Plainfield School Districts: Title I and the Unified Plan

When I first came to Plainfield, from a non-Abbott district, I was, to say the least, quite ignorant (still am:-) of all the rules and regulations that Abbott districts have. One of these regulations is embedded into the federal legislated Title I Funding, which Plainfield schools fall into due to the high numbers of disadvantaged and minority children.  Title I, Part A provides additional money to districts with high concentrations of poverty and minority children, the money is gear to improve the academic achievement of those students that are challenged by poverty.

Title I doesn't bring a huge amount of money but it does bring a huge amount of mandates.  One of these mandates is called the Title I Unified Plan.  I truly wish I had learned about this document long time ago but as it is I learned of it last year thanks to a central office administrator.

Because the district receives Title I monies it must also declare how the monies are being utilized.  Among the decisions on how to target Title I, Part A monies there two ways:  Targeted Assistance to those students that need the extra help or apply to the NJDOE for a "Schoolwide Program" school designation which means Title I monies will be used to improve academics for all of the school's population.  The district has adopted the Schoolwide Program and the list of schools that have been approved by the NJDOE as "Schoolwide Schools" is below.

One document that comes with the reporting obligations of Title I is the above mentioned:  The Unified Plan.  This document says so much about the school and the school district that anyone wanting to get a better picture on the state of the schools will find the Unified Plan a very useful document.  Unified Plans, the instructions say, need to be filed by a:

 School with approved Title I schoolwide program

 School in need of improvement (SINI)

 District supporting SINIs

 District in need of improvement (DINI)

All Unified Plans can be found at the NJ DOE, they are public documents.  To get to them is a bit complicated as it takes several clicks to get to them.  Some districts, not all, and certainly not Plainfield, do post their Unified Plans at their district's website.  I am posting Plainfield's Unified Plans so you too, if you want to, can be informed on the state of the schools as school administrators, staff and parents see their own schools (not all schools count with parents and/or community). Participation of parents and community on the Unified Plan process is something that will be discussed at a next post.  Here are some things you will find at the Unified Plans:

--A list of the stakeholders who participated on the improvement plan (which is more or less what the Unified Plan's intention is)
--The schools' own vision and mission and how it was developed
--Data on student progress, parental involvement initiatives, academic programs utilized, needs assessment, a check list of selected priorities, a description of the problems and how the school plans to address them, etc.
--A school's own state annual standardized test results (NJASK scores).
--A Resource Allocation from previous year (how monies, and from what source, were allocated).
--Narrative on how central administration helped, or failed to help, the school's current status.
--A Corrective Action Plan if there is one, and the school's plan Peer Review.

With this said, I am posting all plans as found at the NJDOE' Grants page/EWEG system/NCLB section and at a later post, depending on your comments, observations, suggestions and questions I'll do more on this topic.

2011-2012 School Year

Plainfield Public Schools District (PPSD) DINI Status 1 (Unified Plan Not Found)

SCHOOLWIDE SCHOOLS

Cedarbrook School K-8 Unified Plan 2011-12

Charles H. Stillman K-6  Unified Plan 2011-12

Clinton K-8 Unified Plan 2011-12

Dewitt D. Barlow K-6 Unified Plan 2011-12

Emerson K-6 Unified Plan 2011-12

Evergreen K-6 Unified Plan 2011-12

Frederick W Cook K-7 Unified Plan 2011-12

Hubbard Middle School 6-8 Unified Plan 2011-12

Jefferson K-6 Unified Plan 2011-12

Maxson Middle School 6-8 Unified Plan 2011-12

Plainfield Academy for Arts and Advanced Studies 7-12 (No Unified Plan)

Washington Pre-k to 6th Unified Plan 2011-12

Woodland K-6 Unified Plan 2011-12