Ithaca committee reviews state-mandated school improvement plans, launches tutoring pilot

District staff and committee members discussed the district’s targeted school improvement plans and related assessment and intervention work during the Ithaca City School District Curriculum Committee work session. Lynn Klinkowski, the district’s evaluation officer, told the committee the school teams used the state’s plan template and a multi-step development process and that the plans “were developed using data review, student interviews, and visioning work” over a two- to three-month cycle.

The discussion centered on two immediate requirements from the state: clearer, more narrowly written instructional goals tied directly to the New York State exams and a requirement that each school include at least two instructional strategies (with instructional strategies required to outnumber non-instructional ones). Mary (last name not specified), a district staff member, said the state’s revised template and direct feedback from a state consultant produced those changes and that the consultant provides approval for Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) schools.

Why it matters: the plans determine how the district draws on state improvement grant funds and direct which instructional and non-instructional efforts are prioritized at each building. Committee members pressed staff on which strategies produced measurable gains, how implementation varies between elementary and secondary schools, and how the district will ensure students identified as struggling receive the right mix of classroom instruction and individualized…