Maryland School District Outlines Plan to Meet ESSA Requirements
October 16, 2019
As Katryna Perera reports, Frederick County Public Schools (FCPS) staff “outlined a plan to the Board of Education to help the district meet requirements set forth” under ESSA last week. According to Jamie Aliveto, FCPS’ executive director of system accountability and school administration, ESSA’s approach to accountability “is probably the most preferable of any we’ve had and worked under because it’s a multiple measures approach,” looking not only at proficiency, but also “at growth and…other measures like climate and chronic absenteeism.” FCPS’ plan—known as the Consolidated Strategic Plan (CSP) is based on ESSA’s 2018 report card for Maryland schools, and “identifies two focus areas where progress can be made— academic achievement in English Language Arts and math, and school quality and student success.” The plan also took into account achievement gaps for specific student groups “such as English learners and students with disabilities” that were revealed by ESSA’s 2018 report card. The draft CSP will be going through a review process and could still be altered or updated before it is finalized and approved.