State of our School
To learn more about how Hmong International Academy is doing, who are our students, and where we are headed, please visit our State of Our School presentation below.
Title One Portfolio
WE ARE A TITLE I SCHOOL. WHAT DOES THAT MEAN?
Title I is a federal program that provides money to schools and districts to help us make sure all children have equal access to high-quality education, and to meet our state’s educational standards. Title I status is based on the number of students in our school from low income families. Our school is a schoolwide Title I program, which means all our students are able to benefit from the services we provide with our Title I funding.
We are required to use Title I funding to improve the educational achievement of all students and engage our families in that process. School staff members work, with input from parents and the community, to develop a School Improvement Plan. The purpose of this plan is to improve our school’s entire educational program.
For more information, see our information packets below:
SIP (School Improvement Plan)
Every school in Minneapolis Public Schools is required to develop, implement, and monitor a school improvement plan (SIP). The following plan sets the goals that our school community is working to achieve and identifies the specific strategies or activities that will help us reach those goals together. If you have questions or comments about our improvement plan, please reach out using our main telephone number listed below.
Our School SIP at a glance:
We have four SIP goals that our school is working to achieve:
- Reading: By Spring 2024, HIA's overall reading proficiency for students in grades 2-5 will increase from 15% of students meeting/exceeding benchmark to 23% of students meeting/exceeding benchmark as measured by the FAST aReading.
- Math: By Spring 2024, the overall math proficiency for students in grades 2-5 will increase from 10% of students meeting/exceeding benchmark to 18% of students meeting/exceeding benchmark as measured by the FAST aMath.
- By June 2024, the percentage of suspensions will decrease from 7% to 5.4% as measured by HIA's behavior data from Tableau.
- By the end of the 23-24 school year, at least 50% of staff will be proficient in the teaching/collaborative model and cross-department/grade PLC cycles as measured by MPS' SOEI rubric, domain 4Bii (collaborates with colleagues).
- We will build relationships, communication, and trust by asking families for input about their student's strengths and needs on an ongoing basis. By Spring 2024, our school's climate index will increase from a 1 rating (only True for Some) to a 2 rating (True for Most) on relationships, communication, and trust between school and caregivers as measured by the MPS's Climate index rubric. Our 3-year goal is to move to a 3 (This statement is true for everyone in our school.)
How we will reach our SIP goals:
- Multi-Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS)
Description: MTSS is a comprehensive, evidence-based prevention framework. Within MTSS, multiple levels of support are provided to support the academic, social, emotional, and behavioral development of all students. Through it, all students are given access to inclusive and equitable educational practices that minimize opportunity gaps.
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Social Emotional Learning (SEL)
Description: "Social and emotional learning is the process through which children and adults acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions" (CASEL, 2016). Social Emotional Learning strategies promote the development of schools that are safe, welcoming, and inclusive learning communities for all stakeholders.
- School Culture and Climate (CRE)
Culturally Relevant Education is a conceptual framework that recognizes the importance of including students' cultural backgrounds, interests, and lived experiences in all aspects of teaching and learning within the classroom and across the school (Ladson-Billings, 1994, 2009; Milner, 2017). Culturally relevant education is viewed as critical in improving student engagement and achievement, and college readiness and success for all youth, particularly for youth of Color. Specifically, CRE is a comprehensive teaching approach that empowers all students intellectually, socially, emotionally, and politically by using cultural referents to impact knowledge, skills, and attitudes (Ladson-Billings, 1994, 2009). School climate refers to the school's effects on students, including teaching practices; diversity; and the relationships among administrators, teachers, parents, and students. School culture refers to the way teachers and other staff members work together and the set of beliefs, values, and assumptions they share. A positive school climate and school culture promote students' ability to learn (ASCD, 2019)
Family Involvement Plan
We need the help of our families to reach our school goals for student success and achievement. Below is our plan for how we'll meaningfully engage families in equitable and accessible ways during the 2023-24 school year. There are specific goals we'll work to achieve and ways we plan to achieve each goal listed below.
All families feel welcome in our school and have equal access to opportunities to be involved in their students' education
• Host the following community-building and cultural events:
* Hmong Parent Meetings
* Somali Parent Meetings
* Hmong New Year Celebration
* Math and Literacy Fun Night
* National African American Family Involvement Day
* Parent Meetings
* Somali Family Involvement Day
* Hmong American Family Involvement Day
* HIA Annual Family Picnic
• Notify all families of how to get involved in the events listed on this plan, how to access school staff, and how they can volunteer, through:
* Updates to school calendar on our website
* School newsletter
* Flyers sent home with students
* Phone calls
* Updates to social media
• Accommodate all families by providing the following:
* Transportation where needed
* Translated documents
All families are informed of the steps our school is taking to improve student outcomes and achieve equity.
• Host our annual State of the Schools (Title I Night) which will:
* Inform families of the requirements and benefits of being a Title I School
* Inform families of their right to be involved in Title I programming
* Inform families about state standards, our school's curriculum, and the assessments their students will take this year
* Give families an overview of the goals and strategies in our School Improvement Plan (SIP)
• Post a family friendly version of our School Improvement Plan (SIP) on our website
• Send a letter home letting families know if we are designated by the state for support and improvement
Families will play an important role in developing our School Improvement and Family Improvement plans, and will provide valued input on how we spend our resources.
• Get family input on our school improvement plan in January
• Get family input on our family involvement plan in May
• Get family input on how we use our resources to support student achievement in March
• Host regular Site Council meetings on The third Thursday of the following Months: October, January, February, April
All school staff members, families, and students understand the important role they each play in making sure students achieve success at our school.
• Create a School-Parent-Student Compact, which is an agreement on the role each person will play to make sure the student is successful
• Get family input on our School-Parent-Student Compact in December
• Share our School-Parent-Student Compact with families by:
* Using it at Parent-Teacher conferences (required for elementary grade levels)
* Sharing it with families on our website
All families understand how to support their students' academic achievement.
• Help families understand our school curriculum, state standards, assessments their students take, and how we measure student achievement and success at:
* Open House/Curriculum Night on Open House/Curriculum Night
* math and Literacy Fun on math and Literacy Fun
• Also, help families understand our school curriculum, state standards, assessments their students take, and how we measure student achievement and success by:
* Class newsletters and teacher communication to parents
• Host the following academically-focused family events:
* Math and Literacy Night
All staff will be trained on how to effectively partner with families.
• Provide professional development to our staff on the following topics:
* Adult and Student SEL
To download a PDF version of our school FIP, click the following link: