The Pennsylvania Department of Education targeted subgroups in four local schools as “in need of additional support” on Thursday, based on the state’s new Every Student Succeeds Act plan.

Under the state’s ESSA plan, Comprehensive Support and Improvement schools are ones that had both academic and student success challenges over a two-year period. These schools face the greatest challenges and need the most help. No local schools fell under that designation.

An additional 6 percent of all public schools, including Panther Valley Elementary School, Panther Valley Junior/Senior High School, Lehighton Area High School and Tamaqua Area High School, have been prioritized for Additional Targeted Support and Improvement (A-TSI). The designations are based on the performance of individual student groups, including economically disadvantaged students, English language learners, students receiving special education services; and federally established race and ethnic populations.

In the four local schools designated, the subgroups requiring additional support were all identified as being students with disabilities.

Tim Tkach, Lehighton assistant to the superintendent, said the district will develop a long-term improvement plan for the special needs program at the high school.

“The first steps are surveys, a comprehensive needs assessment and root-cause analysis to identify evidence-based practices that can be used to help those students and improve scores,” Tkach said. “We’ll work hand-in-hand with the state and with our teachers, parents and community, to take a look at this specific subgroup.”

In Tamaqua, Superintendent Ray Kinder said, “although the recently released data indicates that overall our schools are at or above state targets, the new methodology has identified a specific subgroup of students at our senior high school for the district to concentrate efforts for improvement. We have already implemented curricular changes to support the improvement process. In addition, we will be identifying interventions to help these students achieve more.”

Administrators in schools with a CSI or A-TSI designation were invited to a regional workshop to meet with PDE staff and receive briefings on resources, supports and the next steps in the process.

Improvement plans have to be completed and approved by the state by July 1, 2019.

Funding to support school improvement plans will be formula-driven for the first year of identification. A second year of formula-driven disbursement will be allocated for schools who are making progress on their plan and providing timely reports to PDE. After that, a competitive-driven approach will be used to differentiate the needs of specific schools.

Pennsylvania’s new school improvement strategy follows a three-district, 19-school pilot program implemented during the 2017-18 year.

“The Wolf administration recognizes that students are more than test scores and that many factors contribute to student success,” said Secretary of Education Pedro A. Rivera. “The schools designated today will receive a variety of supports tailored to their unique needs. Ultimately, this extra support will create a more successful learning environment for students.”

A-TSI schools, state officials said, will also receive technical assistance from the state while developing and implementing a locally approved improvement plan.

Both CSI and A-TSI schools will enter four-year improvement cycles. The next cycle of CSI and A-TSI schools will be designated in fall 2021.

CSI and A-TSI determinations stem from the state’s new school accountability system that shifts from using test scores alone to now include five more indicators: academic growth, high school graduation rate, progress in moving English learners to proficiency, regular attendance, and engagement in postsecondary readiness plans.

“Our procedures for identifying schools for enhanced supports builds on the foundation we’ve set with the Future Ready PA Index,” Rivera said. “We are building a broader, fairer and more meaningful portrait of school and student progress, and we’re honoring our state’s equity commitments by helping to ensure that every student in the commonwealth gets the education he or she needs to be successful.”

Panther Valley Superintendent Dennis Kergick said, “We are consistently evaluating and reviewing the indicators the state has provided respecting this designation. The teaching and support staff in both buildings have been notified of the concerns expressed and letters will be going home to parents and guardians in our affected school buildings.”

Both Panther Valley schools will be working with teachers, staff and community members to brainstorm solutions to address the deficits identified by PDE. Building principals will work on incorporating best practices to address some of our deficiencies on a regular basis.

“Our efforts will include looking at how we are currently servicing our special education students at all grade levels, looking at identifying the individual academic and emotional needs of each student, and tightening up our attendance policies to ensure students have regular attendance,” Kergick said.

Elementary Principal Robert Palazzo said the school started implementing a new English Language Arts curriculum this year and is pleased with the progress students are making.

“In addition,” Palazzo said, “our school counselor conducts classroom guidance lessons that focus on addressing issues like anxiety, bullying and career readiness. We are also taking a more restorative approach to discipline that has its basis in trauma-informed instruction. These changes have created a positive environment where students enjoy learning.”

Dr. Catherine Nelson, supervisor of special education, said the district is moving toward a more inclusive model of special education, with an increase in co-teaching in the general education setting.

Panther Valley is also looking at the possible addition of two special education positions at the high school.

According to an October article in Pennsylvania’s Education Law Center, from 2008 to 2016, state spending on special education increased by $72 million, but costs increased by $1.54 billion.

“Obviously, the costs are exceeding the level of state funding,” Kergick said. “On a statewide level, local districts had to come up with $20 for every added dollar that the state provided to cover the increasing cost of special education.”

Kergick also cited “inadequate state funding” as a statistic that should be considered while evaluating the designations released by PDE on Thursday.

“Four of every five of the state’s school districts, serving 1.4 million students, are not getting their fair state share,” he said. “Nearly half of school districts are spending below the amount needed to educate students. That underspending is a direct result of inadequate state support.”

The number of college students’ pursuing certification in special education has decreased, Kergick added, providing a challenge for districts and the state to make the vocation more attractive.

“In Panther Valley, we are witnessing a substantial increase in the number of students being identified with special needs,” he said. “We are looking at hiring additional teachers in our special education department across all three buildings.”