The ESU 10 Teaching and Learning Department continues to support our 33 public school districts in the AQuESTT Accountability System. Due to COVID 19 and federal waivers, Nebraska public schools have not been reclassified since 2019. During the month of December 2023, all Nebraska public school districts and buildings received a new state classification. State classifications include: Excellent, Great, Good, or Needs Support to Improve. School districts and buildings may also receive a federal designation of Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI), Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI), or Additional Targeted Support and Improvement (ATSI).
In Nebraska this year, there are a total of 86 CSI school districts. ESU 10 has five districts that have been designated CSI. We worked with four out of the five districts during the month of January to assist them with their required Comprehensive Needs Assessment (CNA). These school districts receive federal funds to assist them in making educational improvements. They are required to apply for grant funds, create an improvement action plan, and attend professional learning sessions. ESU 10 will host the NDE regional meeting to learn about next steps for these CSI districts on February 12.
There are a total of 244 ATSI schools in Nebraska this year. Within ESU 10, we have ten school districts and 29 buildings that have ATSI designations for specific student groups. School districts are required to write a local action plan to support their designated ATSI student group(s). ESU 10 has been working with a few of our school districts to help them interpret their student data and write action plans to support all learners in their buildings.
I encourage you to visit the Nebraska Department of Education AQuESTT website at https://aquestt.com/ to learn more.