School Improvement Plan
The Utah Legislature and State Board of Education recognize the valuable contribution that can be made towards improving education for school children at the most local level by empowering school community councils in every school. The school community councils are charged with establishing a School Improvement Plan (SIP) that focuses on academic achievement for the students. Recognizing that many factors influence student learning, this overarching plan may include actions that may not be specifically tied to curriculum, including addressing the school and community environment. This plan provides a framework for the other plans school community councils are responsible for.
To accomplish the task of creating a SIP, the councils are first required to review testing and other data to determine the school’s most critical academic needs. Then an action plan is prepared to address those academic needs. Schools are expected to be specific about how they intend to improve student achievement, including the programs, practices, equipment and materials that will be needed to implement the action plan. Integral in the action plan is a means to evaluate performance and accountability. Finally, a financial proposal is included that identifies the funds available to implement the action plan and the specific expenditures planned. When those steps are complete and the council has approved the SIP, it is ready for review and approval by the local school board. The SIP must be approved annually.