The Hawaii State Department of Education's Comprehensive Student Support System (CSSS) framework provides a focused and responsive system to nurture a literate student's academic, social, emotional, and physical well-being.
The vision of the Public School Graduate recognizes the diverse needs of students and the need for multiple learning strategies. Having a strong CSSS at all schools will ensure that appropriate support and interventions are provided to ALL students.
The Comprehensive Student Support System Guide shall assist administrators, teachers, and others in the delivery of timely, appropriate programs and services to ALL students. This guide shall also serve as a resource to develop a common understanding among various role groups.
(signed)
Patricia Hamamoto
Superintendent
The Department of Education acknowledges the following individuals for their contributions in the development of this Comprehensive Student Support System Guide.
Lois Matsuda, Educational Specialist
CSSS Implementation
Student Support Services Branch
The Board of Education (BOE) recognizes the importance of providing effective instruction in a caring and supportive learning environment. A comprehensive student support system will ensure that all students attain the Hawaii Content and Performance Standards (HCPS) and the General Learner Outcomes (GLOs), in order to become Public School Graduates prepared for post secondary education and/or careers.
Therefore, the Department shall provide a comprehensive student support system framework to support the implementation, with fidelity, of:
Approved: 05/14/09
In 1996, the Hawaii State Department of Education initiated a collaborative and systemic reform known as the Comprehensive Student Support System (CSSS) to assist students to meet high educational standards. CSSS is founded on the following beliefs:
The CSSS model includes the three essential, interrelated components for a comprehensive system in a school — Instruction, Support, and Management. This system is the Department of Education’s (DOE) framework for providing an environment that ensures academic, social, emotional, and physical growth through a continuum of supports and services. The framework, philosophical outlook, tasks and support resources were based on the research of Dr. Howard Adelman and Dr. Linda Taylor** (1997).
CSSS provides standards-based learning and a comprehensive support system for all students, demonstrating that every children can learn, meet Hawaii Content and Performance Standards (HCPS) and General Learner Outcomes (GLOs), and attain the Vision of a Public School Graduate.
The CSSS framework allows all students a variety of resources and services to improve their learning within and beyond classroom instruction. The Array of Student Support is identified through five levels. The collection of services ensures that the supports provided and their delivery correspond to the severity, complexity, and frequency of each student’s needs. These resources represent a community of caring and supportive relationships among students, teachers, families, and agencies which occur at all levels, ensuring timely and appropriate services for all students.
The measurement that indicates students are meeting standards and receiving appropriate supports is the achievement in the classroom.
Notes:
*Literacy for Learning, April 2009. <http://hawaiidoeliteracy.pbwiki.com>
** Co-directors of the School Mental Health Project, Department of Psychology at the University of California, Los
Angeles, California.
All students in the Hawaii public schools are expected to reach the Vision of a Public School Graduate. All schools are expected to create an environment that optimizes standards-based learning with the supports necessary to challenge all students to excel.
To achieve the Vision of a Public School Graduate, students must demonstrate what they know and are able to do as defined in the HCPS. In addition, students must reach the essential goals of standards-based learning in the GLOs.
Schools must implement research and evidence-based curriculum, assessment and instruction, with a focus on literacy, all of which must be carried out with fidelity, and are based on the standards.
The learning success for all students refers to not only the students who are motivationally ready and able to profit from high standards demands and expectations, but also to those students who are not benefiting from the regular instruction because of external and/or internal barriers interfering with their development and learning.
The Comprehensive Student Support System (CSSS) was created as a framework to help schools meet the challenges of implementing the standards and to ensure that all children can learn.
Essential to a safe and nurturing environment that fosters student achievement are six critical elements. The school system must include a personalized classroom climate, early intervention practices, transition support, family and community involvement, and special assistance for crisis situations. A well-designed structure will ensure that all student needs will be addressed as they work towards attaining the Vision of a Public School Graduate.
Having a comprehensive student support system requires the school to devote attention to the instructional practices and organizational conditions required to support achievement.
CSSS facilitates the organization of the components that allows the school to examine the curriculum, assessments, instruction and array of supports to benefit student learning (See Appendix)
Notes:
*Hawaii Content & Performance Standards III Database, Standards-Based Education: Info for Parents: Standards,
Curriculum, Assessment and Instruction are based on Standards. <http://165.248.30.40/hcpsv3/library.jsp>
The CSSS infrastructure development begins with a team at the school responsible for providing the leadership and ensuring the implementation of CSSS.
The function of the School Leadership Team, as it relates to CSSS is to ensure the implementation and sustainability of CSSS. In order to accomplish this important task, the School Leadership Team must build, through a Systems Approach*, the CSSS infrastructure, identify the array of student support, prioritize/address school-wide issues that interfere with student learning, and analyze appropriate data to assist the school in making informed decisions for students.
The School Leadership Team, which may be an existing team, is comprised of members from the school who can assist with the development of a comprehensive, multifaceted approach to student learning. Team members include:
*Literacy for Learning, April 2009. <http://hawaiidoeliteracy.pbwiki.com>
The Array of Student Support provides the framework for the school to structure accessible resources into five levels of increasing intensity or specialization of services needed to appropriately support student learning. This array is reflected in the school’s CSSS brochure that is updated annually and distributed to staff, parents and community members to publicize current school, department and community resources and services available to students. The school’s current process to access supports for students along with a list of contacts is also detailed.
| Levels of Support | Level 1: Basic support for all students |
Level 2: Informal additional support through collaboration |
Level 3: Individualized school and community sponsored programs |
Level 4: Specialized services from DOE and/or contracted agencies |
Level 5: Intensive, and multiple agency services |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Definition | Diverse needs of students are addressed in the inclusive classroom. | Additional support beyond what the classroom teacher provides. | Further assistance is designed for specific needs based upon criteria of acceptance into a support program. The process may involve legal requirements. | Higher level assistance that may involve specialized assessment and/or compliance with equity and other legal requirements. | Intensive multi-agency supports are required to meet the needs of the student and family. The plan integrates the resources of the DOE and other agencies. Student placement may be in an off-campus therapeutic and/or educational setting. |
| Target Population | All students | Students exhibiting at-risk behaviors | Students with mild or situational difficulties | Students with moderate problems | Students with more severe and/or complex problems |
| Types of Support (Based on available school resources) |
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| Multi-level Notes | Levels 1 through 5:
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| Legend | * English for Second Language Learners |
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(Rev 06.09)
To sustain a robust and comprehensive student support system, a school must formulate a plan to realize each of the three CSSS goals comprised of the Six Critical Elements and an Array of Student Support. Evidence of a successful support system is based upon positive student outcomes, constructive parent responses, and timely responses to student needs.
The charts on the following pages are designed to assist schools in understanding the relationship of the various components of CSSS. It aligns specific CSSS elements to each goal with detailed actions.
The outcomes measure the progress of the school to provide a focused and responsive system of supports to strengthen the social, emotional, and physical well-being of all students.
Provide students with comprehensive, coordinated, integrated, and customized supports that are accessible, timely, and strength-based so they can achieve in school, be confident and caring, and become contributing citizens in their communities.
Critical Elements that Address Goal 1
| Element | Action |
|---|---|
| Personalized Classroom Climate and Differentiated Classroom Practices |
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| Prevention and Early Intervention | • Teachers shall recognize at-risk students early, before they fall behind, and support these students so they are successful in the general education classroom. • Schools shall put into practice an approach that seeks to prevent academic failure through early intervention that includes frequent progress measurement and research and evidence-based instructional interventions. – Student progress is monitored to determine appropriate instructional strategies. – Frequent assessments identify the student's response to the interventions. – Data is used to compare the efficacy of different forms of instruction, to find more effective strategies for targeted students. |
| Support for Transition | • All students who receive services shall have transition plans in place to support effective and smooth transitions between settings. • Planned supports shall provide for: – Support for immigrant and military service families through second-language programs, counseling, and linkages with community and military agencies. – Movement between schools and between school and community programs (both private and public); e.g., pre-school to kindergarten, community-based, private agency, etc. – Mass transfers from Elementary to Middle/ Intermediate to High School. – Movements between grade levels. – Movement between plans/programs within the school; e.g., into and/or from special education, 504, special motivation programs, etc. – Procedures for welcoming new students and beginning the new school year. • All students shall have post-graduation plans; e.g., Personal Transition Plans (PTP). |
| Specialized Assistance and Crisis and Emergency Support | • Resources with expertise in various areas of child development shall be included in providing services that enhance the quality of customized services when needed. • School staff shall be knowledgeable about and able to facilitate referrals for short and long term special services (including 504 accommodations, special education, and other support programs). • Care coordination or case management services shall be delivered in a consistent and timely manner. • Students and staff shall be knowledgeable about individual crisis and emergency procedures. • Immediate access to social and mental health services shall be available in an emergency or crisis. |
OUTCOME INDICATORS FOR GOAL 1:
Involve families and the community as integral partners in the implementation of the CSSS.
Critical Elements that address Goal 2
| Element | Action |
|---|---|
| Family Involvement and Participation | • Planned, on-going, two-way communication between the school and family shall occur at all grades. • The school shall respond to parent concerns in a timely manner. • Parents and families, teachers, and other school personnel shall meet to discuss program goals that best fit the individual student’s needs. • Children and families shall be informed of their rights and responsibilities under the Individual with Disabilities Education Improvement Act (IDEIA) and Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act. • Family needs for information shall be met through newsletters, parent-teacher conferences, open house events, workshops, and meetings. • Parent programs shall enhance family support of student learning and performance. • The school shall measure effective family involvement as partners in education. • The school shall involve parents in school planning via School Community Councils. |
| Community Outreach and Support | • School representatives, community agencies, and groups shall meet or communicate regularly on the assessment, planning, and delivery of support services. • When the needs of the student and family require support from various agencies, services shall be coordinated and integrated in a plan developed by the student team. • Community members shall be involved in the School Community Council. |
OUTCOME INDICATORS FOR GOAL 2:
Integrate the human and financial resources of appropriate public and private agencies to create caring communities at each of our schools.
| Element | Action |
|---|---|
| Array of Student Support | • The school shall identify the current resources available at the school and community and order them in the five levels of student support. – The levels of student support reflect the intensity of support and become more specialized as the student needs increase. – The school shall document resources that are currently available in the school and community with a brief description of each resource. – The school shall communicate to parents and students the Array of Student Support and the process to access services. |
| Academic and Financial Plan (Ac/Fin) | • The school shall include in the Ac/Fin Plan the programs that are implemented to address the needs of the students. • The school shall review their Ac/Fin Plan goals, objectives and evidence to improve the school’s efforts to provide support for all students through their Array of Student Support. • The Ac/Fin information shall be shared with staff and the School Community Council. |
OUTCOME INDICATORS FOR GOAL 3:
In 2004, the Hawaii Legislature passed Act 51, known as “Reinventing Education Act of 2004”. This educational reform provided a road map of changes to ensure the success of Hawaii’s public education system. Specifically noted in the Act, "Students are the primary clients served by the public education system and they must be served well by providing them with access to tools they need to succeed, a nurturing environment conducive to learning, and supplementary opportunities for growth that facilitate their development."
Act 51 defined what the State of Hawaii, from the top of the system to the bottom, must do to hold all students and schools accountable by detailing three primary goals: academic achievement, safety and well-being and civic responsibility. These goals directly impacted the Department of Education's Comprehensive Student Support System.
Accountability measures of CSSS Implementation are reflected in the Outcome Indicators of each of the three CSSS Goals.
Data sources of accountability that provide information on the implementation of performance standards and achievement of performance goals are:
The 2008-2011 Strategic Plan Has Three Goals:
Our graduates will...
The Hawaii Content and Performance Standards (HCPS) define the essential content and skills that describe learning expectations for students, what they need to know and be able to do, in core and extended core areas. The nine content areas are:
The six General Learner Outcomes (GLOs) serve as the essential, overarching goals that promote the development of knowledge, skills and attitudes for all of the content and performance standards that students need in order to lead full and productive lives. These Outcomes are:
The Student Support Process (SSP) is a problem-solving process that helps to ensure that all students receive the support they need to succeed. Every eCSSS user will need to understand this process.
This chart and description serve as an introduction to the SSP, providing an overview of its stages. The process can be abbreviated for students with low needs.
Each part of the process is referred to as a stage. For example, logging a referral belongs to the Express Concern stage.
| Express Concern | The expression of a concern for a student initiates the SSP. Once this concern is expressed, the school logs a referral. The focus of this stage is to accurately log the referral. If a student is suspected of having a disability, the referral must be notated as such. |
| Gather Data | Once the referral is logged, a team is assembled to begin gathering academic, behavioral and health data. A conference to discuss the student's challenges is scheduled, which may require input from parents. |
| Define Needs | At the conference, the team defines the student's needs by analyzing performance data. The focus is to determine whether a challenge exists and to develop a definition of that challenge. For a student suspected of having a disability, the team may decide to proceed with an evaluation to determine if the student's needs are the result of a disability. |
| Develop Plan | Based on the student's defined needs, the team develops a plan that consists of measurable goals and appropriate services. For students who require supports or services but are not suspected of having a disability, the plan is the Action Plan. For students eligible for IDEA and 504 services, the plan includes the Individualized Education Program (IEP) and Modification Plan (MP), respectively. |
| Implement Plan | This stage involves service delivery. When applicable, providers are assigned and log their services. Student progress is reported and monitored periodically. |
| Evaluate Plan | On the plan's end date or sooner, if warranted, the plan’s effectiveness is determined using evidence of student progress. The plan is updated as needed and parents are notified. |
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SIX CRITICAL ELEMENTS