School Improvement Grants – State Guidance & Policy Support

NCTL works with state education agencies (SEAs) to create guidelines and improve their application and monitoring practices so School Improvement Grant (SIG) schools use increased learning time to create results and accelerate transformation and turnaround. With the Title I (SIG) now requiring participating schools to increase learning time if they select the Transformation, Turnaround, or Restart models, states are now charged with supporting and guiding districts on how to add learning time effectively. However, with accelerated timelines for implementation and federal guidelines that allow for many interpretations, SEAs continue to struggle with just how to create clear guidelines that will help districts and schools add learning time in ways that produces results.

The primary reason that SIG schools are not increasing learning time effectively is that the educators at these schools are not being asked to be bold enough; moreover, these educators are not sure how to expand time well because this is a relatively new field. NCTL can assist SEAs to improve implementation of increased learning time by making their state guidelines more ambitious and by helping educators at SIG districts and schools to understand the many approaches for increasing learning time.

NCTL advises SEAs in three areas that will ensure that increased learning time is used effectively in SIG schools:

Improving State Guideline and the SIG Application Process to Spur Increases in Learning Time

NCTL helps SEAs to assess and revise their requirements and guidance on increased learning time so that they spur districts and schools to be more ambitious. When states are clearer with the bottom line of what they expect for increased learning time, schools and districts act to fulfill those requirements.

Educating SIG Leaders about Effective Increased Learning Time Practices

In order to increase learning time and produce results, districts and schools need practical examples of how to do it well. NCTL can help SEAs by introducing state, district, and school leaders to many successful approaches to adding learning time. By sharing models, case studies, and video of exemplary schools, NCTL helps state leaders create a much bolder vision of what can be done with more learning time and how schools and districts can implement their additional time effectively.

Developing Processes for Review and Monitoring of Increased Learning Time implementation

Having worked with states to build performance agreements and site review processes, NCTL can assist SEAs with developing monitoring protocols and benchmarks for assessing implementation of increased learning time. These protocols can be used for initial review of SIG applications or for continuation in the second and third years of implementation.