T I T L E I 2 0 1A G U I D E T O

P L A N N I N G , I N I T I AT I N G

A N D C O M P L E T I N G Y O U R

C O M P R E H E N S I V E N E E D S

A S S E S S M E N T ( C N A )

F O R T W O R T H I S D

R E V I S E D F E B R U A R Y 2 0 1 8

A G U I D E T O

P L A N N I N G , I N I T I AT I N G

A N D C O M P L E T I N G Y O U R

C O M P R E H E N S I V E N E E D S

A S S E S S M E N T ( C N A )

F O R T W O R T H I S D

T I T L E I 2 0 1

P U R P O S E

“The needs assessment guides the development of the comprehensive schoolwide plan and suggests

benchmarks for its evaluation, and, as such, is closely linked to all aspects of schoolwide program

implementation.”

— U.S. Department of Education, Designing Schoolwide Programs: Non-regulatory guidance (2006)

In this guide we refer to the Comprehensive Needs

Assessment (CNA) as a continuous cycle of

improvement as we guide you through the steps of

CNA completion.

T H E P L A N N I N G

P R O C E S S

The planning process for each school year starts

with the completion of your Comprehensive Needs

Assessment (CNA). Per Texas Education Code, every

school is required to develop, complete and assess a CNA

to run an effective campus. Both state and federal law outline the

requirement for schools to conduct a CNA (Texas Education Code, TEC Sections 11.252(a)(1-2) and 11.253). After

your campus conducts a CNA, the Campus Educational Improvement Plan (CEIP) will serve as the blueprint for

how your campus will actually address the needs identified.

Although the planning process begins with the CNA, it must be a continuous cycle of improvement that is

revisited every year.

The planning process for the initiation of the CNA should begin at the latest in January, before the upcoming

school year.

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EVALUATE

IMPLEMENT

BUDGET

CEIP

NEEDSASSESSMENT

FORT WORTH ISD TITLE I PLANNING TIMELINE

DATE ACTION

JULY • New school year budget becomes active

AUGUST - SEPTEMBER

• Review/elect fourteen Site-Based Decision Making (SBDM) committee members

• Plan and conduct action as needed• Upload final copy of CEIP for FWISD School Board to approve

OCTOBER - NOVEMBER • Monitor Title I payroll expenditures

DECEMBER • Title I grant budget revisions due

JANUARY• Certify Time & Effort for Title I personnel (fall semester)• Initiate planning for next year’s Title I CNA• Review and update CEIP

FEBRUARY• Hold planning meetings for Title I CNA• Title I preliminary allocation budget analysis• Last month to submit requisitions for library books and technology

MARCH• Consult with SBDM and review all Title I documents (i.e., parental

involvement policies, compacts, professional development for teachers)• Finalize CNA and upload to portal

APRIL • Finalize next year’s Title I budget input with alignment to CNA

MAY• Last month for Title I expenditures• Submit all out-of-state travel requests for the following school year• Upload CEIP draft for the following school year to the portal

JUNE• Last month to submit all travel, including summer travel• Certify Time & Effort for Title I personnel (spring semester).

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T H E P L A N N I N G P R O C E S S

S T E P S F O R C O M P L E T I O N O F

C O M P R E H E N S I V E N E E D S A S S E S S M E N T

E L E C T S C H O O L W I D E P L A N N I N G T E A M

D E V E L O P S T R A T E G I E S

D E T E R M I N E O B J E C T I V E S

I D E N T I F Y P R I O R I T I E S

C R E A T E C A M P U S P R O F I L E

I D E N T I F Y A N D A N A L Y Z E D A T A

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6

5

4

3

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• Four teachers elected by teachers, with the election supervised by the Campus Coordinating Committee

• One professional non-teaching staff member

• One district-level staff member

• Three parents

• Two community representatives

• Two business representatives

• Principal

1 . E L E C T S C H O O L W I D E P L A N N I N G T E A M

The first step in initiating the CNA is establishing a schoolwide planning team. The formal team should be in

place to lead the process of developing the schoolwide program. Primarily, this team should organize and

oversee the needs assessment process; lead the staff in developing the schoolwide plan; and conduct or

oversee the program’s annual evaluation.

Fort Worth ISD uses the Site-Based Decision Making (SBDM) Committee as the Schoolwide Planning Team for

developing and revising the CNA.

The composition of the Schoolwide Planning Team (SBDM Committee) should follow these guidelines (there

should be a total of 14 members):

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• At-Risk by Category

• Attendance

• College/University/Dual Credit/Advanced Placement Enrollment

• Course/Class Assignments

• Enrollment

2 . I D E N T I F Y A N D A N A L Y Z E D A T A

Knowing where to find data will help you launch your analysis. You can use the seven areas of the CNA as

an outline for organizing your data, identifying the root causes of your needs, and determining how to

address them.

THE SEVEN AREAS OF THE CNA

1. Demographics

2. Student Achievement

3. School Culture and Climate

4. Staff Quality, Recruitment and Retention

5. Curriculum, Instruction and Assessment

6. Family and Community Involvement

7. School Context and Organization

Once you have created your outline, you can explore the following sources for data to identify your campus needs.

STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT POTENTIAL DATA SOURCES

• Advanced Course/Dual Enrollment Data

• Classroom and Program Assessments and Other Data

• Course/Class Grades

• Graduation, Completion, Dropout and GED Rates; Diploma Types

• Promotion/Retention Rates

• SAT/ACT/PSAT Results

• Standardized, Norm-Referenced, Criterion-Referenced Tests and Measures

• State and AYP Data Tables

• State Assessment Data

• Student Work

• TELPAS and AMAO Results

• Texas Success Initiative (TSI) Data

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DEMOGRAPHICS POTENTIAL DATA SOURCES

• Gender

• Graduation, Completion, Dropout and GED Rates

• Mobility/Stability

• Special Program Participation

• Teacher-Student Ratios

SCHOOL CULTURE AND CLIMATE POTENTIAL DATA SOURCES

• Classroom and School Walkthrough Data

• Feedback Data

• Focus Groups

• Interviews

• Parent Conferences, Meetings and Involvement

• Questionnaires

• Surveys

STAFF QUALITY, RECRUITMENT AND RETENTION POTENTIAL DATA SOURCES

• Course/Class Completion, Grades and Other Data

• Graduation, Completion, Dropout and GED rates

• Paraprofessional and Other Staff Qualifications

• PDAS and/or Other Staff Effectiveness Data

• Professional Development Data

• Recruitment and Retention Strategies and Other Data

• Special Program Qualifications (e.g., Bilingual/ESL, Special Education)

• Staff Effectiveness in Relation to Student Achievement

• Staff Mobility/Stability

• Teacher Certification/Qualification Data

• Teacher-Student Ratios

CURRICULUM, INSTRUCTION AND ASSESSMENT POTENTIAL DATA SOURCES

• Class, School and Special Program Schedules

• Collaborative Horizontal and Vertical Team Alignment Processes

• Common Benchmark Assessments and/or Other Assessments

• Enrichment Course/Class Materials

• Foundation Course/Class Materials

• Instructional Design/Delivery, High-Yield Strategies

• Lesson Study/Delivery Processes

• Scope and Sequence, Pacing Guides and/or Other Focus Documents

• Standards-Based Curriculum Resources and Materials

• Student-Specific/Differentiated Strategies and Processes

• Technology

I D E N T I F Y A N D A N A L Y Z E D A T A

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FAMILY AND COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT POTENTIAL DATA SOURCES

• Community Service Agencies and Support Services

• Demographic Data

• Family and Community Participation Counts by Type of Activity

• Family Mobility/Stability

• Parent Activity Evaluations and Feedback

• Parent and Community Partnership Data

• Parent Volunteer Information

SCHOOL CONTEXT AND ORGANIZATION POTENTIAL DATA SOURCES

• Communication (Formal and Informal)

• Decision-Making Processes

• Duty Rosters

• Leadership: Formal and Informal

• Master Schedule

• Program Support Services (e.g., Extracurricular Activities, After-School Programs)

• Schedule for Student Support Services (e.g., Counseling, Social Work, Library)

• School Map and Physical Environment

• School Structure (e.g., Teaming, Looping)

• Supervision Structure

• Support Structures: Mentor Teachers

I D E N T I F Y A N D A N A L Y Z E D A T A

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3 . C R E A T E C A M P U S P R O F I L E

Now that you have data on the seven areas of the CNA, you must review the data and begin the process of

identifying the Strengths, Needs, and Priorities that should be included in the CNA. Indicators such as student

engagement, school climate and safety, and student access to and completion of advanced coursework are

evidence-based school improvement strategies that allow schools to use multiple measures. It is important

to use data as the source of interpretation. Present the data to the SBDM and other appropriate stakeholders

and allow them to analyze and interpret the data and draw their conclusions. Think about the environment

and personal interactions at your campus.

Patterns may emerge as the data is organized and analyzed. These patterns may align with the school staff’s

perception about the strengths and weaknesses of school programs.

The campus profile should be used to determine

the focus and scope of the needs assessment, and

those findings will be used for program planning

and implementation. Use reliable information that is

data driven to develop a clear, common vision and

mission for the school program. Consider and take

into account the unique needs of the students and

community.

In the real world, there is never

enough money to meet all needs.

Needs assessments are conducted

to help program planners identify

and select the right job before

doing the job right.

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COMPREHENSIVE NEEDS ASSESSMENT

AREA REVIEWED

SUMMARY OF STRENGTHS

SUMMARY OF NEEDS

PRIORITIES

What were the identified strengths?

What were the identified needs?

How are we going to intervene? If addressed, this need will create the

most impact.

DEMOGRAPHICS

STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT

SCHOOL CULTURE AND CLIMATE

STAFF QUALITY /PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

CURRICULUM, INSTRUCTION

AND ASSESSMENT

FAMILY AND COMMUNITY

INVOLVEMENT

SCHOOL CONTEXT AND

ORGANIZATION

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C R E A T E C A M P U S P R O F I L E

Priority 1.

Priority 2.

Priority 4.

Priority 3.

Priority 5.

4 . I D E N T I F Y P R I O R I T I E S

Now it’s time to document the status, the “what is” of the concerns/issues, and compare the status with the

vision of “what should be” and determine the degree of the needs and their causes. The goal in this stage is

to set the needs in tentative order of priority, based on the criticality of the need and its causes.

BEST PRACTICE TO IDENTIFY TOP PRIORITIES:

1. Prioritize Needs Based on Data

List needs in order of importance:

• School affiliation

• English language

• Course completion, etc.

Within each area of need, separately rank the identified priorities:

• Counselor-student contact

• Peer network

• Extracurricular activities, etc.

2. Identify and Analyze Causes

• Determine general and specific causes

of high priority needs. (In general, try to

answer the question: why does this need

persist?)

• Identify strategies that will impact your

program.

3. Summarize Findings

• Document CNA in your CEIP. • Share the results with the SBDM, school

personnel and other key stakeholders.

IMPORTANT: Prioritize the highest ranking needs within each reviewed area in order for campus efforts to

positively impact student achievement.

A need is a discrepancy

or gap between “what is”

and “what should be.”

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5 . D E T E R M I N E O B J E C T I V E S

School performance objectives identify expected results or outcomes for all student populations served.

These objectives target observable behaviors that provide indicators for measuring change, such as student

performance. State statute requires all districts to adopt measurable district performance objectives for all

appropriate state indicators and student populations.

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER:

1. What is the relationship between the goals and the objectives?

2. How will meeting an objective move the organization closer to the goals?

3. How will objectives be measured?

4. What are the set specific federal and state targets?

5. How do they address student performance for all student populations served?

6. How do the objectives close achievement gaps?

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6 . D E V E L O P S T R A T E G I E S

Strategies are carefully devised action steps that provide direction to achieve a goal. They are statements

that indicate how resources will be used to accomplish identified goals and annual performance objectives.

Strategies include specific action steps that support implementing the strategy.

Strategies should link the selected measurable performance objectives to accomplish the desired district or

campus goals.

QUESTIONS TO CONSIDER:

1. How are the strategies aligned with measurable performance objectives and specific goals?

2. How can we document that the strategy or initiative is research-based?

3. If the strategy is funded through federal funds, how do we justify that the strategy is supplemental?

4. In what ways do the strategies address the schoolwide and/or targeted assistance components?

5. How does the CEIP identify a sufficient and reasonable number of strategies to address meeting the

performance objectives and goals?

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F O R T W O R T H I S D

T I T L E I 2 0 1