It takes a district: No Child Left Behind has deepened the need to communicate effectively. This district's NCLB implementation plan includes a project chart that designates action items, the people who are responsible and key deadlines.

An old adage says that it takes a village to raise a child, but with the enactment of No Child Left Behind it takes an entire district effort to implement legislation. Systemic educational reforms require each division and department in the district to contribute to institutional change that will ensure organizational success. NCLB has necessitated intensified collaboration and cooperation and has deepened the need for open, direct communication across the district.

Fortunately for Fontana Unified, a curriculum audit conducted several years ago initiated a new era, with a commitment from district and school leaders and teachers to increase the academic achievement of all students and to promote professional development opportunities for all educators. With proven results on a variety of indicators, the district has confirmed that it is a model of effective restructuring and consistent educational progress.

Implementation plan in chart form

To assist with the information flow essential to achieve the intent of this legislation and expand on a concept originated in a neighboring district, the associate superintendent for Educational Services requested an NCLB implementation plan. The process to complete this complex task began with reading of each Title and with the identification of required district and school-level actions. The resultant 78-page project chart addresses eight of the 10 Titles in NCLB (Titles VII and VIII are not applicable in the district at this time).

Each section of the project chart begins with the purpose of that particular Title so that everyone has the same understanding of its intent. The associate superintendent shared the final draft version of the project chart with Educational Services directors and with Educational Services directors and with members of the superintendent's cabinet, and received input from both groups about the projects chart's contents and format. The final draft of the chart's was then presented to the Board of Educational during the first of series of presentations on NCLB.

The project charts describe an action plan for each Title, and list major subtopics/subparts within each Title (such as Title I, Part A, District Accountability Report Card; or Title IX, Part E, Choice Option for Unsafe Schools). The subtopics are split into three columns that designate action items, assign the person/people responsible for each item, and note the status for relevant dates/times/completion.

Some of the action items are statements that give complete details in a single line item. Other statements will lead to the development of additional departmental project charts and tasks to be accomplished by individual departments. One member of the Educational Services staff has the responsibility to lead this implementation plan to fruition and to work with each department on the tasks and requirements of the project chart.

To further illustrate the project chart function, the following examples from Title I and Title X provide details.

Example No. 1: Choice and SES

Two elementary schools in the district failed to meet Adequate Yearly Progress as required in Title I, Part A, and are now in Year 1 and Year 2 of Program Improvement. This status necessitated that several actions be taken by the district, the site and the parents of the children in those schools. At both schools, parents received notification about the school's status and invitations to attend site meeting to hear about the plans and progress that each school had made in recent months. While parents had the choice to transfer to another non-Program Improvement school in the district, all of them chose to keep their children enrolled at their home schools.

The Year 2 School not only offered parents the choice option, but also had to offer Supplemental Educational Services (SES) to families at the site. Again, notifications were sent and meetings were held to inform parents of the opportunity for after-school tutoring provided by a state-approved service provider. The district had received approval to provide an SES program. This became one of the options for parents to choose from for tutoring services, along with outside providers.

Parents of nearly 100 children returned the intent form for SES. About 80 percent chose the district's program and the other 20 percent selected two tutoring services that provided one-to-one, in-home tutoring.

The district program met three days each week for one-and-a-half hours and lasted 10 weeks. Students demonstrated progress as indicated on the end-of-year Multiple Measures Matrix and both classroom teachers and parents noted their children's growth with reading skills.

Each step along the way to provide choice and SES options to parents/children at Program Improvement schools was detailed in the project chart. From initiating contact and negotiating contracts with outside providers to translating parent notification to designing curricular and instructional goals and objectives, the project chart guided the process and identified the individual who provided leadership in seeing the line item through to completion.

A few of the individuals involved in this action item were the director of Categoricals; the Fiscal director; the site principal and the directors of Staff Development, Elementary Education and Accountability. Each of these directors then assigned members of their departments to collaborate on the overall input into SES. A coordinator from Categoricals was then assigned the responsibility of overseeing the after-school program and of working with outside SES providers.

Example No. 2: Teacher and paraprofessional qualifications

A controversial component in Title I, Part A, is that of the qualifications of teachers and paraprofessionals. Again, the project chart assists in detailing the requirements of the legislation and the assignment of responsible divisions and departments to complete these tasks. While the state continues to decipher federal law and to develop its district demands of the federal legislation. Taken directly from the NCLB, the statements in this part of the project provide clear direction for Human Resources, Staff Development, Educational Services and Student Services.

From the beginning of July 2002, the district has hired teachers and paraprofessionals who meet the requirements of NCLB. Further, Human Resources also has the need to notify previously hired teachers and paraprofessionals of NCLB requirements. The director of Classified Personnel held meetings with classified employees who work directly with students for instructional purposes. During these meetings the director describe the requirements of NCLB and the timeline involved to meet these requirements by Jan. 8, 2006. The director of Certified Personnel has the responsibility of notifying teachers, especially those in middle and high school classrooms, of their need to become "highly qualified" by the end of the 2005-2006 school year.

To help teachers and paraprofessionals meet these requirements, Staff Development will need to develop and deliver opportunities for educators to become "highly qualified." A line item in the project chart assigns this responsibility to the director of Staff Development along with the other directors of Educational Services. To complete this item, though, the Staff Development department will design its own project chart and timeline of tasks to ensure that these teacher and professional sessions meet the needs of those who attend the sessions and meet the requirements of NCLB legislation.

Example No. 3: Homeless education

The third example from the project chart involves Title X, Part C, and the Education of Homeless Children and Youth and the enactment of NCLB and the McKinney-Vento Homeless Education Assistance Improvements Act of 2001. The first item on the project chart for Title X states that the district shall develop a "definition of homeless children and youths to include individuals who lack a fixed, regular and adequate nightime residence; who share housing due to loss of housing/economic hardship; who are living in emergency shelters, motels, cars, publics places or other substandard housing." The responsibility to complete this action item involves the directors of Enrollment, Student Services and Educational Services.

This collaborative effort will ultimately lead to a "search and service" mission to identify and provide educational services to homeless children and youth and their families. As required by NCLB, Title X, Part C, to lead this effort the district will identify a homeless liaison to work not only with students and families, but also with community organizations and social services agencies who already serve the homeless population in the area.

Among the duties of the homeless liaison, a major endeavor will be to provide a constant flow of information to the community and to the school sites about the education of homeless children and youth. The liaison will also offer homeless families explanations about enrollment procedures, transportation, school supplies, after-school programs, health/nutrition needs, eligibility and referrals to health care.

At the school sites, the liaison, working under the supervision of the directors of Enrollment and Student Services, will ensure the right to enroll homeless students immediately with or without previous school and/or medical records. As this is a deviation from customary board policy, the Enrollment and Student Services departments will need to work with all schools to ensure that barriers to enrolling homeless students are removed and that revised policies are in place and publicly announced. All of these steps are detailed in the project chart for Title X.

These three examples give a brief overview of the depth and breadth of NCLB and an implementation process that requires the collaboration, communication and cooperation of all divisions and departments across the district and at the school sites.

Just say "Yes"

No Child Left Behind, with its nearly 1,200 pages of legislation, encompasses all areas of education and calls for significant systemic changes at all levels. It represents the most significant expansion of the federal role in K-12 education in nearly 30 years. While some stakeholders, districts or states may be inclined to just say "no" to the requirements of this federal legislation, the state of California must accept the nearly $6 billion it receives in federal funds to support the education of all students. Thus, every district in the state will need to comply with NCLB whether or not the district receives federal funding.

Our NCLB implementation plan and project chart format will assist the district with compliance and fiscal issues that include professional development for all educators, parent involvement, and measures of student achievement and of school site and district progress. The project chart will guide the review and revision of board policies and administrative regulations to ensure that NCLB legislations is carried out by the district, professional development for paraprofessionals, teachers and administrators will align with requirements of highly qualified educators and with high quality training. Parent notifications and involvement at the site and district levels will continue to be a strong emphasis across the district.

At the local level, accountability measures will require focused efforts to institute best educational practices for all students including those who have special needs, whether those needs be English language learning, special education or homelessness. All district divisions and departments will work together to take next steps that will ensure that all children, parents, teachers, support staff and administrators move forward together and leave no one behind.

For a sample page of Fontana's NCLB project chart, please e-mail Karolee Rosen at [e-mail]

Karolee Rosen is assistant director, Categorical Programs, for Fontana Unified School District.