MSAD 9 POLICY MANUAL
File: AEC
ACCOUNTABILITY–REPORTING TO THE PUBLIC
The Board is conscious of its responsibility for making informed decisions that will impact student learning and school system operations. As an elected body, the Board recognizes that it is accountable to the citizens of the school unit for its decisions and the educational achievement of its students. Basic to accountability is the reporting of information concerning student achievement and, in general, the operations of the schools.
The Board directs the Superintendent to prepare appropriate reports that will provide the Board with the information it needs to make appropriate policy and planning decisions and to keep the public informed regarding the academic progress of its students, the effectiveness of school programs, and the needs of the school system. As practicable, the Superintendent may combine such reports into a single document and/or presentation or use multiple reporting processes, depending upon the nature of the information. Such reports shall be made available to the public.
The Superintendent shall also be responsible for gathering and submitting data to the Maine Department of Education (DOE) and other agencies as required by law and/or regulations and for preparing and disseminating reports to the Board and the public in compliance with applicable laws and/or regulations. Data collated by the State shall be incorporated into reports to the Board and/or public as mandated by law and/or regulations.
A. District Annual Report
Each year the Superintendent shall prepare and present to the Board an annual report addressing the activities of the school unit and his/her recommendation(s) for improving student learning and school system operations. The report shall be made available to the public as a means of informing parents and citizens of the school system’s goals, plans, programs, and operations.
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B. Comprehensive Plan Report
Each school unit must develop and implement a Comprehensive Education Plan that is aligned with Maine’s system of Learning Results, focused on the learning of all students, and oriented to continuous improvement and includes the elements listed in Chapter 125, Section 4.02, of the Department of Education Rules. The Superintendent shall make an annual report to the Board and public on the school system’s Comprehensive Education Plan and school improvement progress.
C. Local Assessment System
The Superintendent/designee, with the assistance of appropriate staff, will prepare for the Board’s review and for dissemination to the public, on an annual basis, the results of the Local Assessment System. The purpose is to enable the Board and public to monitor student progress in achieving the content standards of the system of Learning Results and to make informed decisions concerning the instructional program and allocation of resources.
D. District Report Cards
In compliance with federal law and regulations and to provide relevant information concerning the academic performance of the school system and of its individual schools, the Superintendent shall be responsible for annually collecting and submitting required data and for preparing and making available to schools, the parents of children in those schools, and the public a “district report card.”
As required by federal law, district report cards shall contain the following information:
1. Aggregate data on student achievement at each proficiency level on state academic assessments and disaggregated data reflecting race, ethnicity, gender, disability, migrant status, English proficiency, and status as economically disadvantaged;
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2. Comparison of these student groups regarding achievement levels on each of the State assessments;
3. Percentage of students not tested, disaggregated by student groups;
4. Most recent two-year trend data in achievement by subject area and grade level in areas where assessments are required;
5. Aggregate data on state indicators to determine Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP), such as attendance rates for elementary schools;
6. Graduation rates for secondary schools, disaggregated by student groups;
7. Information on the school unit’s performance relevant to Adequate Yearly Progress and the number, percentage, and names of schools identified for improvement, including how long they have been so identified;
8. Professional qualifications of teachers and percentage of teachers with emergency or provisional qualification;
9. Percentage of classes not taught by highly qualified teachers, in the aggregate and disaggregated by high poverty and low poverty level schools; and
10. Comparison of the school unit’s student achievements on state assessments and other indicators of Adequate Yearly Progress to students in the state as a whole.
As applied to data for individual schools, the district report card will include the following information:
1. The same information contained in the district report card;
2. Whether the school has been identified for school improvement; and
3. Information that shows how the school’s students’ achievement on the statewide academic assessments and other indicators of
File: AEC
Adequate Yearly Progress compared to students in the school unit and the state as a whole. (20 U.S.C. § 6311(h)(2)(B)).
E. Responsibilities Associated with District
The Superintendent/designee shall be responsible for:
1. Updating and submitting required information;
2. Providing district report cards to parents of students in the district’s schools in an understandable and uniform format and, to the extent practicable, in a language the parents can understand; and
3. Making district and school report cards widely available through public means, such as distribution to the media, posting on the Internet, and distribution through public agencies.
F. Financial Reports
The Superintendent/designee shall provide to the Board and public quarterly reports concerning the financial condition of the school system.
G. Other Reports
The Board may request and the Superintendent/designee shall provide to the Board and/or public other reports related to school system goals and objectives, the instructional program, and operations of the schools.
Legal Reference: 20 U.S.C. § 6311 (No Child Left Behind Act)
20-A M.R.S.A. §§ 4502(1), (6)
Ch. 125, 127 (Me. Dept. of Ed. Rules)
Cross Reference: ADF – School District Commitment to Learning Results
ILA – Student Assessment/Local Assessment System
KD - Public Information and Communications
Adopted: June 14, 2005