HB 2554 states that in order to be successful in school, students must have their social, economic, and family needs as well as their academic needs met. The goal is for schools to accomplish this by establishing partnerships with community organizations and agencies, businesses, and other local groups.
The bill requires the Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction to award grants on a competitive basis to persistently lowest-achieving schools in order to support implementation of successful models of family and community engagement. To qualify for a grant, a school must demonstrate that its academic performance audit and needs assessment based on the turnaround principles indicate a need for improved family and community engagement.
In addition, the school must develop its proposal for specific strategies or programs of family and community engagement to be supported by the grant with input and participation from families and community organizations associated with the school. Grants awarded may not exceed a duration of three years.
OSPI must submit a report to the legislature by December 1, 2017, including outcomes resulting from the urban school turnaround initiative. The report submitted to the legislature must include a comparison of student learning achievement in the selected schools with schools of comparable demographics that have not participated in the initiative.
