ESEA (NCLB) - Our Report to You

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), also known as No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Legislation, reinforces the major focus of our nation’s public schools to provide all children with a fair, equal and significant opportunity to obtain a high quality education.

 

Some of the key requirements of this legislation are:

  • A continuation of standards-based education reform;
  • A goal for all students to achieve proficiency in reading and math within 12 years;
  • Intentional use of data (of all kinds – formal and informal) to guide instruction;
  • Accountability for meeting the needs of low-achieving students and a commitment to close the achievement gap between different student populations;
  • High quality teachers, educational assistants, and other educational staff; and,
  • A strong emphasis on early childhood education.

The ESEA Report Card and Your District’s Plan

A requirement of this legislation is that every public school district which receives federal funding must provide a report to their parents and community each fall. The ESEA report requires test data for the state, district as a whole, individual schools, and also disaggregated for different student populations (i.e.: gender, race/ethnicity, special education).

 

The Washington State Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) has modified their school performance report requirements in light of this legislation and has compiled the data for both the ESEA and state report.

 

Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) Update

Each August, all districts in Washington State are notified of their status in relation to NCLB. This status, called "Adequate Yearly Progress" (AYP), is a key part of NCLB. AYP is an annual determination of whether schools, districts, and states have made progress toward the goal of having all students meet or exceed state standards in reading and math as well as meeting targets for test participation, unexcused absences and graduation rates. 

 

Snohomish has been adopting new curriculum materials, aligning its curriculum to the state standards, and investing in quality professional development for staff in order to meet achievement challenges. We are committed to the success of each student in our district and are focused on raising each student's academic performance. We welcome parents as vital partners in improving schools and we appreciate the strong support we receive from our families and community.

 

Individual schools that receive Title I funds and do not meet AYP targets for two consecutive years in the same subject enter Step 1 of School Improvement. Parents of students in these schools are offered the opportunity to transfer their student(s) to a school that is not in School Improvement; this is called Public School Choice. Information about Public School Choice in Snohomish is available in our 2011-12 AYP Letter (pdf).

 

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