001Welcome to the differentiated monitoring and support strategic support plan overview. My name is Lori Merrill and I am the director of monitoring, review and support with the Texas Education Agency. Today we will walk through the strategic support plan process which is a part of the differentiated monitoring and support system DMS used to monitor special population programs in the state of Texas. Today's session is anticipated to take approximately 60 minutes. During this session, we will provide an overview of the strategic support plan SSP, outline program requirements for engaging in continuous improvement activities, walk through the steps of the development process, and discuss how to use the support plan feature in the Ascend Texas application located in the Texas Education Agency login or teal. At the conclusion of today's session, participants should be able to summarize the
002purpose of the SSP, recall program requirements for submitting the SSP, develop a strategic support plan, and use the support plan feature in Ascend Texas to generate a strategic support plan. Let's begin with a brief overview of the strategic support plan. The strategic support plan, SSP, is designed to assist LEAs to address areas of improvement that will positively impact outcomes for students with disabilities, emergent bilingual students, students who are homeless, students in foster care, and/or students who are military connected as aligned to the results driven accountability. RDA framework. The SSP is a tool used annually as part of the LEA's continuous improvement process to prioritize essential program elements, clear timelines, milestones, metrics, and task owners. When implemented with fidelity, the SSP will cultivate an environment that promotes student outcomes while addressing the root causes of low
003performance related to RDA determination levels. The SSP is not a substitute to fulfill requirements of the effective schools framework ESF determined by accountability nor any targeted improvement plan required through the ESF process. Now that we are familiar with the purpose of the strategic support plan, let's review the steps of the development process. The process of developing the strategic support plan has eight steps. Review sources of data. Identify priority areas. Develop problem statements. Conduct root cause analysis, define annual goals, develop strategies for implementation, define implementation activities, and finally monitor and report progress. To get started, the LEA should identify relevant LEA personnel and stakeholders to engage in the strategic support process to implement systems and best practices to produce positive student outcomes. LEAs should consider the areas of concern and select participants based upon the presenting
004areas of low performance. Some examples include special education, curriculum and instruction, English as a second language and/or bilingual education. Step one, review sources of data. In this step, the LEA will consider multiple sources of data to identify potential areas for continuous improvement. Examples of sources of data may include, but are not limited to, self- assessment results, resultsdriven accountability indicators, star assessment results, discipline reports, corrective action, dispute resolution activity, and district improvement plans. For each source of data, the LEA should consider a series of guiding questions to help identify whether the data indicates a potential area of need. What story does our data tell us? What trends are most notable? What comparisons are most notable? What subgroups of students require additional attention? What successes are evident in our data? What concerns are most common across multiple
005data sources? For what concerns can we have the greatest impact? In this step, the LEA should identify priority areas that will be addressed within the strategic support plan. These priority areas will provide the LEA a highlevel focus for the development of goals, strategies, and activities within the plan. The LEA decision about which priority areas will be selected is based on their analysis of sources of data completed in step one. The LEA is encouraged to align the potential areas of need to the respective diagnostic framework. This process will afford the LEA an opportunity to identify those areas where multiple sources of data indicate the need for improvement. Please note the LEA should identify approximately two to four priority areas. The number of priority areas will not be restricted but eleas are encouraged to follow the effective
006schools framework practice of developing an annual continuous improvement plan with a few focused areas. Step three, develop a problem statement. In step three, the LEA will write a brief problem statement for each priority area. The problem statement should describe the gap between the ELEA's current performance and desired performance. The desired performance described by the LEA should be based on the sources of data reviewed and may also be related to professional or performance standards and state or district targets. The LEA should identify the level of urgency associated with each problem to determine the problem statements that are most significant for action. Here are some example problem statements eleas may develop based upon their review of sources of data and identified prioritized areas. Let's look at these two examples. For the past 3 years, students with disabilities
007who are emergent bilingual in grades 3 through 5 are not performing at the same level as their peers at the state level. Students with disabilities are more likely to experience out of school suspension than students who do not have disabilities. Step four, root cause analysis. The expected outcome of the root cause analysis is to understand why the LEA is not achieving the desired results in each priority area. Problems in educational systems are often complex and involve multiple variables. To successfully complete the root cause analysis, the LEA will engage in a series of activities designed to guide the LEA in identifying the causes of the gap between the LEA's current performance and desired performance. The district leadership team, DLT, should keep in mind that root causes are the why behind the problem. They represent things that
008can change and need to change. Root causes are not student attributes such as race and ethnicity, disability status, etc. And they are not individuals. An individual may be contributing to a problem but a deeper cause could be found in training, clarification of duties, scheduling etc. Root cause analysis is about identifying breakdowns in systems and processes not people. One of the most effective ways to conduct a root cause analysis is to engage an activity called the five W's. The purpose of the activity is to prompt the LEA to explore why this reason or cause exists. at multiple levels by writing statements in response to the repeated question why. The LEA will repeat the five W's activity for multiple potential root causes until the leadership team has exhausted consideration of the cause or causes. The LEA should
009consider the following questions to identify which of the potential root causes should be addressed through strategic action. Which cause or causes impact multiple priority areas? Which cause or causes does the LEA have the ability to address? Which cause or causes will have the greatest impact on the problem statement? Based on the LEA leadership team discussion about these root causes, the LEA should write a brief statement that describes the root cause the LEA has selected to address through strategic action. Step five, define the annual goal or goals. With a clear understanding of the reasons for the gap between the LEA current performance and desired performance, the LEA will proceed to define a measurable annual goal that is designed to address this gap. The annual goal must be specific, measurable, and achievable. To be specific, the goal
010must include an observable behavior that a stranger could see in action and would recognize. To be measurable, the goal must include a baseline data point where we are currently performing and a target for improvement where we want to be within one year. The baseline and target must be represented as a percentage. The baseline should be drawn from one of the sources of data reviewed by the LEA. The target for improvement should be drawn from one of the sources of data reviewed and may also be related to professional or performance standards and national, state, or district targets. To be achievable, the goal must be supported by strategies for implementation identified in step six. In order to achieve the expectations that the strategic support plan will support the LEA in addressing prioritized lever one of the effective
011schools framework strong school leadership and planning. The LEA will develop a single annual goal to address each selected prioritized area. The annual goal statement will address the LEA's priorities for continuous improvement related to improving outcomes for all students. As discussed on the previous slide, in order to achieve the expectation that the strategic support plan will support the LEA in addressing prioritize lever one of the effective schools framework, strong school leadership and planning. The LEA will develop a single annual goal to address each selected prioritized area. The annual goal statement will address the ELEA's priorities for continuous improvement related to improving outcomes for all students. Let's look at this example problem statement. For the past 3 years, students with disabilities who are emergent bilingual in grades 3 through 5 are not performing at the same level
012as their peers at the state level. Annual goal star reading will increase from 12.74% in 2023 2024 to 14.65% 65% in 2024 to 2025 for students with disabilities who are emergent bilingual in grades 3 through 5. Step six, develop strategies for implementation. Using the root causes selected to address through strategic action, the LEA should describe strategies for implementation that are designed to support the LEA in achieving the annual goal. Strategies for implementation are reportable actions that will be taken by the LEA during the year. For each annual goal, the LEA will create at least one strategy for implementation. The strategy for implementation should be a short description of the action that will be taken by the LEA staff. Each strategy for implementation should be grouped by the LEA into a strategic support category such as
013policies, procedures, and practices, training and professional development, technical assistance, and other continuous improvement. This strategy for implementation is aligned with or addressed through other continuous improvement efforts such as the effective schools framework or district improvement plan. The LEA may need to implement multiple strategies in order to achieve the goal. The number of strategies for implementation will not be restricted, but eleas are encouraged to follow the effective schools framework practice of developing an annual continuous improvement plan with few effective strategies. Step seven, define implementation activities consistent with prioritize lever one of the effective schools framework. strong school leadership and planning. The strategic support plan is an annual continuous improvement plan with few focused priorities, clear timelines, milestones, metrics, and task owners that address the root cause of low performance related to outcomes for all students. This
014step supports the LEA in providing detailed information about how each strategy for implementation will be enacted. Each strategy for implementation will be supported by detailed implementation activities. Activity description. Describe the components of the activity and how it will be implemented throughout the district. Timeline for completion. List all the dates for components of the activity and set a projected completion date for the activity. Personnel responsible for implementation. This should be the position title of the individuals who will manage the completion of the activity such as the general ed teacher, special education teacher, instructional specialist, etc. Personnel responsible for supervision of implementation. This should be the position title of the person who will be responsible for ensuring this activity is completed on time such as the principal, assistant superintendent, etc. Step eight, monitor and report progress. This
015is the final step in developing a strategic support plan. Step eight consists of four elements. SSP reviewed. After the strategic support plan has been finalized by the LEA staff, TEA review and support staff will review the SSP and conduct an initial meeting with the LEA staff. Fidelity of implementation. Progress reporting is a continuous process that happens throughout the year based on the LEA's determination level. Reporting of progress may be an interactive experience that allows TEA staff to provide constructive feedback and assign additional supports that will assist the LEA in achieving the desired improvement. The LEA and TEA staff will engage in robust conversation pertaining to the fidelity of implementation of identified activities and the impact of the activities on prioritized program areas. Evidence of implementation is the documentation that will be submitted to TEA as
016evidence that the activity was completed such as agendas, sign-in sheets, procedures, manuals, etc. Continuous improvement. Next steps for sustainability or continued improvement. The framework shows the suggested and required monitoring elements for all LEAs relating to their determination level. Eleas are encouraged to engage in continuous program improvement regardless of RDA determinations. However, based upon annual determinations within the RDA framework, strategic support plan submissions may be required. ELEAs who obtain a determination level three needs intervention or determination level four need substantial interventions in any of the program areas in the RDA framework are required to submit a strategic support plan to the TEA and engage in regular scheduled support conferences with the TEA. Progress monitoring is also differentiated based on the LEA's RDA determination level. The reporting of progress is an interactive experience that allows TEA staff
017to provide constructive feedback and assign additional supports that will assist the LEA in achieving the desired improvement. The table on this slide shows the frequency of teleconferencing with TEA's bilingual ESL and OSP review and support team. Progress monitoring for sped programs is also differentiated based on the LEA's sped RDA determination level. The reporting of progress is an interactive experience that allows eleas to collaborate with their ESC through work sessions targeting data reviews, professional development, and technical assistance. In addition to TEA staff providing constructive feedback and assigning additional supports that will assist the LEA in achieving the desired improvement. So far, we have discussed the purpose of the strategic support plan and the process of development. Now let's review the monitoring timeline for this continuous improvement activity. Eleas engaging in RDA continuous improvement activities are no
018longer required to submit a DCSI superintendent attestation in the ascend Texas application located in the Texas Education Agency login teal. However, the superintendent should appoint a DCSI to facilitate the SSP process. The DCSI should be an individual serving in a position to impact and or influence the implementation of best practices aligned to increasing positive student outcomes. ELEAs required to engage in the SSP process should submit the SSP by December 19th, 2025 using the Ascent Texas application located in Teal. Let's look at the timeline for the 2025 2026 school year. Our timeline starts in November with the release of the RDA reports for each LEA. After the LEA receives the data, the expectation is that the LEA uses the remainder of November and December to plan with the district leadership team to develop the SSP. As
019previously stated, the SSP is due on December 19th, 2025. January through June is the time that LEAs will engage in SSP implementation and collect evidence of strategy implementation and report progress to TEA based upon their overall RDA determination level by program area. An endofthe-year SSP teleconference should be conducted between May 4th and May 29th for bilingual ESL and OSP programs and by June 3rd for SPED programs to discuss the ELEA's progress and plans to sustain continuous improvement efforts. During this webinar, we have discussed the purpose of the SSP, the development process, the program area requirements, and highlighted the 2025 2026 monitoring timeline. Let's discuss a few updates for this school year. For the 2025 2026 school year, LEAs should use the support plan feature available in the Ascend Texas application to support the development of
020the strategic support plan. When Eleas Ascend, the user will be able to select the support plan feature located on their dashboard and initiate the development of a strategic support plan. The next part of this presentation webinar will walk participants through how to navigate the Ascend Texas application while developing a strategic support plan. First, we will review how to create a strategic support plan. Let's begin. When the LEA user opens the Ascend Texas application, the user will begin on the LEA's dashboard. Please ensure you have selected the 2025 2026 school year at the top of the dashboard. To access your strategic support plan, SSP, click on support plans on the left navigation menu. From the support plan page, select your LEA from the list by clicking on the hyperla name. Please note, if the LEA user
021is initiating the strategic support plan in Ascend for the first time, the user must click the initiate new support plan button located on the right side of the screen. This button is denoted by the orange star on the screenshot. The LEA user will then be taken to the LEA's support plan page. Here the user will see any SSPs initiated along with the date of initiation. Now that we have accessed the LEA support plan in the Ascend Texas application, let's review how the LEA user will complete the SSP. Starting the SSP development process. Clicking on the strategic support plan hyperlink at the top of the LEA support plans page will take the user to the LEA's page and allow the user to work through the steps of the SSP process and submit SSP documents as needed.
022Hyperlinks in the right navigation menu will take the user to data entry pages for each step in the SSP process. Please note while using the support plan feature in Ascend, the LEA user will see SSP or CAP documents from the LEA. The prompt the user sees will be contingent upon the support plan the LEA is developing. LEA users will upload SSP documents using the SSP document hyperlink. Step one, reviewing the sources of data. To begin entering data for the SSP, the LEA user should click on review sources of data on the right navigation pane. The LEA user will then select which programs the SSP is being used for. Options are special education, bilingual ESL, and other programs. While special education and bilingual ESL have checkboxes, the other programs is an open text box for the
023user to type in any additional programs the SSP will address, such as other special population. The user should click the save programs button once all information has been entered. Under the area where the LEA user selected SSP programs, the user will see several additional section headers. Self- assessment results, prior corrective action, dispute resolution, PBMAS results, RDA indicators, district improvement plan, discipline report, and star assessment results. Clicking on any of the underlined headings will open the section and allow the user to input information. The next slide will provide an example of what the LEA user will experience while navigating through the sources of data fields. Please note all expandable sections on the review sources of data page will follow the same process as detailed in the self- assessment results example. Sources of data example self- assessment
024results. Clicking on the self- assessment results heading will open up the section for completion. The top of the section provides instructions along with guiding questions to help you complete the section. Additionally, you will see buttons that allow you to view planning report and view all ascend reports. Just a reminder, all expandable sections on the review sources of data page will follow the same process as detailed in this self- assessment results example. Below the instructions and guiding questions, the LEA user will identify priority areas in the domains that are provided. To identify potential areas of need identified in the self assessment, click the box for the specific area and it will turn blue. Once all areas of potential need have been identified, you can upload other reports or documentation by clicking on the add document button.
025Additionally, you can enter a brief summary of your data using the text box at the bottom of the page. Once all self- assessment information has been saved, you can click on the section heading again to close the section. You can navigate to other sections of the SSP by clicking on the next button at the bottom of the page or by clicking on a specific topic on the right navigation menu. Step two, identifying priority areas. Once all information has been entered on the review sources of data page, clicking next at the bottom of the screen will take the LEA user to the priority areas page. Please note priority areas must be selected before any other steps in the SSP process can be completed. If any SSP documents have been uploaded for the LEA, they will appear
026under the SSP documents from LEA section of the page along with the date the documents were uploaded. To choose the LEA's SSP priorities, the user will click on the select two to four priority areas based on the data reviewed in step one heading. This will open the section to display domains and their associated priority areas. To select an SSP priority, click on the priority area box to turn it blue. Priorities chosen will then display on the LEA support plan overview page as well as all other pages in the SSP process and the user can then begin entering information into the remaining parts of the plan. Step three, developing a problem statement. Priority areas previously selected will automatically appear as headers on the problem statements page of Ascend. To define the problem to be addressed, click
027on the heading for the priority area the team is working on. This will open a text box that will allow for formatting of any entered text using the toolbar at the top of the box. In addition to providing a statement, you will need to select the urgency using the buttons below the text box. Options are critical, high, medium, and low. When an urgency level is determined, it will turn white when clicked. When all information is entered, save it by clicking the submit problem statement button. The submit problem statement button will need to be clicked for each priority area individually. You can navigate to other sections of the SSP by clicking on the previous or next buttons at the bottom of the page or by clicking on the specific topic on the right navigation menu. Step
028four, conducting the root cause analysis. Priority areas previously selected will automatically appear as headers on the root cause analysis page of Ascend. To begin entering root cause analysis information, click on the heading to open the section the leadership team is working on. The LEA user will see the problem statement the team created along with a warning that there is no content entered for the root cause statement. To enter root cause information, click on the begin five wise exercise button. Clicking on the begin five wise exercise button will take the LEA user to a new page with instructions along with space to input information for five possible reasons for the gap between the current and desired performance. Each of the five W's has its own text box to enter information. Text entered can be formatted using
029the toolbar. Note, the five W's will build upon each other. As you can see, the first Y will show above the text box for the second Y. Based on the LEA leadership team discussion about these root causes, the LEA should write a brief statement that describes the root causes the LEA has selected to address through strategic action. Beneath the Y sections, there is another text box to enter a brief statement about the root cause analysis for the priority area. Guiding questions are provided above the text box to aid the district leadership in creating the LEA's response. Once all information has been entered, clicking the submit button at the bottom of the page will save the information and clicking back will take the user to the root cause analysis overview page. So, the user can then
030enter information for any other priority areas. The user can navigate to other sections of the SSP by clicking on the previous or next buttons at the bottom of the page or by clicking on the specific topic on the right navigation menu. Step five, defining the annual goals. Priority areas previously selected will automatically appear as headers on the annual goals page of Ascent. Defining the annual goal. Clicking on a priority area will bring up a text box that allows the LEA user to type and format an annual goal for the area selected. Instructions in the text box state the goal needs to be specific, measurable, and achievable. Once the goal has been recorded, save it by clicking on the save annual goal button. The user can navigate to other sections of the SSP by clicking on
031the previous or next buttons at the bottom of the page or by clicking on the specific topic on the right navigation menu. Step six, developing strategies of implementation. Priority areas previously selected will automatically appear as headers on the strategies for implementation page of Ascend. Developing strategies of implementation. Clicking on the priority area heading will open the section and allow the user to type strategies for implementation into the provided text box. Text can be formatted using the toolbar at the top of the box. Once strategies are recorded, click on the save strategies button at the bottom of the section. Strategies for all priority areas will need to be entered and saved individually. For each annual goal, the LEA should create at least one strategy for implementation designed to support the LEA in achieving the annual goal.
032The LEA user can navigate to other sections of the SSP by clicking on the previous or next buttons at the bottom of the page or by clicking on the specific topic on the right navigation menu. Step seven, defining implementation activities. Priority areas previously selected will automatically appear as headers on the implementation activities page of Ascend along with the number of activities completed. The first time landing on the page, each priority will show zero of zero activities implemented. To create implementation activities, click on the priority area heading and you will see a button to create new implementation activity. Clicking on the button will open a new section on the page with fields to input the activity title, strategic support strategy, activity description, and timeline for completion. The activity title is a text box that allows the
033LEA user to name the implementation activity. The strategic support category field is a drop-down with options such as policies, procedures, and practices, training and professional development, and self-monitoring activities. A description of the activity can be entered and formatted in the activity description text box. The timeline for completion can be manually entered in the month, day, year format or the user can click on the calendar icon to choose the correct date. Once all implementation activity information has been entered, the user can save by clicking on the save activity button at the bottom of the section. After saving an implementation activity, the LEA user will see a new hyperlink at the bottom of the section along with a status button. Editing an implementation activity. Clicking on the status button will open a menu allowing for the activity
034status to be updated. Options include continuing, discontinued, and closed. The hyperlink will open up a new section with options to edit activity, delete activity, and add personnel. Clicking edit activity will populate the fields at the top of the section with the saved information and allow you to make edits. Clicking delete activity will initiate a popup asking you if you are sure you want to remove the activity. Clicking yes, delete implementation activity will remove the activity from the system. Adding personnel to an implementation activity. To add implementation personnel to the activity, click the add personnel button. This will open new fields to complete including text fields for entering the individual's first name, last name, and email address. Additionally, there is a drop-down that will allow you to record what the individual is responsible for. Options are
035either implementation or supervision. Clicking save person will populate the corresponding field implementation personnel or supervision of implementation personnel of the activity and clear the assigned personnel to this activity fields. If you need to create more than one implementation activity, fill out the enter a new implementation activity field again with the new activity information and click save activity after each new entry. Once all information has been entered, the number of activities created will be reflected in the priority area headings. Uploading documents. To upload SSP documents for the evidence of activities that have been identified for continuous improvement, click on the right side navigation pane and select upload documents. Then click on the SSP documents from LEA. The SSP documents from LEA will expand allowing for documents to be uploaded. Click on upload more SSP documents to
036upload evidence of the activities. Follow the prompts to add SSP documents. Choose the correct file or files to upload and select open. If any SSP documents have been uploaded for the LEA, they will appear under the SSP documents from LEA section of the page. along with the date documents were uploaded. The summary report priority areas previously selected will automatically appear as headers on the summary report page of ascend along with SSP documents from the LEA if continuous improvement documents were previously uploaded. If the LEA has SSP documents, clicking on the SSP documents from LEA heading will show you what documents were previously uploaded. This is another way to upload additional documents by clicking on the upload more SSP documents button and following the steps in the previous section titled upload documents. a link to this
037presentation and the Ascend Texas SSP process resource will be available on the strategic support plan web page to assist LEAs with engaging in continuous improve improvement initiatives. For additional support or questions regarding the strategic support plan and intervention requirements, please contact the division of review and support at review and support at tea.exas.gov G O V or 512-463-9414.