Re: LOCAL EDUCATIONAL AGENCY IDENTIFIED FOR PROGRAM IMPROVEMENT

Dear Parents/Guardians of Students in Westminster School District:

The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) No Child Left Behind (NCLB) Act of 2001 requires all states to create their own high academic standards for what a child should know and be able to do for all grades in English Language Arts and mathematics. Every school must improve each year until all students meet these standards. This yearly improvement in school performance, which includes the academic standards and other components, is called Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP).

ESEA/NCLB also requires the California Department of Education (CDE) to annually review the performance of each local educational agency (LEA) that receives funds under Title I, Part A. An LEA can be a school district or a county office of education. An LEA receiving Title I, Part A, funds is identified for Program Improvement (PI) if it does not meet AYP goals for two consecutive years within specific areas, focused primarily on academic achievement in English Language Arts and mathematics.

ESEA/NCLB requires the CDE to inform parents/guardians of students about LEA performance. Westminster School District has been identified as a PI LEA. You can find specific achievement data used to make this decision here. If you do not have access to the Internet, please contact Tricia Urbaniec, in the district office at (714) 894-7311, ext. 1100, and a hard copy of the report will be provided.

As a PI LEA, our district must:
• Write an addendum to our LEA Plan. We must consult with parents and school staff when writing the LEA Plan Addendum, which will include information on how we plan to use Title I and other funds to improve student achievement. We will post the approved LEA Plan on our LEA Web site.
• Reserve at least ten percent of our annual Title I allocation to provide professional development for teachers and administrators.
• Continue to provide assistance to schools identified for PI.

How can parents help their school and LEA improve?

Here are some suggestions to help you work with your school and LEA to support improvements:
• Learn more about the ESEA/NCLB requirements and become aware of strategies to improve student academic achievement. Additional information and resources are available at the following Web sites:
  • The California Department of Education http://www.cde.ca.gov/sp/sw/t1/titleparta.asp and http://www.cde.ca.gov/ta/ac/ay/tidetermine.asp
  • The U.S. Department of Education http://www.ed.gov and http://www.ed.gov/parents/landing.jhtml
• Talk with LEA staff about the LEA Plan and the program changes that must be made to help students meet the state standards in ELA and mathematics.
• Visit your child’s school. You also may participate in voluntary activities to assist your school.
• If you are a parent of a student who attends a Title I PI school, ask about school choice options to transfer your child, with paid transportation, to a public school in your LEA that is not identified as a Program Improvement school.
• If you are a parent of a student who attends a Title I school that has been in PI for two years or more, ask about supplemental educational services that may be available for your child. Supplemental educational services are tutoring services provided outside of the regular school day for eligible students.

I encourage you to contact Tricia Urbaniec, Administrator, Categorical Programs / Assessments, Westminster School District, for further information about any of these requirements and to find out how you can become involved in PI efforts.

Sincerely,

Richard Tauer
Westminster School District

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