Improvement Plan Guide
Improvement Plan Guide
Under Perkins V, Minnesota State and the Minnesota Department of Education must annually review each consortium’s Perkins program including:
- Consortium’s performance outcomes on federally determined accountability indicators
- Improvement plans submitted for any performance indicator(s) failing to meet at least 90% of the local State Determined Performance Level (SDPL)
SDPL Revision Requests
The state cannot adjust a state or consortium SDPL for a performance indicator where the state or consortium has not met at least 90% of the existing SDPL. Meaning, if the consortium has been placed on an Improvement Plan status for a performance indicator, there is no opportunity to revise that SDPL for future grant years for that specific indicator until the SDPL has been met. However, prior to the release of the consortium annual indicator performance report, revisions to local SDPL’s can be requested. The state will:
- Collect revision requests and supporting documentation/rationale from consortium leaders
- Review the explanation provided, conduct related data analysis, and consider other relevant issues in revision decisions
- Determine whether adjustments should be made to SDPL’s
Determining Status
Grant year 1 (2021) will be the first time under Perkins V that consortia are held accountable for meeting SDPL’s. Any consortium that fails to meet the criterion of at least 90% of their SDPL on one or more performance indicator(s) will be placed on Improvement Plan (IP) status for the indicator(s). Official notice of IP status will be communicated to consortium leaders by the CTE State Director.
Consortium Indicator Performance Report:
- Posted on Minnesota State’s Perkins Portal Teams site.
April 2026: As Minnesota State continues to enhance its website to meet accessibility standards, this report is currently undergoing accessibility review. Please contact your Perkins State staff to request a copy until an accessible version is available on the Minnesota State website.
Report includes:
- SDPL percentages
- Actual Performance level percentages
- The status column identifying performance indicator(s) on IP status
Improvement Planning
For each performance indicator where the consortium failed to meet at least 90% of the SDPL, the consortium is required to complete an Improvement Plan (IP) and include it with their Perkins Local Application due on May 1, 2022.
Although there are at least five months between the time consortia are notified of IP status and when documentation is due to the state for review, consortium leaders should begin planning for improvement immediately upon notification of IP status.
The two parts of the improvement plan are:
- Data Review
- Disparities Analyses
The purpose of the Data Review part is to gain an understanding of the current factors impacting the performance indicator, including:
- Trends
- Districts/colleges involved
- Range of outcomes within those districts/colleges
- Student groups most impacted or exhibiting low performance
The purpose of the Disparities Analysis part is to identify:
- Student groups with a meaningful group size, exhibiting performance gaps in comparison to the consortium’s SDPL
- CTE programs and pathways with the highest enrollment of target group to maximize the impact
- Existing district and/or college-level initiative opportunities
Under Perkins V, the improvement planning process for the data review and the disparities analysis involves collaborating with stakeholder groups to:
- Identify root cause(s),
- Determine the best partnership opportunities,
- Develop strategies to improve student outcomes and overall performance.
For a list of stakeholders, see Perkins V, Section 134(d)(1-7).
Legislative Consequences
The subsequent action for failure to meet at least 90% of an SDPL as outlined in legislation stipulates that “the state may, after notice and opportunity for a hearing, withhold from the consortium all, or a portion, of the local consortium’s administrative or leadership funds” (Section 123 (a)(3)(A)(ii)). This process starts with the school year 2021-2022.
- School Year 2021-2022 Identified
- School Year 2022-2023 Consecutive Year 1
- School Year 2023-2024 Consecutive Year 2
- July 2024 Subsequent Action
Improvement Plan
**Secondary EXAMPLE**
Directions: Fill out the information below in consultation with the appropriate stakeholder group(s). An improvement plan will need to be submitted annually for each performance indicator on improvement plan status. Be sure to include any context and details that would aid in understanding the circumstances in which the need for improvement is occurring. Once complete, upload this document into the Amplifund system as an attachment along with any/all other attached materials.
Consortium: **Secondary Example**
Performance Indicator: Program Quality: Work-based Learning
Planning for Improvement
DATA REVIEW:
Identify the key factors that contributed to missing this performance indicator’s goal. What growth and high need opportunities will be the focus of your improvement plan?
Results of our data review indicated that 4 of our 10 Diversified Careers programs currently have capacity to enroll additional students; and principals are on-board with encouraging participation. Therefore, we will prioritize existing business/industry relationships within these districts specifically (District 1, District 2, District 3, District 4).
However, we also want to grow the program across our consortium by adding additional FTE’s and business partners to the roster in order to create broader employment pipelines. Currently, less than 50% of our districts have a WBL in place leaving 96% of our CTE Concentrators without employment experiences and career connections.
DISPARITIES ANALYSIS:
From the student groups identified as needing focused attention in your gap analysis which groups will you prioritize to serve and why?
Results of the disparities analysis indicate that there is an over-representation of male students, especially male students of color. When comparing WBL enrollments with discipline data many of the same student population appear. We want to ensure that our WBL programs are leveraged for the purpose of meaningful employment experiences.
While our programs welcome participation from all student –we intend to engage in PD with district/building personnel, including school counselors (where available) in order to market WBL opportunities more specifically to our female Concentrators and white students more generally. CNLA will be updated with information discovered during the review process for this indicator.
Describe how stakeholders were consulted in the development of the improvement plan. What stakeholder groups were involved?
Beginning in January 2022, after completing a data review, the consortium leader began meeting with WBL coordinators to inventory the local employers we currently have relationships with and what their students’ interests are –we needed to know where there might be areas of quick opportunity for increasing enrollment. Next, I used multiple job search engines to find out what local business are most in need of a workforce pipeline. With this list in hand, I met with our local Chamber of Commerce and workforce development councils to help fill in the gaps of how to begin reaching out to some of these businesses and leverage existing relationships. Within the next few months I also anticipate meeting with district career & college readiness as well as career pathway coordinators –and, many district administrative professionals to find out where alignment with WBL programs might be possible to help increase CTE enrollment and WBL participation.
Action Plan: Current Year (what will you do right now?)
Directions: Insert more rows in the Action Plan: Current Year and Next Year tables below to include additional Action steps, etc., as needed. Progress on Improvement Plan will be reported in the APR.
SDPL (Grant Year): 4.33% (2021)
Actual Performance: 3.87%
| Action Steps: | Stakeholders involved in implementation: | Project Lead (Person responsible for implementing Action Step): | Completion date (by step): | Describe the activities financial resources will be used for: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Continue meeting with relevant stakeholders in order to develop relationships. | Community business owners and leaders, related government agency personnel | Consortium Leader | On-going | Mileage and marketing CTE materials |
| 2. Meet with district administration to discuss the possibilities of opening up students’ schedules which would increase capacity for student enrollment at priority districts. | High school principal and/or Sup as needed | District Principals | Spring 2022 | Mileage and marketing CTE materials |
Action Plan: Next Year (what will you do in the upcoming plan?)
SDPL (Grant Year): 4.34% (2022)
Increase in Actual Performance needed: {at least a 0.47% increase is needed}
| Action Steps: | Stakeholders involved in implementation: | Project Lead (Person responsible for implementing Action Step): | Completion date (by step): | Describe the activities financial resources will be used for: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Develop relationships with business/industry partners in order to connect partners to programs and students to career possibilities; leverage WBL coordinators capacity to follow up with business/industry partners. | Community business owners and leaders, related government agency personnel, WBL coordinators | Consortium Leader (make initial connection, create meeting agenda) WBL coordinator(s) (participate in meeting, follow up correspondence, eventually take the lead in setting the agenda) |
SY2022-2023, on-going | Mileage and marketing CTE materials |
| 2. Provide PD for becoming a licensed WBL coordinator. | WBL coordinators & those wishing to become WBL coordinators | District principals (manage time) WBL coordinator(s) (complete training) Consortium leader (progress monitoring, problem-solving & reporting on perceived outcomes) |
SY2022-2023 | PD for becoming a WBL coordinator PD/marketing materials for increasing student participation in WBL Transportation cost for students to participate in WBL |
| 3. Provide PD opportunities for WBL coordinators {annual fall WBL Summit} and opportunities for WBL coordinators to engage/connect with local Business/Industry partners. Broaden connections and grow the career pipeline for students and local businesses. | WBL coordinators High School principals |
Consortium Leader Consortium Leader WBL coordinators |
SY2022-2023 | Teacher stipend/PLC (10+ people) |
Improvement Plan
**Postsecondary EXAMPLE**
Consortium: **Postsecondary Example**
Performance Indicator: 2P1: Earned Recognized Postsecondary Credential
Planning for Improvement
DATA REVIEW:
Identify the key factors that contributed to missing this performance indicator’s goal. What growth and high need opportunities will be the focus of your improvement plan?
We noticed that 2 of our largest CTE postsecondary programs are not part of our State-Recognized Programs of Study. We need to increase our attention on these non S-R POS areas.
Also, many of our students are securing employment before they earn their degree and not finishing their program.
Finally, we want to explore what value-added certificates may be offered that are recognized by industry and employers.
The two S-R POS we want to focus on are “Construction” and “Facilities and Mobile Equipment Maintenance.”
The two non S-R POS for focus are “Production” and “Network Systems.”
DISPARITIES ANALYSIS:
From the student groups identified as needing focused attention in your gap analysis which groups will you prioritize to serve and why?
The biggest gaps among most of the programs of study were among “Black” and “Hispanic” students not completing degrees, while the females in these programs tended to move to completion.
Our focus will be on Black male students in Production and Hispanic male students in Construction. These are the two areas that we anticipate being able to have the biggest impact as they are our largest in terms of participation and in non-completion.
Describe how stakeholders were consulted in the development of the improvement plan. What stakeholder groups were involved?
We utilized in-person interactions, zoom discussions, surveys to engage with stakeholders. We also reviewed local, state, and national research on this topic.
The stakeholders we consulted included industry representatives, employers, and students mostly from the Black and Hispanic groups; we value the input of all students and made a point to include them. Additional input was provided by deans, faculty, administration, and institutional research, as well as individuals with Chambers of Commerce and other workforce development agencies.
Action Plan: Current Year (what will you do right now?)
Directions: Insert more rows in the Action Plan: Current Year and Next Year tables below to include additional Action steps, etc., as needed. Progress on Improvement Plan will be reported in the APR.
SDPL (Grant Year): 50.60% (2021)
Actual Performance: 45.20%
| Action Steps: | Stakeholders involved in implementation: | Project Lead (Person responsible for implementing Action Step): | Completion date (by step): | Describe the activities financial resources will be used for: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Reach out to 25 current and past students to gauge what their plans are and were and what influenced the decisions that they made. | Consortium Leaders, Current Students, Past Students | Postsecondary Perkins Director | June 2022 | Staff Time, Travel |
| 2. Ask the dean, 4 faculty members, 2 trade organizations, and 2 major employers to discuss what certifications might be missing. | Dean, Faculty, Trade Representatives, Employers, and Consortium Leaders | Postsecondary Perkins Director | June 2022 | Staff Time, Travel |
Action Plan: Next Year (what will you do in the upcoming plan?)
SDPL (Grant Year): 50.96% (2022)
Increase in Actual Performance needed: (at least an increase of 0.66% is needed)
| Action Steps: | Stakeholders involved in implementation: | Project Lead (Person responsible for implementing Action Step): | Completion date (by step): | Describe the activities financial resources will be used for: |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. Outreach to additional past and present students if needed. Based on interviews and research identify 3 root causes of non-completion. | Consortium Leaders, Current Students, Past Students | Consortium Leaders | SY2022-2023 | Staff Time |
| 2. Develop 2 strategies that address root cause of non-completion and implement these strategies. | Consortium Leaders, Students, Faculty, Dean, IR staff | TBD as needed | SY2022-2023 | TBD as needed |
| 3. Outreach to deans, faculty, and trade organizations if needed. Integrate 1- 3 certificates into the curriculum based on need. | Dean, Faculty | Dean, Faculty | SY2022-2023 | Staff Time, Certificate Development? |