NYSED Accountability Status

The Wheatland-Chili Central School District is committed to providing students with the best educational opportunities possible in order to ensure their growth, achievement and success both now and in the future. We constantly evaluate the progress that we are making in meeting the outcomes desired for all students and work to make the necessary adjustments in order to enhance the education of our students. Not only do we evaluate our schools' progress on a local level, but this is also done at the state level through its accountability system, the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). 

In February 2025, the New York State Education Department (NYSED) released new accountability designations for school districts and individual schools across the state that measure school performance as part of ESSA. There are a number of indicators used to measure school performance, among which are student academic achievement, student growth and school progress, student attendance and others. Wheatland-Chili Middle/High School has been identified by NYSED as a Targeted Support and Improvement (TSI) school based on NYS 3-8 ELA and math assessment data relating to a subgroup of students, which is reflective of a small segment of our overall student population. As a result, the District has also been identified as a Target District. This designation requires that both NYSED and the District provide focused attention and direct resources to help our schools improve the results of the identified subgroup. 

There are several steps that will be taken as a result of the MS/HS' designation as a TSI school, including, but not limited to:

• The District will lead an on-site needs assessment at the school to determine what is working well and what needs improvement. Various stakeholders will have the opportunity to take part in this review to develop a school improvement plan.
• Once the school improvement plan, also known as School Comprehensive Education Plan (SCEP), is approved by the District and the District Comprehensive Improvement Plan (DCIP) is approved by the state, the improvement plan will be implemented. It will include at least one schoolwide research-based improvement strategy for the building. Teachers and staff at the school will take part in professional development to learn how best to implement the strategies. The MS/HS will be eligible for funds to support the implementation of the improvement strategies. 
• Parents and students will have opportunities to engage in activities that give voice to students and parents. 

The demographics of our District continues to evolve, as is demonstrated by the substantial increase in numbers of economically disadvantaged students that we educate. We are looking at this designation as a growth opportunity for our schools and our District, and we are confident that we will see both the progress that we desire and that which is required by this process. It will take the collective and cooperative work of everyone.