Hillsborough County Public Schools Deputy Superintendent
Action Item

DATE: Tuesday, August 21, 2007
TO: School Board Members
FROM: MaryEllen Elia, Superintendent

SUBJECT / RECOMMENDATIONS

Approve Memorandum of Understanding between the School District of Hillsborough County and The College Board for the EXCELerator Grant from the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

We request approval of the Memorandum of Understanding to begin in the 2007-2008 school year. The mission of the EXCELerator grant is to dramatically increase the number of traditionally underserved students who are prepared to enter and complete college upon high school graduation. Four Hillsborough County High Schools were selected for the EXCELerator grant: East Bay, Leto, Middleton, and Plant City High Schools.

The School District of Hillsborough County will be responsible for:

  • Establishing a project management oversight committee to ensure successful implementation of the project and provide a structure for evaluation.
  • Integrating and aligning SpringBoard instructional goals to those of the district, specifically in Language Arts and Math.
  • Establishing clear goals in each school, focused on high expectations for students and teachers.
  • Implementing AVID programs and services at the four EXCELerator schools
  • Adopting schedules for teachers that support collaboration, planning, and training at the four EXCELerator schools.
  • Conducting continuous assessments of student learning at the four EXCELerator sites.
  • Collecting data from each EXCELerator site, providing accurate and complete documentation to the College Board.
  • Providing access to monitoring teams assigned by College Board.
  • Assigning an EXCELerator Coach.

ANNUAL DISTRICT GOAL(S) AND CRITICAL SUCCESS FACTOR(S)

Achievement – All students and schools achieve their highest academic levels.

FINANCIAL IMPACT (Budgeted: Yes)

The amount of the EXCELerator grant over a 4-year period is $2,300,000. Hillsborough County Public Schools contribution for year-one is $573,994. These dollars have been redirected from Categorical funds that had been set aside for staff development. This includes: Teacher/ staff stipends for training, SpringBoard License fee, AVID License fee and Directors training. The District’s contribution will decrease annually.

EVALUATION

Data will be collected from each EXCELerator site on a quarterly basis and sent to the College Board for review. The College Board monitoring teams will work with site based monitoring teams and Metis Associates to ensure that programs are implemented.

SUBMITTED BY:

Eric Bergholm
General Director of Advanced Academic Access
(813) 272-4842 		Kenneth R. Otero
Deputy Superintendent
(813) 272-4101
8.02
Hillsborough County Public Schools (Florida) * Mtg.#20070821_264 * Section E Item# 8.02