Each local or regional board of education with jurisdiction over an elementary or middle school that fails to meet performance benchmarks in mathematics, reading, or both, as determined under the state-wide performance management and support plan adopted pursuant to subdivision (2) of subsection (b) of section 10-223e, and is classified as a category four school or a category five school, may reorganize such school to provide that:

(1) (A) The school be organized in academies, each containing a maximum of one hundred seventy-five students divided into different classes based on grade. (B) Each academy include all grade levels at the school. (C) Students be randomly assigned to academies. (D) The academies have different themes but the curriculum be the same in all.

(2) (A) The school principal appoint a teacher as team leader for each academy based on evaluations pursuant to section 10-151b. (B) Team leaders not be teacher supervisors, but be literacy, mathematics or science specialists. (C) Team leaders work with the school's regular classroom teachers to: (i) Plan lessons; (ii) look at student data; (iii) work with small groups of students; (iv) provide model lessons; and (v) plan school and academy-wide activities.

(3) Each class in each academy have a ninety-minute mathematics block and a two-hour literacy block every day.

(4) Each student in the school have an individual education plan that incorporates the student's personal reading plan if the student is required to have a reading plan pursuant to section 10-265g or 10-265l, provided any child with an individual educational program developed pursuant to section 10-76d follows such program.

(5) All teachers in the school of the same grade level meet weekly to plan lessons.

(6) Teachers meet daily in teams based on grade level to plan lessons.

(7) Teachers meet once a week with the team leader and the school principal to look at student work and data, evaluate instruction and make adjustments and changes in instruction.

(8) Students receive regular assessments, including short assessment tests every two weeks, that evaluate short-term progress and district-wide assessment tests every six weeks that evaluate a student's progress toward long-term objectives.

(9) Any child who is falling behind based on assessments conducted under subdivision (8) of this section be the subject of a meeting with teachers, school principal and parents.

(June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-3, S. 33; P.A. 12-116, S. 28.)

History: June Sp. Sess. P.A. 07-3 effective July 1, 2007; P.A. 12-116 replaced “make adequate yearly progress based on whole school academic achievement” with “meet performance benchmarks” and replaced “state-wide accountability plan adopted under section 10-223e for two consecutive years” with “state-wide performance management and support plan adopted pursuant to subdivision (2) of subsection (b) of section 10-223e, and is classified as a category four school or a category five school”, effective July 1, 2012.