Butte School District

THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES

2165

Early Targeted Interventions

Purpose and Goals

The Board of Trustees proficiency in reading and math at or above grade level is essential for educational success. The purposes of this policy are to:

(a) provide parents with voluntary early interventions for their children;

(b) increase the number of children in the District who are reading and math proficient at the end of 3rd grade and in so doing help those children develop their full educational potential pursuant to Article X, section 1(1), of the Montana Constitution; and

(c) foster a strong economic return for the state on early literacy and math investment through enhancing the District’s skilled workforce and decreasing future reliance on social programs and the criminal justice system.

The Board of Trustees intends to collaborate with the Board of Public Education and Office of Public Instruction to achieve the purposes of this policy by gathering, analyzing, and making available outcome data and by continually refining the interventions to increase the efficacy and efficiency of each intervention.

Compliance

The early targeted intervention strategies, programs, and services established, authorized, and implemented by this policy shall be in accordance with early childhood education standards at Title 10 Chapter 63 ARM. The early targeted intervention strategies, programs, and services established, authorized, and implemented by this policy shall include, at minimum:

(a) ongoing evaluation of student progress used to tailor instruction to specific student needs;

(b) strategies to encourage, enhance, and honor parental involvement;

(c) methods to employ and assign qualified staff to deliver programming who have completed a fingerprint based criminal background check in accordance with Policy 5120 and Policy 5122 and receive regular professional development in accordance with Policy 5121;

(d) adherence to eligibility standards;

(e) organization, when applicable, of classrooms which satisfy physical, supervision, safety, and capacity standards; and

(f) dedicated Trustee and administrative leadership in accordance with Policy 6110.

Child Evaluation

An eligible child is defined as a child who has been determined, through evaluation methodologies selected by the Board of Public Education, to be below a trajectory leading to reading or math proficiency at the end of 3rd grade. An eligible child may receive early targeted intervention provided by the District for the subsequent school year in accordance with this policy.

The Board of Trustees authorizes the District staff to administer evaluation methodologies in April, May, or June of each year to a child who will be 4 years of age or older on or before the following September 10 and who has not yet entered 3rd grade. When a student is new to the District or those new students coming to the District after June evaluations will be provided prior to the start of the school year.

A child shall not be evaluated to determine eligibility for early targeted intervention without written parental consent.

Classroom-Based Programming

The Board of Trustees has established a (select option) full-time or half-time classroom-based early targeted intervention program. The Board of Trustees authorizes the District staff to admit, enroll, and serve an eligible child who is 4 years of age or older on or before September 10 of the year in which the child is to participate in the program and who is not entering and who has not completed kindergarten in the District’s classroom-based early targeted intervention program. If a full-time program is established, the District will allow a parent or guardian to enroll their child on a half-time basis. The classroom-based program shall foster parental engagement and be research-based and proven effective at developing early literacy and math skills in populations at risk of not being reading or math proficient at the end of 3rd grade.

Jumpstart Programming

The Board of Trustees has established a jumpstart early targeted intervention program. The Board of Trustees authorizes the District staff to admit, enroll, and serve an eligible child who is 5 years of age or older on or before September 10 of the year in which the child is to participate in the program and who has not yet completed 3rd grade. The District’s jumpstart program shall take place during the time between the end of one school calendar year and the start of the next school calendar year, as set by the Board of Trustees in accordance with Policy 2100, preceding a child's entry into kindergarten, 1st grade, 2nd grade, or 3rd grade. The jumpstart program shall be at least 4 weeks in duration and provide at least 120 instructional hours. The jumpstart program shall be designed in a manner to increase the likelihood of a child being evaluated at the end of the ensuing school year to be at or above a trajectory leading to reading proficiency at the end of 3rd grade.

Reporting and Funding

The Board of Trustees authorizes the District administration to include an eligible child participating in a classroom-based program in accordance with this policy in enrollment counts for the purpose of ANB calculations in the manner described in Policy 3121. The Board of Trustees authorizes the District administration to report the number of eligible children participating in a home-based program to superintendent of public instruction for purposes of receiving payment for provided programming. The Board of Trustees authorizes the District administration to include an eligible child participating in a jumpstart program in accordance with this policy in enrollment counts on a quarter-time basis for the purpose of ANB calculations in the manner described in Policy 3121.

The Board of Trustees shall monitor the early intervention programs and authorizes the District administration to report annually to the superintendent of public instruction on the efficacy of the program no later than July 15 of each year.