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Polk updates school improvement process; 56 schools now flagged CSI, SIPs to be published Nov. 1
Summary
Polk County's Division of Schools briefed the board on the district's school improvement plan process, statutory designations (ATSI/TSI/CSI), and timelines: SIPs were submitted to the state Aug. 1 and will be published Nov. 1; midyear reflections are due Feb. 1, 2026.
Byron Morrison, senior director in the Polk County Division of Schools, told the school board at its Aug. 23 work session that the district completed submission of school improvement plans (SIPs) to the state and is emphasizing monitoring and midyear reflection.
Morrison said the district used the state's SIMS 2 platform to meet statutory and Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requirements and that the division provided a series of help sessions for principals, assistant principals and charter leaders. "On July 18, all SIPs were due to the regional assistant superintendents for feedback," Morrison said.
He described the state's designation framework and how the district tracks flagged campuses. Under Polk's current accounting, Morrison reported 39 campuses with an ATSI designation, one with TSI, 56 with CSI designations and 40 schools with no designation. He explained the key thresholds that trigger federal labeling: a subgroup performing under 41% can produce an ATSI flag, repeated low subgroup performance or an index at or under 32% for three consecutive years can lead to TSI, and multiple indicators including an overall federal index under 41 or certain graduation-rate thresholds (67% or lower for high schools) can trigger CSI.
Morrison said CSI campuses will receive additional oversight and that their SIPs are also reviewed by the state Bureau of School Improvement. He said districts are strengthening midyear reflections and on-site monitoring: "The big one is the midyear reflection. We are trying to be much more diligent this year as a district around the midyear reflections," he said, noting a Feb. 1, 2026 due date for midyear reflections for TSI and CSI schools.
Board members commended the division for data transparency. Dr. Allen said, "Just wow. Just wanna say, just wanna say, really appreciate this data," and said the information helps board members in school visits and in aligning SIPs to the district strategic plan.
Morrison said the SIP PDFs submitted to the state will be publicly available on Nov. 1 and the district will continue to support schools through iterative feedback and monitoring.
No formal board action was requested during the work session; Morrison's presentation was informational and staff said they will continue to support CSI and TSI campuses with state-driven requirements.
