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Accountability

Continuous Improvement

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Civic Empowerment Projects

Each school year, all schools identified for the Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) model must implement a Civic Empowerment Project designed to increase student and family participation in decision making. 

The Department has outlined six ways in which schools may address this requirement: 

  1. Participatory Budgeting 
  2. Monthly School Focus Groups 
  3. Climate Survey Inquiry Team 
  4. Schoolwide Voting 
  5. Collaborative School Improvement Grant Development 
  6. Design Your Own 

These options were identified because they build on the following components: expanding stakeholder voice, providing opportunities to practice democracy, and promoting civic engagement. 

Schools in the CSI Support Model will need to identify which option they intend to implement in their annual improvement plan and should be prepared to report on their implementation of their selected choice throughout the year. 

The available options are described in more detail below and in the guidebooks linked at the bottom of this page.

Participatory Budgeting

Participatory Budgeting is a process that allows community members to decide together how to spend part of a public budget. Schools that select this option will follow the defined Participatory Budgeting process, which includes forming a Steering Committee, soliciting proposals, and having the entire school vote on which proposals to fund.  More information can be found in the Participatory Budgeting Guidebook. 

Monthly School Focus Groups

Schools that select this option will convene a focus group of students once every two months and a focus group of parents in alternating months, so that the school hosts a focus group once a month.  The students and parents selected shall be representative of the school’s population and include individuals that have not been involved with existing school-based decision-making entities, such as the School Leadership Team or student government.  More information can be found in the Monthly School Focus Groups Guidebook.  

Climate Survey Inquiry Team

Schools that select this option will convene a Climate Survey Inquiry Team, led by a staff member and consisting of parents and students, to identify root causes for issues that received low responses on the parent and student School Climate Surveys and develop specific actions to be taken to address these root causes. The Inquiry Team will conduct surveys with parents/students incorporating the indicators identified by the Climate team so that progress on the indicators can be identified.  The students and parents selected shall be representative of the school’s population and include individuals that have not been involved with existing school-based decision-making entities, such as the School Leadership Team or student government. More information can be found in the Climate Survey Inquiry Team Guidebook. 

Schoolwide Voting

Schools that select this option will conduct at least three schoolwide votes on issues/topics of interest with students.  As part of this, students will have opportunities to consider the issues to inform how they vote.  The school must conduct at least one schoolwide vote with families on issues/topics of interest.  The school will abide by the votes cast. More information can be found in the Schoolwide Voting Guidebook.  

Collaborative School Improvement Grant (SIG) Development

Schools that select this option will have their SCEP Development Team propose to their District how to spend the School Improvement Grant (SIG) allocated to support the implementation and monitoring of the SCEP, and have the principal and two additional representatives from the team work with the District to finalize the application for the school. In September, schools that pursue this option will also present to staff and to families the grant submitted.  Future SCEP team meetings during the year will also incorporate a review of the impact of the resources allocated. More information can be found in the Collaborative School Improvement Grant (SIG) Development Guidebook. 

Design Your Own

Schools are encouraged to consider if there are different ways that may accomplish the guiding principles of expanding stakeholder voice, providing opportunities to practice democracy, and promoting civic engagement, and propose a school-designed Civic Empowerment Project. Schools interested in proposing their own should email fieldsupport@nysed.gov with an overview of their school-designed project.

Guidebooks

NYSED has developed guidebooks to support schools identified for the CSI model with the implementation of their identified Engagement option and outline the parameters that schools identified for the CSI model must follow. 

Participatory Budgeting Guidebook

School Focus Group Guidebook

School Climate Survey Inquiry Team Guidebook

Schoolwide Voting Guidebook

Collaborative School Improvement Grant Development Guidebook