Addendum to Hawaii’s Consolidated Plan

NO CHILD LEFT BEHIND

Part I Adoption of Five Goals

The Hawaii State Board of Education met on June 20, 2002 and Hawaii’s Consolidated Plan for No Child Left Behind was unanimously approved and adopted by the Board.

Part I, 1c Assessments in Reading, Math & Science

Hawaii needs to add other milestones to the timeline for development and implementation of assessments that meet NCLB requirements.

Part I, 1d Academic Achievement Standards

Hawaii needs to provide a list of major milestones for setting academic achievement standards and assessments and a timeframe for when all other assessments will be completed.

Academic achievement standards for Reading/Language Arts, Mathematics, Science and seven other core academic subjects were first developed and disseminated in 1994, and subsequently revised and disseminated to schools and the public in August 1999. A timeline for Hawaii’s Standards Initiatives was described in Part I, 1b in the Consolidated Plan.

A plan to develop assessments aligned with Hawaii’s standards has been developed to meet NCLB requirements. The response to Part I, 1c above addresses the milestones identified to meet the requirements for assessments in designated grade levels for Reading and Mathematics. Assessments in Science have been identified for the designated grade spans. Additional assessments will be developed for grades 3 – 8 in Reading and Mathematics. Academic achievement indicators (descriptors and cut scores) for Reading/Language Arts and Math will be developed, field tested, and administered as follows:

The timeline presented above meets the timeframe required by NCLB requirements.

Part I, 5a Schoolwides

On June 12, 2002, at the Superintendent’s Leadership Conference, all Title I school principals were informed of the No Child Left Behind Act requirements and how this law complements the State’s standards-based education reform efforts. Title I school principals were also provided additional information on the NCLB requirements for schoolwide programs, school choice, supplemental services as required, particularly for schools in need of improvement and corrective action.

The SEA/LEA will further disseminate and interpret to schools, schoolwide requirements relating to identification, use of funds, planning and implementation in the following context:

• All Title I schools in Hawaii, like all other schools, are required to have a Standards Implementation Design. Every school is also required to submit Progress Reports twice a year: (a) June 30 – end of school year report; and (b) December of the following school year, which will include the analysis of results from the state assessment administered in Spring of the previous school year. The first Progress Report will document student achievement based on all existing multiple assessment data at the school, and the steps to be taken in anticipation of validation based on the state assessment results which will be disseminated to schools in the Fall. The second Progress Report will document the changes and steps to be taken based on a comprehensive needs assessment that accounts for performance on the state assessments in Reading and Mathematics. The changes for Title I schools will address the schoolwide requirements. All Title I school principals have been informed and provided with additional information on the requirements. Title I SEA/LEA staff will work with each Complex Area Superintendent and his/her staff, to provide understanding and training (using exemplars) on addressing the requirements relating to identification, use of funds, planning, implementation and evaluation. Title I resource teachers based in each of the complex areas will be readily available to provide additional assistance to assure that schoolwide Title I schools implement the requirements in order to support improving student achievement and fidelity to the law.

Part I, 5c Paraprofessional Qualifications

Hawaii will ensure: (1) that paraprofessionals with instructional duties who are hired after January 8, 2002 and work in a program supported with Title I funds meet the new NCLB requirements; and (2) all paraprofessionals in a program supported with Title I funds have a secondary school diploma or equivalent, in the following ways:

• The Hawaii Department of Education informed all Title I school principals on June 12, 2002, at the Superintendent’s Leadership Conference of the requirements regarding paraprofessionals hired after January 8, 2002. Mandatory sessions for Title I principals at the Conference further discussed the requirements and provided information on how the SEA/LEA would support schools in the implementation of the requirements. The Office of Human Services, which processes all teachers and paraprofessionals hired in the school system is involved in ascertaining the status of those paraprofessionals hired after the law was signed.
  
• In addition, Complex Area Superintendents have discussed this requirement at their meeting on June 19, 2002, and are prepared to assist principals in receiving any additional assistance they may need to implement the requirements.
  
• A committee of staff specialists, including Office of Human Services specialists and Title I staff are meeting as often as needed to continue to discuss, clarify and develop the necessary procedures to access the data and provide the information to schools. For example, immediate attention is being given to identify paraprofessionals hired since January 8, 2002 who are not qualified. A sample communication on how to inform affected individuals will be disseminated to schools to assist them in communicating with affected individuals. Discussions with the union will occur to assure that we do not abridge any rights of these individuals. The Office of Curriculum, Instruction, and Student Support has developed alternatives, including a range of options, from enrollment in University or community college degree programs, to programs such as the Literacy Tutor Training Program described in Part I 5c, and a new Family Literacy Plus program that will target welfare recipients (parents of children in Title I schools) to help them meet the paraprofessional requirements.

Part I, 5e Parental and Community Involvement

The Hawaii Department of Education will provide technical assistance to ensure that school choice, supplemental services, and a plan for collecting and disseminating effective parental practices to LEAs and schools as follows:

1. School Choice
   
   All Title I schools have been informed on the school choice option for parents and students in schools in need of improvement and corrective action.
   
   Preliminary guidelines and criteria are currently being developed, with plans to disseminate them by August, 2002, before the opening of the new school year. Final guidelines are contingent on reviewing the federal regulations from the U.S. Department of Education, as well as establishing a student achievement database that will identify the students most in need in low-income schools. This database is dependent on the test publishing company’s capacity to provide the data in a timely manner.
   
   Preliminary guidelines and criteria for transportation services related to school choice are also being developed with the same dissemination date.
   
   Guidelines on parental notification are also being developed to assist schools in communicating with parents.
   
2. Supplemental Services
   
   Preliminary guidelines and criteria to access supplemental educational services by parents are also being developed and scheduled for communication to schools and parents by August 2002. A prospectus to solicit interested service providers has been developed specifically to describe the requirements for private tutorial assistance. Interested service providers will be requested to submit a written prospectus which will be reviewed by the Hawaii Department of Education and those that meet the requirements will be listed as approved providers from which parents can request supplemental educational services. The list will be annually reviewed and updated.
   
3. A description of the plan for collecting and disseminating effective parental involvement practices to schools
   
   The Title I Program partners with the Family Support Program in the outreach to schools to provide various kinds of assistance to parents, such as websites, instructional and enrichment materials for students that parents can use, and parent training workshops (e.g. how to support reading with children).
   
   Title I, Family Support, and various community partners ( e.g. Hawaii Consortium for Family Literacy, Hawaii Community Education Association, and
   
   Read to Me International) sponsor a major Parent Involvement Conference every two years, and in the intervening year, conduct smaller conferences in each district/complex area. These conferences provide an arena for recognizing effective parental practices. Subsequently, best practices are shared with schools through parent involvement workshops and family literacy activities sponsored by various partner organizations.
   
   The Title I office staff regularly access national websites and the U.S. Department of Education website, and we make a concerted effort to disseminate relevant and appropriate information and resources to Title I schools.

Part I, 1c Administrative funds for assessment

In Part III, Title I Part A, page 7 of Hawaii’s Consolidated Plan, under Sec.1120 A, Fiscal Requirements, it is stated that “Hawaii will not use administrative funds for assessment development under Section 1004 of the ESEA.

Part I, 1e Use of 6111 funds

Hawaii submits the following statement: