A message from the PA Dept. of Education | Every Student Succeeds Act

Dear Mr Joseph Oliphant:

The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) requires Pennsylvania to designate and serve schools in need of support. As you know, a designation of Comprehensive Support and Improvement (CSI) indicates that a school is facing the most significant challenges in academic achievement, student growth, and other areas.

When Hill House Passport Academy Charter Scho was designated as an CSI school in 2018, the Department and members of your staff worked collaboratively to develop a school improvement plan. The school improvement plan was based on a comprehensive needs assessment and root cause analysis that identified tailored, evidence-based practices and that featured the Essential Practices for Schools. The school improvement plan acted as a guide and focused your school team on continuous improvement of instruction, empowering leadership, providing student-centered supports, and fostering quality professional development for all staff.
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​Due to your school team’s focus on continuous improvement and use of the evidence-based strategies in its school improvement plan, I am pleased to inform you that Hill House Passport Academy Charter Scho has successfully met the exit criteria for the 2018 CSI status. As the school was redesignated CSI in 2022, that designation will be reviewed for exit in the fall of 2025.
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Please know that the Department will remain available to assist your LEA with resources and technical assistance as you stay the course on your journey of continuous school improvement. If you have any concerns about exiting CSI designation, please do not hesitate to reach out to the Department’s ESSA leadership team at ra-edessaamd@pa.gov.
​Congratulations, and thank you for your work to improve educational opportunities for Pennsylvania students.
​Sincerely,
​​
​Carrie Rowe
​Deputy Secretary
​Office of Elementary and Secondary Education