Schoolwide Plan Time Again

It is already November!  The year is going quickly.

In Mississippi, due to several circumstances, districts did not complete our schoolwide plans for FY23 until the spring of 2023.  The State Department is trying to get back on schedule and has released the FY24 schoolwide plans for completion.

The schoolwide plan (SWP) is the tool a Title I school uses to determine the school’s needs and develop a plan to improve the school’s academic achievement.   The schoolwide plan details the process used for planning, the data utilized to determine the school’s needs, the analysis of strengths and weaknesses, and the priorities established by the school.  The priorities drive how the school plans to budget the Title I funds.  The Mississippi schoolwide plans are four-year plans; therefore, the schools only need to modify the plan if the school has changed the way the plan is being implemented.

Even though revisions only need to be noted if the school has changed its program, certain sections must be updated regardless of plan implementation.  These sections relate to current test data and the analysis of that data.  This year, the following sections should be revised.

• School planning team
• School planning process
• Accountability charts updated with 2023 test data
• Student achievement charts updated with 2023 data
• College and Career Readiness chart updated with 2023 data
• Professional Development chart with 2023 data
• Prioritized List of Needs section as it relates to the current data
• School Plan Overview

The narratives do not have to be updated unless the program has changed.  However, you should review the section and see if updated data has impacted what was previously stated.  The School Plan Overview will need to have the action step benchmark reviewed, the estimated completion date updated (I usually use the close of the grant date – 9/30/25.), and the funding amount edited.  Remember that positions should be used rather than names for the person responsible.

I highly recommend using the MDE Schoolwide Plan Rubric.  You may want to edit the rubric to meet your particular school’s needs.  When I read my schools’ plans,  I highlight the section in the rubric in green if it meets the requirements and red if it does not.  I also make comments in different colored ink to explicitly tell schools what needs to be corrected.  I then send the schools their rubric so they can see what needs to be edited.  In addition, this rubric will be evidence of federal program assistance being provided to the schools.

One critical reminder:  During monitoring, the school’s plan is reviewed.  Documentation is expected to support what is written in the plan.  So, even though the plan does not need to be rewritten for four years, school documentation must be available each year for what is written in the plan.  The schools need to read their plans closely to ensure they are implementing everything described.