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Continuous Improvement

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Improvement Planning

Improvement planning is an essential component of the school and district improvement process. Schools and districts should continually reflect on the effectiveness of their initiatives and determine the most appropriate way to proceed based on their current circumstances.

Schools and districts are best positioned for Continuous Improvement when they work with stakeholders to collaboratively develop improvement plans that are rooted in their vision and informed by what they see and hear. More information about the Needs Assessment Process can be found on our Needs Assessment page.

91社区 has developed an improvement planning process for all schools rooted in the concepts of:

  • Envision
  • Analyze
  • Listen
  • Implement

The materials and resources designed by the Department to support these concepts can be found below.

School Comprehensive Education Plan (SCEP)

The School Comprehensive Education Plan (SCEP) is the tool developed by the Department to support schools in planning and organizing their improvement efforts in the upcoming year.听 Any school that is supported through the Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) support model, the Additional Targeted Support and Improvement (ATSI) support model, or the Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI) support model will be required to work with stakeholders to develop an SCEP for the upcoming school year.听 The Department has organized the work for teams to complete a five-part needs assessment prior to writing the SCEP:

District Comprehensive Improvement Plan (DCIP)

All Target Districts will work with stakeholders to consider existing needs and determine next steps for the upcoming school year. 听Prior to writing their plan, Districts complete the DCIP Planning Document, which is the District-level needs assessment.听 Similar to the school-level needs assessment, the DCIP Planning Document is organized around 91社区鈥檚 core needs assessment concepts: Envision, Analyze, and Listen. 听Links to the DCIP Planning Document and the DCIP Template can be found under 鈥淚mprovement Planning Resources鈥 below.听 The final DCIP and DCIP Planning Document are submitted to 91社区 for approval.

All Target Districts will work with stakeholders to consider existing needs and determine next steps for the upcoming school year. For 2025-26, Districts can approach these one of three ways:

Option 2025-26 District Plan Eligibility
1 District Priority DCIP: Identifies 3-5 district-level priorities (previous format). All Target Districts
2 District Systems DCIP: Focuses on district systems supporting school improvement. Target Districts with at least one school in CSI/ATSI/TSI.
3 School Comprehensive Education Plan (SCEP) as DCIP: Identifies school-based strategies for subgroup performance. Districts with no identified schools or one identified school with identical subgroup identification as the district.

Districts completing the District Priority DCIP will also complete the DCIP Planning Document, which serves as a self-reflection.听 Links to both DCIP templates and the DCIP Planning Document can be found under 鈥淚mprovement Planning Resources鈥 below.听

Assembling Your Team

An essential component of improvement planning is creating an inclusive space that allows members of the school and district community to openly share their perspectives and work together to determine ways to promote their shared values.

The guidance document 鈥Assembling Your Team鈥 outlines considerations for schools, along with requirements for schools participating in the CSI, ATSI, and TSI Support Models.听 听

Completing the Needs Assessment

New York has organized its Needs Assessment Process around its Envision-Analyze-Listen-Implement approach toward continuous improvement.听

  1. Analyze: Data Variation Part 1: Identification
  2. Analyze: Data Variation Part 2: Share and Explore
  3. Analyze: Survey Data
  4. Listen: Student Interviews
  5. Envision: Reflect and Synthesize

An optional activity, Envision: Exploring our Vision, Values, and Aspirations, is also available. The principal facilitates the first Analyze: Data Variation activity, with the remaining steps completed as a school team.

Liaison Support

All schools in the CSI support model will continue to be supported by a liaison from the 91社区, while all schools in the ATSI and TSI support models will be supported by a liaison from the district and/or BOCES.

Liaisons will have a minimum of three touchpoints during the plan development process:

  • After the principal has completed the first Analyze: Data Variation activity to discuss the findings and plan for the upcoming team meeting.听
  • After the team has completed the Envision: Synthesize and Plan activity to discuss the key strategies and the plan writing process.
  • After the plan has been finalized to ensure that the plan meets 91社区鈥檚 SCEP Minimum Expectations.听听

Liaisons should accommodate additional support requests as schedules permit.听听The District Liaison Guidance provides additional information regarding how to organize these check-ins.

Writing Your Plan

After the school has completed the steps above, the school team will write a plan to guide the school for the upcoming year.听 The template provided by the Department for schools in the CSI, ATSI, and TSI support models is organized around the following components:

  • Key Strategies that identify the means by which the school will address critical findings from its needs assessment.听 Each Key Strategy selected should be grounded in research and represent something that will look different this upcoming year in comparison to previous years.
    • At least 1 Instructional Key Strategy must be identified. Non-Instructional Key Strategies are optional.
    • Total number of Key Strategies (Instructional and Non-Instructional combined) must be between 2 and 5.
    • Non-Instructional Key Strategies should not outnumber Instructional Key Strategies.
  • An Implementation Plan for each Key Strategy identifying how the plan for initiating, refining, or expanding the key strategy.
  • Progress Targets for that will provide helpful feedback that the school is achieving its desired impact with its implementation.
Identifying an Evidence-Based Intervention

As the school team completes its plan, the team will need to identify evidence-based interventions and strategies, at least one of which must meet the federal definition under the Every Student Succeeds Act. 听Additional materials related to Evidence-based interventions听can be found on our Evidence-Based Interventions听page.听 听听

SIG Expenditure Plan

91社区 provides Title I, 1003 School Improvement Grant (SIG) BASIC funding to support the implementation of the DCIP and SCEP.

After a school team has completed its SCEP, representatives from the school and district should work together to identify how best to leverage SIG funding to implement the Key Strategies outlined in the plan and complete the SIG Expenditure Plan, which will be submitted as part of the SIG application.听 More information is available on the听91社区 SIG funding website.

Using the SCEP Rubric

91社区 has developed an SCEP Rubric听for teams to self-assess the initial draft of their plan and identify areas for revision before the plan is finalized.听

The rubric outlines the continuum of different components of the SCEP.听 On the far left of the continuum are the minimum 91社区 expectations of all SCEPs.听 On the far right are characteristics of more nuanced and thoroughly elaborated plans.听 All plans will exist somewhere on this continuum.听

Teams/districts should:

  • begin by ensuring their SCEP meets all of the minimum expectations on the left;
  • continue by considering the indicators on the right;
  • consider where their plan may need to be revised to move it from one that meets minimum expectations to one that reflects a deeper level of planning; and
  • record ideas for strengthening their plan in the space in the middle.

All teams will need to review their plan in comparison to the rubric before submitting their plan to their district/SED liaison.听

District Plan Development

Districts will develop plans differently based on the DCIP option they pursue:

District Priorities DCIP: Districts using the District Priorities听罢别尘辫濒补迟别 will first support schools to complete their SCEPs.听 After those are written, the district will complete the DCIP Planning Document for Districts with Identified Schools or the DCIP Planning Document for Districts with No Identified Schools before writing their DCIP.

DCIP Systems DCIP: Districts using the District-Level Systems听罢别尘辫濒补迟别 will first support schools complete their SCEPs.听 After the Key Strategies have been identified, the district should meet with schools so schools can incorporate the district鈥檚 ideas for the upcoming year when they write their plans and the district can incorporate the school teams鈥 ideas into its plan.听 There is no DCIP Planning Document necessary for this option.

SCEP as DCIP: Districts using the SCEP as their DCIP should collaborate closely with the school team to develop the SCEP.听 Districts with no identified schools have the option of pursuing this model by working with a school in the Local Support and Improvement model with the grade levels (i.e. elementary/middle or high school) aligned to the district鈥檚 identification to collaboratively develop a plan addressing subgroup performance.

Submission Requirements

School teams should finalize their plan before the end of the school year.

When the SCEP team is satisfied with the plan, the team should听compare the completed plan to the听SCEP Rubric听to consider where there may be opportunities to strengthen the plan.听 After the team has analyzed the completed plan in relation to the SCEP rubric and made any necessary revisions, teams can then coordinate the final plan review process with their district and/or SED.

  • All school teams in the CSI support model should plan on submitting their final plan to their SED liaison by July 1, 2025.听 The SED liaison will then arrange to have听their final liaison check-in 听with the school.听
  • All school teams in the ATSI and TSI support models should coordinate their plan submission process with their district liaison, who will verify that the plan meets听91社区鈥檚 SCEP minimum expectations.听
  • Once the SCEP has been finalized, the district will need to ensure that the local Board of Education have approved the plan and that the plan is posted on the district website.
  • All Target Districts are to submit their DCIP to听dcip@nysed.gov by July 1, 2025. Districts completing the DCIP District Priorities Template should also submit their DCIP Planning Document. Extension requests can be made by emailing听dcip@nysed.gov.听听
Improvement Planning Resources

School Resources

District Resources

Questions

SCEP-related questions can be directed to
DCIP-related questions can be directed to

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