Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA)

 

As part of the U.S. Department of Education’s Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), Gananda Central School District is required to meet New York State’s school accountability and student success measures. The success measures are assessed using data from our state testing in ELA, Math, and Science. These tests provide the state and the U.S. Department of Education with a measurement of how our students and teachers are performing and give an indication as to our students’ level of preparedness for college and careers. The goal is that all students will meet the same level of preparedness regardless of minority status, family income level, special learning requirements, or language barriers.

 

We received notification from the NYS Department of Education in the Spring of 2020 that Gananda Central School District has been identified as a Targeted District and Gananda Middle School has been identified as a Targeted Support and Improvement School per ESSA .

 

This means that we will need to put comprehensive improvement plans together for Gananda Central School District and Gananda Middle School using the goals outlined by the New York State Department of Education. As part of this process, all families in the district will be receiving an online survey each Spring to complete as directed by the NYS Department of Education. In addition, our middle school will participate in a Needs Assessment as defined by NYS Department of Education which includes interviewing focus groups of students, teachers, and parents, and targeted subgroups. A consultant and the district leadership team will also be visiting classrooms as part of this assessment which will occur in the fall of 2020.

 

This designation will provide us with outside consultants to help better facilitate processes to ensure we are meeting all of our student's needs. Additionally, we will be getting some funding from New York State to complete family, student, and staff assessment surveys as well as cover the cost of outside consultants.