Secretary DeVos Approves District of Columbia, Illinois, Oregon and Tennessee’s ESSA Plans
WASHINGTON
-- U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos today announced the approval
of the District of Columbia, Illinois, Oregon and Tennessee consolidated
state plans under the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA).
“As more
and more state plans come under the Department’s review, I am heartened to see
how states have embraced the spirit of flexibility under ESSA to improve
education for individual students,” said Secretary DeVos.
Allowing states more flexibility in how
they deliver education to students is at the core of ESSA. Each state crafted a
plan that it feels will best offer educational opportunities to meet the needs
of the state and its students. The following are some of the unique elements
from each state's approved plan as highlighted by each state:
District of Columbia
- Creates
the School Transparency and Reporting (STAR) framework, a universal framework
for every public school in DC that will provide an easy-to-understand annual
rating to each school based on 1-5 stars.
- Measures
the quality of Pre-Kindergarten through use of the Classroom Assessment Scoring
System (CLASS), which assesses the quality of teacher-child interactions in
early childhood classrooms.
“DC’s
plan is guided by our commitment to providing equitable access to high
quality education for all students and flexibility for our schools to meet the
unique needs of all students,” said DC State Superintendent for Education
Hanseul Kang. “This plan is the right one for DC, and I am proud that it was
informed by rigorous engagement with partners and community members, including
the DC State Board of Education, local education agencies, parents, educators,
and advocates.”
Illinois
- Creates
a College/Career Ready Indicator for high schools that measures the readiness
of students for college based on several indicators, including GPA, performance
on postsecondary readiness exams and attendance, in addition to considering
community service hours, summer employment, participation in ROTC, and/or
earning industry credentials.
- Uses
survey responses from students to help assign schools a “school climate” score,
giving students a chance to provide meaningful feedback and ensuring the
student perspective will be a part of the school’s overall summative rating.
“Illinois
is committed to supporting the whole child in transforming learning
opportunities for all students in our state,” said Illinois State
Superintendent of Education Tony Smith, Ph.D. “We want every child to feel well
known and well cared for in our schools and to receive the individual support
they need for academic excellence and postsecondary success. The Illinois ESSA
Plan gives us the opportunity to foster collaboration and partnerships to build
educators’ and leaders’ capacity for improved student outcomes. We appreciate
the partnership with the U.S. Department of Education throughout the ESSA
process, and we look forward to our continued efforts on behalf of each and
every child.”
Oregon
- Prioritizes
four commitments in its plan: advancing equity; creating a well-rounded
education; strengthening district systems; and fostering ongoing stakeholder
engagement.
- Implements
a new “Freshmen on track” measure to confirm that students have completed at
least 6 credits within the first semester of freshmen year, recognizing the
importance of credit attainment in early high school in order to graduate on
time.
“Today
is a tremendous milestone for Oregon. Oregon’s State Plan is founded on equity
and represents the voices and communities we serve,” Oregon Deputy
Superintendent Salam Noor said. “We want to put every one of our learners on a
path to success from birth through high school, and beyond. And whether our
students choose to attend college or go straight into the workforce, it’s
critical that their school experience is full of opportunity, and ensures they
are college and career ready.”
Tennessee
- Supports
teacher and principal residencies to create more high-quality pipeline
opportunities for prospective candidates to move into those roles; also
establishes new grant initiatives that focus on increasing innovation and
diversity in the educator workforce.
- Focuses
on college readiness through the Tennessee Promise initiative.
“Our ESSA plan is built on what we’ve started in Tennessee and
centered on the belief that every student should be ready for postsecondary
when they graduate high school,” said Tennessee Education Commissioner Candice
McQueen. “Tennessee’s education community helped us to create a strong plan
that will help us take our work to the next level, and we look forward to
continuing these partnerships now as we move forward.”
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