September 1, 2016. Additionally, a series of virtual town hall meetings was held to provide information and gather input on five topics related to ESSA implementation.
ESSA allows for an 18-month transition period for states to align their accountability systems to the new requirements. The law will be fully implemented for the 2017-18 school year, but some changes are already being implemented.
Overview of No Child Left Behind
Under NCLB, all states were required to make AYP determinations each year for every public school district and school in the state. Schools and districts were required to continually improve their students’ achievement in reading or language arts and mathematics from year-to-year to match a federal mandate that all students achieve at or above grade level by 2014.
Timeline
June – Aug 2016: First round of public input
July 2016: Internal Design Team convenes
Sept 2016: Internal Design Team begins writing state plan
As part of Wyoming’s transition to the ESSA, the Wyoming Department of Education will not be calculating AYP during the 2016-17 transition year. Schools and districts identified as being in improvement under No Child Left Behind (NCLB) will remain in their current improvement status next year.
The existing NCLB improvement interventions will continue to be implemented for one more year with two exceptions:
Schools and districts are not required to provide public school choice, Supplemental Educational Services (SES), or the related notice to parents beginning with the 2016- 2017 school year. To ensure an orderly transition to the ESSA, Wyoming is developing and implementing a oneyear transition plan to ensure districts provide alternative supports for students eligible for SES and schools with the greatest need.
Schools identified as being in Year 4 Planning for Restructuring will not progress to Year 5 Implementation of Restructuring. The Year 4 restructuring plans are no longer required to be approved this year at the state level by the WDE and then the Wyoming State Board of Education. Instead, the restructuring interventions selected and planned for will be included in the relevant sections of the Wyoming School Comprehensive Plan next year for review and feedback by WDE staff.
Highly Qualified Teacher Requirements
The U.S. Department of Education has clarified the transition from NCLB to ESSA regarding removal of the Highly Qualified Teacher requirements. The Wyoming Department of Education has determined that in order to ensure a smooth transition, the requirement will remain in place through the end of the 2016-17 school year.
The current highly qualified requirements are:
All teachers of core academic subjects are required to be highly qualified;
All special education teachers of core academic subjects are required to be highly qualified;
All paraprofessionals assisting with the instruction of core academic subjects are required to be highly qualified;
All districts that are not 100% highly qualified must submit highly qualified teacher plans to the WDE, as wells as keep individual teacher plans on file at the district. All districts that are required to submit plans will continue to receive communications from the WDE;
Reporting on the 602/652 will remain the same;
PTSB licensure requirements connected to highly qualified will remain the same;
Districts may still apply for exception authorizations through PTSB.
Districts will no longer need to comply with NCLB section 1111(h)(6)(B)(ii), which requires a school to notify parents when their child has been assigned to, or has been taught for four or more consecutive weeks by, a teacher who is not highly qualified.
As the transition to ESSA continues, the WDE will convene stakeholders to assist in defining requirements for teachers and districts in order to begin implementation during the 2017-18 school year.
Comprehensive School Improvement Programs
Owing to changes in statute, the Comprehensive School Improvement Plans (CSIP) for the 2016-17 school year are being modified.
Portions relating to Signature Pages, Corrective Action, School Improvement Grants, and Restructuring may be deleted from plans this school year. These requirements were part of No Child Left Behind, which is being replaced by the Every Student Succeeds Act. Additionally, principals who oversee multiple schools can submit one combined plan for all of their schools. When doing so, ensure that the cover page includes all applicable schools that will operate under that particular plan. An updated template will be available on the WDE accreditation web page for schools that wish to start a new plan. No changes were made to the indicators or assurances.
Plans are due December 1, allowing adequate time for school boards to approve all school plans. An email with the submission form will be sent to all principals and superintendents at the beginning of October with further instructions on submitting school plans. Plans must meet the requirements of W.S. §21-2-204(f) in order to be approved. Goals must reflect the current WAEA school performance ratings. Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) is not a component of WAEA, and any plan goals that reflect NWEA will be returned for modification.
Google Docs is the preferred platform for plan creation and modification. All plans must be made publicly available. Plans can be displayed on district websites, or each individual school’s website.
The Every Student Succeeds Act will necessitate significant changes to the CSIPs next year.
Thousands of educators and students across the country demonstrated how technology can improve student learning as part of the sixth annual national Digital Learning Day on February 23, 2017.
Digital Learning Day (DLDay) provides a powerful venue for education leaders to highlight great teaching practice and showcase innovative teachers, leaders, and instructional technology programs that are improving student outcomes. DLDay is not just about technology, it’s about learning and enhancing the role of the teacher in America’s classrooms.
This year, nearly 2,000 local celebrations decorated the Digital Learning Day map, providing a window into how education technology is incorporated into daily student learning. Students collaborated on projects, engaged with each other and their devices to solve problems, invented songs and videos, and discovered new worlds and communities all within the walls of their classrooms.
Click on the map above to view details on local Digital Learning Day events.
If you missed out on the DLDay action, fear not, Twitter was ablaze with photos and videos of students in action. We’ve highlighted several activities on the @OfficialDLDay Twitter feed. You can also check out the Storify below to get a glimpse of DLDay highlights and check out #DLDay on Twitter.
As part of the DLDay celebrations, the Alliance hosted a webinar on the value of a connected classroom, providing important and practical information for superintendents, principals, and teachers. During the webinar, panelists discussed the challenges and solutions to building out a school district’s technology infrastructure to provide high-speed internet connections, including how to take advantage of the federal Lifeline and E-rate programs.
Christian Johnson, a fifth-grade teacher at Hawthorne Elementary School in Maryland, explained that access to the internet is “the only way to level the playing field” for students. “The internet is as vital as having running water in your home,” said Johnson.
But access is not enough unless it is accompanied by a plan. Harrison Goodwin, EdD, superintendent of Chesterfield County Schools, a rural South Carolina district, discussed the importance of having a strategic plan for technology in place during the broadcast. “Technology is another tool we must master and then use to enhance instruction,” he said.
In the webinar, Alliance President and former Governor of West Virginia Bob Wise shared some thoughts on the digital learning landscape in schools.
“When the Alliance started Digital Learning Day in 2012, the idea of technology in the classroom was just beginning to gain ground. While there were a handful of digital innovators in many schools and districts, there were far more that asked students to check their devices at the classroom door or power them down when they got to their seats,” said Wise.
“Today, the situation is reversed. Increasingly, the norm for schools is to provide students with devices and explore ways to power up and personalize student learning,” said Wise. “Although we celebrate Digital Learning Day, we want every day to be a digital learning day for our nation’s students.”
If students of color don’t believe that school officials treat them fairly, a “trust gap” emerges that could impact college enrollment, even if they receive good grades, according to a new study.
What causes the “trust gap”? Extreme disparities in discipline and low expectations from teachers. Many students, particularly Black and Hispanic youths, develop a growing mistrust for authority once they perceive and experience these biases, says David Yeager, assistant professor of psychology at the University of Texas at Austin and lead author of the new report, published in the journal Child Development.
“When students have lost trust, they may be deprived of the benefits of engaging with an institution, such as positive relationships and access to resources and opportunities for advancement,” explains Yeager.
In an eight-year study, Yeager and his colleagues conducted twice-yearly surveys with white and African American students in the northeast and white and Hispanic students in rural Colorado, tracking them from middle school through the end of high school. The survey measured students’ trust level by their responses to statements such as ” I am treated fairly by my teachers and other adults at my school” and “If a black or a white [school name] student is alone in the hallway during class time, which one would a teacher ask for a hall pass?”
The researchers found that trust decreased for all students during seventh grade – a time when a student is most likely to first detect unjust policies – but the declines were much faster for Black and Latino students. Furthermore, these students were more likely to be cited for behavior infractions the following year, even if they had never been in trouble before and received good grades. School records revealed that the racial disparity reported by many students did in fact exist.
“Perceived bias and mistrust reinforce each other. And like a stone rolling down a hill that triggers an avalanche, the loss of trust could accumulate behavioral consequences over time” – David Yeager, University of Texas at Austin
African American students who lost trust in seventh grade were also less likely to make it to a four-year college six years later.
The perception that a wide racial gap exists in school disciplinary actions is grounded in a growing body of evidence. According to the U.S. Department of Education’s Civil Rights Data Collection, Black students are suspended and expelled at a rate three times greater than are White students.
“Perceived bias and mistrust reinforce each other,” says Yeager. “And like a stone rolling down a hill that triggers an avalanche, the loss of trust could accumulate behavioral consequences over time. Seeing and expecting injustice and disrespect, negatively stereotyped ethnic minority adolescents may disengage, defy authorities, underperform and act out.”
And yet, Yeager and his colleagues discovered that this “feedback loop” can at least be disrupted by actions taken by individual educators.
Using a small subset of their sample, the researchers tested a “wise feedback” intervention designed to improve student trust. Using drafts of an essay written by the students, the researchers attached one of two notes from their teacher.
Some students received a note that stated, “I’m giving you these comments so that you’ll have feedback on your paper.” The note given to the other students stated, “I’m giving you these comments because I have very high expectations, and I know that you can reach them.”
While this encouraging “wise feedback” note did appear to have any discernible impact on White students, the influence it had on Black students may have been significant. Not only were their essay revisions greatly improved, but the students also had fewer disciplinary incidents the following year and were 30 percentage points more likely to be enrolled in college six years later.
The researchers caution that no intervention – especially a one-time note from a teacher – can fully dispel concerns about fairness and discrimination. Reducing bias is first and foremost an institution-wide imperative. Still, even a “minor interruption” can create a classroom climate that can begin to restore student trust.
“Of course truly ‘wise’ educators do not simply append notes to essays and end their interventions there,” the report states. “Instead they continually send the message that their students are capable, valued, and respected, weaving it into the culture of the classroom.”
Clarke moved to Delaware from New York a few years ago, and says she had a hard time finding information about daycare and preschool programs for her two young children.
“It’s just a lot of having to ask people and rely on people,” Clarke said. “And my concern there is, I’m an educated person working in the field of education and these are the hoops I have to go through, so I can imagine what it’s like for somebody who doesn’t have this much experience or doesn’t have the right resources.”
She’s now paying for her son to attend preschool at the Goddard School in Wilmington, but says she has just as many unanswered questions about kindergarten options now.
Delaware’s second draft ESSA plan states a commitment to strategies shifting to a pre-K through 12 model – instead of just K-12.
But it’s still unclear how the state plans to incorporate pre-K data into its accountability model.
“When you go into kindergarten, you’re expected to be able to write your letters: A, B, and C,” Clarke said. “But if you went to a daycare where you just sat and watched TV all day, and scribbled on paper, now you’re in kindergarten with 15 other students who do know their A,B,Cs and 5 students don’t – that’s an issue, that’s an issue for the teacher.”
Education advocates like Atnre Alleyne are happy the state’s plans are also adding factors like chronic absenteeism, but says the goal of cutting the achievement gap in half by 2030 isn’t ambitious enough.
“But what are the interim benchmarks that will let us know that students are actually getting towards their goals so that we don’t get to 2020, 2025 and 2030 and then once again it’s another reset?” Alleyne said.
The final draft plan will be released next Tuesday. That draft will be provided to the Governor and available for public comment for 30 days.
The Department of Education has said there could still be changes to the plan before it’s submitted to the US Department of Education on April 3rd.
