PREPARING FOR AN OEPA AUDIT

Allen D. Brock, Coordinator West Virginia Board of Education Office of Education Performance Audits

WHAT IS GONE

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The Five Day Notice The Lateral Files (or at least most of them) The 34 Verification Standards The Compliance Driven Mentality

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WHAT REMAINS

The Student Interviews The Teacher Interviews The Administrative Interviews The Classroom Observations Monitoring of the School Environment Verification of a Standards-Focused Curriculum Professional Development Verification Efficient and Effective Management of Personnel and Resources Various Policy/Code Compliance Regulatory Agency Reviews School Facilities Checklist

WHAT SHOULD YOU PREPARE

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Condensed Master Schedule Daily Use Schedule/Elementary Classroom Schedules Bell Schedule Building Map (with teacher names on map) Directions to School From Central Office Facilities Evaluation Checklist Other Monitoring Reports (Financial Audit Report, Special Education Monitoring, Fire Marshal Report, Health Department Report, SBA report if applicable, Federal Programs Reports) Wireless passcode

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THE DAY OF THE AUDIT

The Team will arrive 30-45 minutes before the instructional day begins They will need to follow the school procedures of guests entering the building Please brief the Team as to changes in daily schedule and absent teachers Team breaks out to observe classrooms and interview students, staff, and administrators Prior arrangements may be requested by the Team leader for interview process for students and teachers The OEPA Team will have a consensus meeting at the end of the day Team Leader will meet with OEPA Coordinator School exit conference will take place at a later date

THE SCHOOL MONITORING REPORT RATING SCALE

Distinguished – 4. Strong and Pervasive Characteristic.

KEY WORD – ALL Accomplished – 3. Present but not Pervasive.

KEY WORD – MOST Emerging – 2. Present in a few areas, but needs improvements.

KEY WORD – SOME Unsatisfactory – 1. Rarely evidenced; needs significant improvement.

KEY WORDS – FEW/NONE

S.M.R.

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SECTION ONE

Must include input from entire staff Consensus must be reached on each function During consensus meeting, focus on ENTIRE function Fully utilize the school evidence column to verify rating PLEASE review spelling/grammar school evidence column for

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SECTION ONE: SEVEN STANDARDS

Standard 1: Positive Climate and Cohesive Culture.

Standard 2: School Leadership.

Standard 3: Standards-Focused Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessments.

Standard 4: Student Support Services and Family/Community Connections.

Standard 5: Educator Growth and Development.

Standard 6: Efficient and Effective Management.

Standard 7: Continuous Improvement.

SECTION TWO: SUPPORT NEEDED

1.

Resource and/or Facility needs that would impact student performance and well being.

2.

Professional Development needs and capacity building needs to improve student performance and well being.

**The OEPA Team may add needs under either section based on observations and interviews conducted.

SECTION THREE: BEST PRACTICES

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Best Practice:

School Developed, or “Canned Program” that was dramatically modified to meet a specific need of the school School has data to show great positive impact on school Can be implemented in other schools to provide positive results

SECTION FOUR: POLICY AND CODE

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Criteria: Full Compliance: If the school can answer “Yes” to all questions under that specific code/policy Partial Compliance: If the school can answer “Yes” to more than 50% but less than 100% of the questions under that specific code/policy Noncompliance: If the school answers “Yes” to 50% or less of the questions under that specific code/policy

POLICY AND CODE (CONTINUED)

POLICIES:

• • • • Policy 2320 – A Process for Improving Education: Performance Based Accreditation System Policy 2340 – West Virginia Measures of Academic Progress Policy 2510 – Assuring the Quality of Education: Regulations for Education Programs Policy 4373 – Expected Behavior in Safe/Supportive Schools • •

CODES:

W.Va. Code §18-2-7a – Physical Education W.Va. Code §18-5-18b – Counseling Services

POLICY AND CODE (CONTINUED)

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OTHER MONITORING REPORTS:

Policy 1224.1 – Accounting Procedures Manual for Schools Policy 2419 – Education of Students with Exceptionalities Fire Marshal Health Department School Building Authority Federal Programs

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COMMON PROBLEMS

Failure to submit SMR on time Failure to complete the Facilities Checklist Misinterpreting the Function Over rating or under rating the functions School evidence insufficient or nonexistent Staff unaware of contents of SMR Listing of needs in Section 2 that do not impact student performance and well being Failure to provide required courses listed in Policy 2510 The required teams in Policy 2510 are not in place Physical Education not receiving required amount of time per programmatic level Guidance counselor(s) cannot verify 75% direct counseling with students Other Monitoring Reports: Findings not corrected and/or no plan in place to correct issues

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THE BOTTOM LINE

All decisions must be made in the best interest of the students All staff must be aware of the contents of the SMR There is no substitute for high quality instruction High expectations MUST be evident buildingwide ALL students must be challenged to perform at their highest level Instructional time is valuable and must be fully utilized EVERY student deserves a high quality education