A Priority School is -
Identified as being among the lowest 5% of Title I schools in the State based on the achievement of the "All Students" group in terms of proficiency on statewide assessments; and has demonstrated a historical lack of progress on those assessments over the past three years.
Part of a cohort that is identified every three years.
Provided targeted and strategic supports focused on identified weaknesses. |
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How are Priority schools identified?
- Schools are ranked using combined proficiency data for Mathematics and English/Language Arts
- The lowest performing schools are identified using proficiency rates for the most current year that include at least the minimum number of required Title I schools.
- All schools (i.e., Title I and non-Title I schools) that have proficiency rates lower than the 5th percentile Title I school will be designated as Priority schools.
What happens after being designated a Priority school?
A school improvement coordinator is assigned to each Priority school. This coordinator will facilitate implementation of the West Virginia School Improvement Framework for Priority Schools.
The framework includes the following components:
- Diagnostic visit/report
- Improvement plan
- Memorandum of Understanding articulating responsibilities of each
- supporting agency
- Implementation of interventions
- Monitoring/progress reports/redirection
What are the expectations and supports for a Priority School?
- WVDE-approved external partners may be contracted to provide targeted support.
- Funding to support professional development, technical assistance and interventions to implement the School Improvement Framework will come from a variety of existing sources and vary depending on school eligibility for certain funding types.
- Specific supports/resources for implementation of Priority school improvement plans will be developed through collaborative efforts of all partners.
How does a school exit Priority status?
Priority schools, due to their significant need, will only be eligible to exit Priority status at the conclusion of the third year of their cohort. A school may exit Priority status and be eligible for alternative designation when the following criteria are met:
- The school's combined Math and English/Language Arts proficiency rates are no longer below the 5th percentile Title I School;
- The school demonstrates successful implementation of school turnaround strategies (as measured by High Quality Standards on-line monitoring tool); and
- The school meets Annual Measurable Objectives (AMOs) for a majority of its subgroups for two consecutive years, or students in the all subgroup are demonstrating adequate growth (i.e., a median gap of zero in the distance between observed growth and target growth).
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