Public School Choice and Supplemental Education Services (SES).

The Clarkston School District Staff is committed to the success of our schools and our students. We are taking intentional and innovative steps to address academic performance and to close achievement gaps. The district is providing support to improve student learning through a three-year District Strategic Improvement Plan recently adopted by the Clarkston School Board of Directors.  The District Plan defines goals and district support for our schools to provide quality instruction to each student in our district.
As a component of the Federal “No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2002”, school districts are required to notify parents/guardians when schools their children attend have not made Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) Goals for two consecutive years.   Schools that have not made Adequate Yearly Progress for two consecutive years are in school improvement.

Adequately Yearly Progress is the level of proficiency schools must achieve on an annual basis. It is determined by a matrix of “cells” that include the percentages of student participation in the state assessments, proficiency of students in the areas of reading and math, unexcused absences and on-time graduation rates for high school students. Percentages are calculated across categories that include student ethnicity and socioeconomic status. Schools remain in school improvement until they make AYP Goals for two consecutive years. 

Beginning with the 2007-2008 school year and each school year there after, Federal Law requires school districts to inform parents and guardians regarding the number of students who were eligible for and the number of students who participated in Public School Choice and Supplemental Education Services (SES), tutoring services.

.
If your student attends a Title I school that has not met AYP Goals for two consecutive years, you will have the option to participate in Public School Choice by transferring your student to another school within the district that has not been identified for school improvement. You may exercise this option after receiving a notification letter from your child’s current school.  Transportation for your child to attend a choice school is provided by the district as long as the “CHOICE” school continues to meet AYP Goals.

Federal Law requires the district to publish a list of available schools to which students eligible to participate in public school choice may select from.

In addition to the Public School Choice option, parents/guardians with students attending schools that have not meet AYP for three consecutive years will be offered an option of choosing tutoring services (SES) for their student, provided they quality for Free/Reduced Lunches.  Tutoring services must be provided through an Office of the Superintendent of Public Instruction (OSPI) approved provider.   The complete list of OSPI Approved SES Providers is available at http://www.k12.wa.us/TitleI/TitleI/SES.aspx.

As a member of the Clarkston community, there are many ways parents/guardians can be involved in helping our school district address school improvement.  Some of these include participating in our Parent Teacher Student Association (PTSA), volunteering in your child’s classroom, participating on district curriculum review committees, or by providing feedback to the District Strategic Improvement Team.
The Clarkston School District is optimistic and looking forward to the future.  We encourage parents and guardians to join us in this important work.