• The New York State Education Department (NYSED) announced district and school accountability determinations as required by the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) and New York’s ESSA plan.  Under these accountability determinations, the Dunkirk City School District has been identified as a Target District. 

    The 2017-2018 NYS School Report Card is available online and more specifically outlines the various accountability indicators.

    Consistent with the requirements for Target Districts under the ESSA plans, the district met several times from May 2019-August 2019 to develop a District Comprehensive Improvement Plan (DCIP) which was submitted to NYSED for review.  This plan details how the district plans to improve instruction and address the needs of all students under the new ESSA Accountability indicators.  Each goal within the plan has a mid-year benchmark to allow for review of progress towards the goal and revision of the plan if necessary.

    Dunkirk City School District DCIP (2019-2020) - BOE Approval anticipated 9-10-19

    Dunkirk City School District DCIP Goals and Mid-Year Benchmarks by Tenet

     
    Dunkirk City School District School Comprehensive Education Plan (SCEP)
    All schools identified as Target Schools are required to develop a School Comprehensive Education Plan (SCEP) that details the way in which identified schools are focused on increasing the quality of instruction, improving the effectiveness of the leadership and teaching; and improving student achievement and graduation rates for all students with emphasis on identified subgroups.  The Dunkirk City School District has decided to have ALL schools participate in the planning and review process.  Building plans were developed over the course of the summer and will be revisited by building teams over the course of the school year.
     
    2019-2020 Target School SCEP Plans
    2019-2020 Non-Identified School SCEP Plans

    ESSA Funding

    The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) is a law that outlines how states can use federal money to support public schools. In January 2018, the federal government approved New York State’s plan to spend the approximately $1.6 billion the state receives annually under ESSA.  New York State is committed to ensuring that all students succeed and thrive in school no matter who they are, where they live, where they go to school, or where they come from. Since fall 2016, New York State asked for feedback to design a plan that improves equity, access, and opportunity for all students.

    Click here for additional information on the NYSED ESSA Fact Sheet for Parents (Spanish version available here.)

    Under ESSA, Title I, Part A provides funds to local educational agencies (LEAs) – Public School Districts, Charter Schools, and Special Act Districts – for the purpose of providing all children significant opportunity to receive a fair, equitable, and high-quality education, and to close educational achievement gaps among groups of students. Funds are allocated through four statutory formulas that are based primarily on census poverty estimates and the cost of education in each state.  Information on the district policies related to Title IA can be found here.

    NYSED has outline procedures for resolving complaints submitted to the New York State Education Department’s (NYSED) Office of ESSA-Funded Programs alleging that a local educational agency (LEA), grantee or NYSED has violated a law, rule, or regulation in the administration of any “covered Federal program” under the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), as amended by the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) identified below.These procedures offer parents and other stakeholders a process to file complaints and allow for the timely resolution of such complaints. Complaints filed against a local entity such as a school district, charter school, or grantee will be reviewed by NYSED's Office of ESSA-Funded Programs. Complaints filed against NYSED will be reviewed by NYSED's legal counsel.  Additional information about the complaint procedures are located here on the NYSED website.