PROGRAMS & SERVICES:
SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT:
SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT GRANT (SIG) RESOURCES
(Updated 6/13/11)

The School Improvement Grants (SIG) program is authorized by the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA). The grants are given to states for the purpose of providing assistance for school improvement through grants for Local Education Agencies (LEAs), or districts. The state must “give priority to the LEAs with the lowest-achieving schools that demonstrate — (A) the greatest need for such funds; and (B) the strongest commitment to ensuring that such funds are used to provide adequate resources to enable the lowest-achieving schools to meet the goals under school and local educational improvement, corrective action, and restructuring plans under section 1116.”

Update on SIG - Implementing the Transformation Model OSL
This webinar is a sharing by three school coaches of successful strategies employed by their schools' in implementing the transformation model.

Additional Resources:

• PowerPoint Version of Webinar PDF

SIG Amendments & Year 2 Webinar - February 3, 2011 OSL
Objectives of the webinar include: review procedures for amending SIG grants during the current year, discuss the role of SIG coaches in making amendment decisions, consider ways to use the audit findings to inform Year 2 SIG plans, and offer suggestions for future meetings of SIG coaches/teams.

Additional Resources:

• PowerPoint Version of Webinar PDF
• Transformation Model Activities Map PDF
• Request for Amendment to an Existing Grant PDF

School Improvement Grant Application Information & Documents
U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan announced on April 30, 2010 that Vermont will receive $8.5 million to turn around its persistently lowest achieving schools through the School Improvement Grants (SIG) program. These funds are part of the $3.5 billion that will be made available to states this spring from money set aside in the 2009 budget and the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. The $8,582,473 made available to Vermont is being distributed by formula to the state and will then be competed out by the state to school districts. In order for a school district to apply for these funds, it must have a state-identified "persistently lowest achieving" or a Tier III school - a school that has failed to meet annual yearly progress for two years and is not identified as a persistently lowest achieving school. However, Tier III schools can only receive funds once all of the state's persistently lowest achieving schools have received funds. Use the link above to view Vermont’s application, which includes its list of persistently lowest achieving schools, as defined by the state.

Use the following links for information and documents schools need to apply for the grant:

• Overview of Vermont SIG Award, Reporting & Review Process PDF
• Vermont's Approved SIG Approved Application PDF
  View Vermont’s application, which includes its list of persistently lowest achieving schools, as defined by the state.
• SIG LEA E-ApplicationWORD
• U.S. Department of Education SIG FAQs for LEAs PDF
• SIG Guidance FAQs PDF
• Major Factors for Rapid Change Rubric PDF
• Statement of Agreement PDF

Tier I, Tier II and Tier III School Determination Process
The intent of these documents (below) is to clarify the recent designation of the state’s 10 “persistently low-achieving schools.” This ranking was a requirement of the U.S. Department of Education (USED), and the determination process used in Vermont was reviewed and approved by USED in January 2010. The 10 designated schools are eligible for further federal funding and support from the Vermont Agency of Education (VT-AOE). Application for funding and participation is a local school board decision. If any of these 10 schools apply for funds, it is with the agreement they will follow one of four school improvement models defined by the USED. The VT-AOE is providing technical assistance to the superintendents of all 10 affected schools and will continue to do so throughout the application process and the life of the grant.

• Vermont’s School Improvement Grant Tiered Schools Definition
  (As Approved by USDOE) PDF
• Tier I, Tier II and Tier III Determination Explanation PDF
• Ranking Determinations Formulae PDF
• Vermont Title I Schools Ranked List PDF
  In an effort to get state education agencies and local school districts to use federal School Improvement Grant (SIG) funds in a more focused manner to improve achievement for children in poverty, the USED required the department for the first time this year to rank all Title I identified (by State AYP) schools and Title I eligible high schools. Ninety-six schools fit this category and were ranked individually on their most recent (2008/2009) AYP index scores in reading and mathematics and the amount of growth in these areas over the testing period (for high schools this was two years; for other schools this was four years). In response to requests for this information, the department is posting the list here. Tier I, II and III schools are all eligible for additional federal funding through SIG. Schools categorized as "No Formal Status (NFS)" were included in the ranking because of their Title I status but have no formal designation and are not eligible for the federal grant funds.
  • Vermont LEA SIG Applications
    View applications by supervisory union, including SU name, school name, application status and award amount. NOTE: Vermont Tier I & Tier II schools using the transformation reform model are noted by an asterisk (*) in the table below.

The Vermont School Improvement Grant (SIG) Wiki OSL
This wiki is a department-hosted resource for schools applying for the School Improvement Grant. View the list of schools eligible to apply here.

Karin Edwards
(802) 828-1622
karin.edwards@state.vt.us

John Fischer
(802) 828-0488
john.fischer@state.vt.us

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