The continuous improvement process is critical for overall student growth and school success.

The process begins with a comprehensive needs assessment. This is critical to the development of a high-quality school program. The needs assessment process gathers and examines data on every aspect of a school’s programs, practices, and population to get an accurate picture of its strengths and weaknesses.

Paramount to the process is the School Improvement Team (SIT) and the plan they create. SIT’s are considered a public body and are subject to open meeting laws. Staff, parents, and community members are always welcome to attend and observe the meetings. After a comprehensive needs assessment, the team will use the results to create a plan that meets their desired goals.

Cumberland County Schools uses NCStar as the School Improvement platform.  NCStar provides 105 researched based strategies on school improvement. This platform also includes all needed components for the total school improvement process. The components are the improvement plan, meeting agendas, meeting minutes, progress on actions, and coaching comments.

The District School Improvement facilitators host summer training sessions in order to equip our schools with the skills needed for school improvement. These training sessions are required for all schools. During these formal sessions, schools are provided information on School Improvement Law and School Improvement Team best practices. A live demonstration of the School Improvement Plan platform is also part of the training. Schools are also provided the opportunity to discuss and collaborate with their peers.  School Improvement Resources are provided in a blend space that is available to be used throughout the year.

All schools are assigned a School Improvement Coach from the Central Services office.  NCStar Coaches provide monthly comments to their assigned schools through the NCStar platform. The District School Improvement facilitators host training sessions for Coaches and offer additional support as needed throughout the school year. During the training NCStar Coaches are shown how to utilize the program, as well as, how to focus on providing meaningful comments.  Coaching comments are meant to provide specific feedback in order to aid in the school improvement process.  In addition to comments, coaches also visit School Improvement Team meetings.  Each Low Performing School will receive a visit from a coach at least four times a year.