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Audrey Karr

September 22, 2021

EAD-539

Supporting an Effective Learning Environment

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CIP Mission/Vision

The Elko County School district strives to reach the vision “Learning for All.” The

district believes that schools can enhance the vision through building a blending mission for

staff and students. Southside Elementary believes in everyone being respectful, responsible

and doing their best at all times. When looking at Southside’s CIP components: professional

development, family engagement, curriculum/instruction and additional resources like a school

wide behavior management program, it is very clear that the school’s beliefs are seen through

this documents action plan. Each component shows the respect and responsibility for the

school, the people, the programs, the after-school activities and the support from outside

organizations in order to provide the best opportunities for all.

CIP Supports Effective Learning Environment

The base line for Southside’s CIP uses a variety of data collected so stakeholders and

teachers can collaborate and focus on implementing instructional goals that meet the Nevada

Academic Content Standards (NVACS), help determine the levels of proficiency and close the

academic achievement gap. The CIP action plan, as stated above is broken down into four

categories. Each category has action steps, resources, budgeted amounts, artifacts, evidence

along with a timeline and position responsible for performing the action. Within each action

step, a plan is thoroughly supported through specific details that explains how students will

benefit from the process and be assessed to determine the effectiveness. These steps are then

analyzed, discussed and reflected upon by stakeholders prior to adjusting or changing any part

of the process.

Stakeholders
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The first page of the schools Continuous Improvement Plan (CIP) not only has the

school name, address and date, but it is clearly color coded based off of Title I status, grade

levels served and classifications. Another main focus is the highlighted members of the

planning team, which includes teachers, administration, strategists, and in addition a parent due

to being a Title I school. Within the CIP, there are multiple steps in the plan; however, the last

category is about who is qualified to take the position responsible and follow through. It

provides how long the task is expected to go and what department (grade level teachers,

strategists, administration or parents) will be the driving force behind each component.

Although individuals’ names are not specified, the plan provides the opportunity for more than

one person to work together and help with follow through every step of the way. Within the

summary statement, it clearly states how the staff determines how well students perform on

statewide assessments and other summative assessments along with seeing that the school is

compliant with Nevada’s Read by Grade 3 (RBG3) program (Nevada Department of

Education, 2019).

Best People/Positions

When looking at each step of the action plan, it is noted that each area has designated

departments in charge as appose to specific people. For example, in the area of Family

Engagement, it is open to staff members, Communities in School (CIS) representatives and

parent volunteers. Whereas in the Professional Development (PD) department and

Curriculum/Instruction Assessment department the groups in charge are all staff, strategist’s,

leadership team members and administration. The groups that are designated to each area have

background knowledge, a degree and/or specialize in these specific areas to offer the most

impertinent information. Anyone looking at this CIP would be pleased to see the credentials of
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the assigned people in each area and how they plan on delivering the plan components to all

staff.

Action Plans Implemented

One of the most unique categories in the schools CIP is the monitoring status because it

requires stakeholders to reconvene often, document how action plans are being implemented

and review the overall process. Within the components, stakeholders are having to justify their

activities, strategies, how often students are engaging in these opportunities and where support

has been provided to show that there is consistency and progression in the performance plan

(Martin, Danzig, Wright, et. al, 2017).

When looking at an area that requires fluid adjustments and accountability, it would

definitely be the budgeting component because of the amount of money allotted, where the

money can be spent and how it will be tracked to show the benefits of the funding. At

Southside, there are Title I funds, 21 st Century funds, SB178 funds, Zoom (SB467) EL funds

and Read by Grade 3 (RBG3) funds. Once funds have been released, the school is required to

prove how the funds are going to be put to good use and what the outcome is at the end of the

year. This confirms that all action plans are in place and being used to the best ability based off

of student data and stakeholders collaborating.

Strategies for Evaluating Effectiveness

To evaluate the effectiveness of the schools CIP, teachers are monitoring student

academic progress through data collection (MAPS, DIBELS, SBAC, BRIGANCE, WIDA,

ESGI), along with strategic intervention strategies. Then stakeholders will determine how the

school’s mission and goals are meeting the needs of students within the timelines given. Next,
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evaluating instructional strategies, programs, technology, and professional development

training will determine what is working and what needs to be adapted. Since this is a Title I

school, the school receives extra support thru out-reach programs, which comes from grant

money. These programs must align with certain criteria and also be assessed to see if students

who are in the low socioeconomic groups within the school are showing academic growth

(Education Service Center, 2021). Overall there is a lot of detail that goes into creating an

effective action plan and making sure to revisit it often is a vital part in seeing the process

through.
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References

Education Service Center (2021). Campus Improvement Plan Checklist.

https://www.esc11.net/cms/lib3/TX21000259/Centricity/Domain/489/Campus%20Impr

ovement%20Plan%20Checklist.docx

Nevada Department of Education (2019). School Performance Plan for Southside Elementary.

Elko County School District.

Martin, G., Danzig, A., Wright, W. & et. al. (2017). School Leader Internship: Developing,

Monitoring, and Evaluating Your Leadership Experience. 4th Edition, Routledge.