Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Student Support topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
District seeks state waiver for year‑round acceleration program to help over‑age students
Summary
Montgomery Public Schools presented an innovation waiver to the Alabama State Department of Education to launch ESAP/MSAP year‑round acceleration for over‑age students (grades 4–8). Staff said 177 students are currently identified as two or more grade levels behind; the state review typically takes about 60 days.
Dr. Shanice Williams, executive director for curriculum and instruction, asked the board to approve submission of an innovation waiver to the Alabama State Department of Education to create an ESAP (Elementary School Acceleration Program) and MSAP (Middle School Acceleration Program) for students two academic grade levels behind.
Williams said the program would allow targeted students to attempt to recover two grade levels in a single school year using blended instruction, direct instruction, computer‑assisted programs (for example, Progress Learning/Schools PLP or HMH), extended day and summer instruction, and frequent progress monitoring. Parents would be contacted for an initial meeting and students would remain at their zoned schools; principals, counselors and teachers would coordinate schedules and interventions.
Williams reported the district currently identifies 177 over‑age students in grades 4–7 (50 fourth graders, 34 fifth graders, 39 sixth graders and 54 seventh graders) and said the waiver turnaround time is typically about 60 days after submission. She said eighth graders are included in planned supports and students identified in middle grades could be served at McIntyre or within their home middle schools depending on capacity.
Board members asked about benchmarks and monitoring; Williams said students would be assessed and progress monitored weekly with formal benchmarks every two to three weeks and that the program previously operated in the district from 2013 to 2017 with reported success. She also proposed an amendment to the virtual school handbook to create a virtual alternative program for secondary students that would provide a supervised, online option as an alternative to in‑person disciplinary placement; the handbook amendment was later approved under the consent agenda.
Status: presentation and board Q&A. Transcript shows robust discussion of program design and monitoring; no final board vote on the waiver submission was recorded in the transcript excerpt reviewed here.
