For the 2007-2008 schoool year, Oklahoma City Public Schools has been identified by the Oklahoma State Department of Education as a “district in need of improvement” under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB). However, for the first time since the inception of the NCLB Act the District has achieved a significant milestone in the federal mandate by making Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP). Just a few years ago, as many as 43 schools in the District did not make AYP. Even with increasing State performance benchmarks, the district has moved from only 54% of all schools making AYP in 2003-04 to 71% of schools making AYP in 2007. Our goal is to exceed the State’s standards, close achievement gaps among majority-minority student groups, ensure every child receives an excellent education and is prepared for life’s opportunities beyond high school.

To meet the requirements of the law for school districts designated for improvement, we remain committed to continued implementation of previous reforms and management tools in practice across the District and are producing positive results:

1. District Restructuring: The District has been divided into six "Learning Communities,” in order to help teachers and administrators better focus on the needs of the students and teachers in each area of our district. Each Learning Community is led by a Regional Executive Director (formerly Executive Director of Student Performance)
    
2. Instructional Facilitator Program: These “lead teachers” provide specific support and resources for teachers in our lowest performing schools.
    
3. Organizational Health Inventory (OHI): This tool is used to measure the overall wellbeing of an organization using 10 dimensions of health, particularly emphasis on Goal Focus, Cohesiveness and Adaptation as the “big-three.”
    
4. High Performance Model: A strategic planning process for public schools patterned after the Malcolm Baldrige Model is used to support district-wide strategic planning activities and continuous quality improvement strategies.
    
5. Harris Poll Interactive School Survey (formerly CSMPact): This survey is administered bi-annually to gather information about experiences and satisfaction levels of parents, students, teachers and staff.

The Oklahoma State Department of Education uses the Academic Performance Index (API) as a method of determining Adequate Yearly Progress as stipulated by NCLB. To meet future NCLB requirements, significant gains in API are necessary to make AYP.

To successfully carry out these reforms and to meet and exceed AYP, an input process of representation from across the District was used to facilitate plan revision consultations for articulating specific strategies to be undertaken by schools and central office departments in support of systemic improvement. Major changes for 2007-08 include the following strategies:

1. Identification and alignment of resources to support “high priority schools” through the implementation of the District’s SMART Schools Initiative.
    
2. Reorganization of the Central Office to enhance the capacity of teaching and learning resources to support service delivery and technical assistance to schools.
    
3. Refocused instructional leadership role of the Regional Executive Directors to facilitate principal development across the six learning communities.
    
4. Deployment of Central Office Liaisons to schools in support of the opening of school and a District-wide literacy initiative to improve reading.

District Improvement Plan 2007-08

Comprehensive Local Education Plan (CLEP)