I Have Been Notified That A School in My District Needs an "ESCA"? What Does that Mean?

1. I Have Been Notified That A School in My District Needs an "ESCA"? What Does that Mean? Regional Workshop for Differentiated Accountability New York State Education Department Office of Accountability

2. ESCA Stands for: External School Curriculum Audit

3. Who Must Have an ESCA? • All Schools Newly Identified as Corrective Action “Year 1” • Both Focused and Comprehensive • Whether Title I Funded or Not

4. What Is Difference Between a School Receiving Title I Funding and One That Doesn't? • If Your School Receives Title I Funding - • District receives funding to use for ESCA Review and implementing findings. • If Your School Does Not Receive Title I Funding - • District must pay for ESCA Review and implementation from other funds (local, or other available funding streams).

5. What is Involved in an ESCA? An ESCA answers the questions of whether your school's curriculum is - • Aligned to NY State Standards (and to your district standards) and • Effectively • implemented, • assessed, and • taught by all teachers to all students.

6. What if my District Had a DINI Curriculum Audit? It depends on when the audit occurred - • If the DINI Audit has been completed, the audit report and recommendations should be considered before beginning the review of your school. • If your district has just been identified for a DINI Audit, the evaluator auditing your school must work closely with the DINI evaluator to ensure both audits are linked and comprehensive.

7. How Do I Prepare for an ESCA? First, your district selects a vendor and prepares a contract for your ESCA. The district must - • Follow their competitive procurement procedures for contracts, • Select a highly qualified vendor that meets SED criteria, • Submit for NYSED approval, and • Make all arrangements with the contractor.

8. More Preparation for Your ESCA: • Submit ESCA Application to SED • Title I Grant Application or • Non-Title I Application • Project Narrative (All Schools) • Provide ESCA Guidelines to Vendor /Evaluator • Submit Final Report to SED • Ensure all recommendations are incorporated into Next Year's Comprehensive Educational Plan (CEP)

9. What Criteria Must a Vendor Meet? Experience, Expertise and a History of Successful Work in Pre-K - 12 Education including • Research-based curriculum design, instruction, and professional development; • Knowledge of new York State's Race to the Top (RTTT), the Common Core Standards and Teacher Evaluation (APPR) • Expertise in working successfully with schools similar to yours, based on • content area(s), and • subgroup(s); • The size, capacity and experience to complete the audit and report within set timelines.

10. Who Can Be a Vendor? Investigate - • Curriculum Auditing Organizations • Educational Consultants and Groups • Colleges and Universities • Professional Organizations (See guidelines on website for specific criteria you should use to screen applicants.)

11. What's the Timeline? ACTIVITIES DUE DATE NYSED Announces School Accountability Status 2010-11 November 2010 ESCA Funding Application is Posted November 2010 LEA Selects Vendor November-December 2010 LEA Sends Grant Application to SED December 2010 SED Approves Grant Application December 2010 Vendor Begins Audit January 2011 Vendor Completes Audit May 2011 Vendor Completes the Audit Report June 2011 LEA Submits the Audit Report to SED June 2011 LEA Completes the CEP Including ESCA Recommendations and Action Plan June, July and August 2011 LEA Submits the CEP to the Board of Education for Review and Approval June, July and August 2011 LEA Submits CEP for Review and Approval to SED August 2011 LEA Submits ESCA Implementation Evaluation to SED February 2012

12. Project Narrative Answers the following questions: 1) Who will be conducting the ESCA (background information on vendor)? 2) How will the ESCA be conducted? 3) What curriculum areas will be examined? 4) Which student subgroups’ performances are being considered? 5) When will the ESCA Report be completed for the school and district’s review? (provide a timeline of activities)

13. What Does the ESCA Audit Involve? (1) Introduction - Demographic profile of community - Profile of school's student population - Philosophical statement of approach to audit

14. What Does the ESCA Audit Involve? (2) Critical Analysis • Current Policies • Instruction • Professional Development • Assessment/Data Analysis • Management/Administrative Staff Support • Compliance with • State and federal mandates • District goals/objectives

15. Follow-up to ESCA District will • Submit a copy of the ESCA Report to SED, • With their school(s), analyze the report and determine how to effectively implement the recommendations, • Revise their CEP, incorporating the report's recommendations, • Submit the revised CEP to SED by August 31, 2011, • Implement the CEP beginning in the 2011-12 school year, • Use total Improvement Grant funds for subsequent year to continue implementing audit recommendations, and • Complete and submit a mid-year evaluation during 2011-12 school year.

16. School Improvement Teams:http://www.p12.nysed.gov/accountability/School_Improvement/home.html • NYC: (718) 722-2636 or siteam@mail.nysed.gov • Upstate/Long Island: (518) 474-5923 or rss@mail.nysed.gov