Reaching New Heights: Celebrating Student Success

1. Celebrate Success! Reaching New Heights: Celebrating Student Success (Insert School District Name and Presenter) October 2010

2. Substantially more students are reaching higher levels of achievementin [name of district] Since 2003-04, we have… Increased the percentage of students scoring proficient or advanced by XX% in reading and XX% in math. Decreased the percentage of students scoring below basic by XX% in reading and XX% in math. [Note: This is a sample chart and will need to be replaced with charts that include your district data for reading and math. See “District data template” in the toolkit.]

3. In 2003-2004… (Insert #) schools in our district were making significant annual progress and making AYP In 2009-10… (Insert #) schools in our district are making significant annual progress and making AYP More of our schools are reaching higher performance standards and preparing our students for success Three quarters of PA students are now on grade level based on 2009-10 PSSA scores in math and reading. 2

4. In (Name) School District, we have invested our increased state resources wisely which has led to higher student achievement Since 2003-04, our district has received an increase of $xx in state funds. [Note: This is the sample chart and will need to be replaced with charts that include your district data. See “District data template” in the toolkit.] 3

5. (Name) School District has benefited significantly from increased state funds . . . Our district has received xx% more in state funds since 2003-4; a total increase of $XXX. Without this increase in state funds, local property taxes would have had to go up by $XX to provide the same services to students. In 2010-11, our school district will receive an increase of xx% in Basic Education Subsidy from the state in the amount of $XX. The state share of total education costs in our district has increased by XX% from 2002-03 to 2008-09. State investment in public schools has increased by $4.3 billion since 2003. 4

6. [Name] School District has invested state funds on programs proven to raise achievement in the classroom. Last year alone, we spent our increased state investment this way: • [Insert program] • [Insert program] • [Insert program]

7. State resources have been targeted to meet specific student needs Early Childhood Education • Only about one-third of Pennsylvania’s children have access to publicly-funded quality early education programs. [You can customize to include the percentage of children under age five served in your county- go to tab one of the Reach and Risk report for this number at http://www.pakeys.org/pages/get.aspx?page=EarlyLearning_Reach.]Pennsylvania’s early education efforts are designed to increase the number of children in programs with research-based standards that have proven track records for producing positive outcomes for children. • Since [date] we have increased by xx the number of spaces in high quality Pre-K Counts and Head Start Supplemental programs. • Since [date], we have increased by xx the number of spaces for full-day kindergarten preparing more students for elementary school success. Research shows a return on investment of eight dollars for every one dollar invested in quality early childhood education. 6

8. State resources have been targeted to meet specific student needs High School Reform • Through Classrooms for the Future, # high school students received laptops and # teachers received intensive professional development on integrating project-based, technology-enhanced curricula into daily lessons • [Insert additional district investments and programs made possible through state funds] • [Insert additional district investments and programs made possible through state funds] • [Insert achievement data for 11th grade students] CFF was launched in 2006 as a three-year, $200 million project. Since then, it has reached some 20,000 teachers and 500,000 students. 7

9. But there is still work to be done . . . Despite the increased investment of state funds and substantial progress in student achievement, [Name] School District still has a funding adequacy gap of $XX overall or $XX per student. XX% of students are scoring below basic in math and XX% are scoring below basic in reading. The closer a district is to its funding adequacy target, the more students perform at or above grade level. 8

10. For more information:[Insert Superintendent Name and Contact Information]