Day 1 - Monday, March 11th
Keynote: Dr. Marguerite Roza, Edunomics Lab - Dr. Marguerite Roza is Research Professor at Georgetown University and Director of the Edunomics Lab, a research center exploring and modeling complex education finance decisions to inform policy and practice. She leads the McCourt School of Public Policy's Certificate in Education Finance, which equips participants with practical skills in strategic fiscal management, policy analysis, and leadership. Dr. Roza’s research traces the effects of fiscal policies at the federal, state, and district levels for their implications on resources at the school and classroom levels. She is the author of the highly regarded education finance book, Educational Economics: Where Do School Funds Go?
Breakout sessions include:
A Complete Guide to ESSA Consolidated Monitoring - Whether your district is on the 2024-25 monitoring list or not, it is never too early to begin preparing! This session will provide an overview of the ESSA consolidated monitoring protocol for Title programs, including the process, relevant updates, expectations, and requirements for items such as internal controls, time and effort, maintenance of effort, and comparability.
N&D- Navigating the Nuances - Nuances can be nuisances! This session will focus on the N&D application's components, CSPR data, and October Count requirements.
The District Strategic Planning Process: Moving Beyond the Essentials - This presentation will focus on an evidence-based approach to assist leaders in creating the necessary structure and culture in which the District Strategic and School Renewal plan process will be a successful part of a school improvement initiative that aligns priority areas with funding and resources.
Wading through School Improvement Designations - Are you drowning in school improvement designations? This session will go through each state and federal designation, what the requirements are for each, and the length of the designations.
Dividing the Pie: Determining Allocations - Money, money, money! Have you ever wondered how your district’s allocation is determined? This session will focus on how various grant allocations are determined as established by the USED.
Are Your Needs Assessments Needing a Refresh? - In this session, SCDE will share their expectations for Needs Assessments within your Title I plans. Greenville and Richland Two school districts will share their process for their needs assessments, from planning and school-level meetings to reflection and assessment.
Knowing Your Place in the Foster Care Space - This session will look at educational stability for students in foster care. While students in foster care have numerous needs, education can provide a safe, stable place of belonging. Data and trends will be shared on this subgroup, with the opportunity for districts to formulate strategies to help students in foster care succeed.
Connecting the Links of School Improvement - Are the links of school improvement connected in your districts/schools? Join this session to discuss the components that lead to school improvement and increased student achievement. Participants will explore and make connections to the core links of school improvement. Leave this session with tools that will help you examine the links in your chain of school improvement. Are the links of school improvement connected in your districts/schools? Join this session to discuss the components that lead to school improvement and increased student achievement. Participants will explore and make connections to the core links of school improvement. Leave this session with tools that will help you examine the links in your chain of school improvement.
MOE, Comparability, Inventory, Oh My! - While Maintenance of Effort and Comparability requirements have not changed, districts face increasingly difficult challenges in meeting these requirements. This session will review these challenges and share updates and recommendations to assist districts in achieving compliance with these two necessary aspects of grants management.
Title II, Part A – The Ins and Outs - This session will focus on various important parts of the Title II application that will assist with approval from SCDE. Allowability, Needs Assessments, CSR, and Private Schools.
McKinney-Vento- Level Up - Attendees will learn how to LEVEL UP their district’s McKinney-Vento program. This session will provide information, including the nuances of the McKinney-Vento Act, allowable wrap-around services, and data points to monitor for continual growth. We will provide evidence-based approaches to help identify your McKinney-Vento students and provide academic success throughout the school year.
How the Continuous Improvement Rubric can Help your School - Improving educational experiences and outcomes for scholars is the goal for all schools in South Carolina! Learn how to implement the SC Improvement Model and the Continuous Improvement Rubric to impact your school for greater student outcomes. Participants will reflect on their school’s current and desired state, learn multiple facilitation methods to assess a school’s level of engagement in the School Improvement Model​, and determine targeted professional development and set goals for improvement.
Title I – Tips to Success - If you are wondering how to be more successful with your Title I application and processes, this session is for you! This session will focus on the 15% carryover limitation, sustainability after ESSER, non-competitive procurement, and application checklist items.
Carolina Family Engagement Center’s School Partner Program: Building the Foundation for Student and School Success through Effective Family Engagement - The Carolina Family Engagement Center (CFEC) – South Carolina’s federally funded Statewide Family Engagement Center under ESSA – is currently accepting applications from public schools with a poverty index of 60% or higher to participate in its School Partner Program beginning August 2024. This program, which is offered at no cost to schools, provides two years of ongoing capacity-building training and technical assistance in planning, implementing, and evaluating family engagement initiatives, including activities required by Title I, that are meaningful and effective for both families and schools. It builds on our successes and lessons learned in previous work with 29 partner schools during 2019-23 and is grounded in the SC Family Engagement K-12 Framework and the Dual Capacity Building Framework for Family-School Partnerships (Mapp et al. 2019). Join Project Director Karen Utter and CFEC’s four Regional Family Engagement Liaisons to learn more about our work and how we can support family engagement at your school.
Continuous Learning for A.L.L.: Access, Leverage, Lead - Low and high performing schools are using evidenced- based interventions and a Continuous Improvement Plan to move the academic needle. Learn the key components of the plan to use at your school. Improvement strategies will be discussed to jump start your plan with attainable performance goals. Progress monitoring is emphasized to ensure your plan is meeting the needs of your students.
2024 ESSA Academy Day 2 Webpage
