SC3-ADE-CIL Indistar Work Sessions

Center on Innovations in Learning (CIL) hosted Indistar work sessions for state education agencies and regional comprehensive centers on April 19-20, 2016. The South Central Comprehensive Center (SC3) joined with the Arkansas team to discuss plans for continued use of Indistar statewide. SC3 continues to support the Arkansas Department of Education (ADE) with implementation of Indistar, an online customized system that allows ADE to coach schools through improvement processes. ADE used Indistar for school improvement planning and requested the creation of a budget piece to connect federal and state dollars spent to actual improvement plan efforts. With support from ADE, SC3, and other partners, nearly 200 Arkansas schools used the Indistar as a pilot for the 2014-15 school year, which included completing their required Arkansas Comprehensive School Improvement Plan (ACSIP) online.  Schools reported a significant decrease in burdensome paperwork, and several schools exited focus or priority status. Following this success and at the request of ADE, the Arkansas State Legislature changed state law, allowing ADE to select Indistar as the platform for all schools to complete ACSIP beginning in 2015. Implementation in Arkansas has the potential of saving more than $1M annually in software costs while improving classroom practices and learning experiences. “SC3 has been instrumental in providing the School Improvement Unit and me with much needed professional development support and technical assistance,” said Elbert Harvey, ADE Coordinator of School Improvement/Standards Assurance.

For more information on Arkansas Indistar System for School Improvement:  December 2014 SC3 Project Update and Fifth Annual Indistar Summit.