Strategy and Innovation

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The mission of the Strategy and Innovation Department is to assist the Superintendent in creating, implementing, coordinating, and communicating strategic initiatives that support the mission and vision of the school district and to direct the development of innovative programs and initiatives throughout the district. The director prepares, directs, and aligns the implementation of the district strategic plan by ensuring procedures within departments and divisions of the district embody measures to bring the district’s vision and goals to fruition. In addition, the Director of Strategy and Innovation oversees implementation of the Consent Order.

Consent Order Implementation & Documents

Dr. Cathy McNeal
Chief Strategy & Innovation Officer
Office: 256-428-6966
Location: Mastin Lake Facility

Grades Online

Powerschool Student / Parent Portal Information

The PowerSchool SIS Student and Parent portal gives parents and students access to real-time information including attendance, grades and detailed assignment descriptions, school bulletins, lunch menus, and even personal messages from the teacher.

Students enter the student username and student password provided by their school to sign in to PowerSchool Student and Parent Portals and PowerSchool Mobile. Students can see only their personal account information.

Before parents can sign in to PowerSchool, they must create a parent account. 

Powerschool SIS Student/Parent Portal Link

Student and Parent Sign In

Students enter the student username and student password provided by their school to sign in to PowerSchool Student and Parent Portals and PowerSchool Mobile. Students can see only their personal account information.

Before parents can sign in to PowerSchool, they must create a parent account. Parents can add multiple students from different schools within the district to their accounts. Each parent account is unique, and usernames and passwords are not shared among
parents.

Parents create an account by following these steps:

1. Use the same web address as students to get to the "Student and Parent Sign In" page.
2. Click the Create Account tab.
3. Click Create Account.
4. Enter first name, last name, and email address.
5. Enter the student's name, access ID, and access password, and the parent’s relationship to the student (access ID and access password is provided by the school).
6. Click Enter.

Once the account is created, parents use their account information to sign in to either the portal or the app

PowerSchool Mobile

PowerSchool Mobile is available to students and parents to download at no cost. After installing the app, just select options from the menu to view information about grades, assignments, attendance, and more.

Majority to Minority Transfers

When to Apply for an M2M Transfer

The Late M2M Transfer Application Window is open from January 16, 2023 to July 15, 2023. Applications received during this time will be awarded seats based on date of application after all students in the lottery have been processed. 

Frequently Asked Questions About M2M

A helpful guide to frequently asked questions about the M2M Program and application process can be found by downloading, viewing, or printing the M2M FAQ information sheet below.

2022-23 M2M Transfer Application FAQ.pdf

Space Availability

Huntsville City Schools has categorized all schools into four different categories depending on how much space is available to accept M2M transfers. 

The four space availability categories are the following:

• High Availability Schools - Schools projected to have 30 seats or more for transfers.
• Medium Availability Schools - Schools projected to have between 15 and 29 seats for transfers.
• Low Availability Schools - Schools projected to have fewer than 15 seats for transfers. 
• Limited/No Availability Schools - These are schools projected to have no space available or very limited space available.  Selecting a school that is categorized as Limited/No Availablity will likely result in placement on the wait list, and there is only a small chance that these schools will accept transfers during the wait list period.

A summary of each school's availability to receive M2M transfers can be downloaded, viewed, or printed via the availability sheet below.

2022-23 Majority-to-Minority Student Transfer Space Availability Table.pdf

Additional Parent / Guardian Assistance

For additional help, please contact the Strategy and Innovation Department at 256-428-6966.

**Note: At this time you may also text 256-924-1517 for assistance. 

Additional assistance instructions can be found by downloading, viewing, or printing the Assistance Guide sheet below.  

2021 2022 AA-P5-R9.SIP Parent Assistance Magnet and Student Transfer Application.pdf

M2M Educational Choice Opportunity

Parents/guardians of elementary students eligible for a majority-to-minority transfer are invited to view the Majority-to-Minority video presentation regarding the educational opportunities offered at the following elementary schools: Challenger, Farley, Goldsmith-Schiffman, Hampton Cove, Mountain Gap, and Weatherly.

2021-22 Elementary M2M Overview

ALSDE Assessments & Reporting System

ALSDE School Safety & Discipline Report (SIR)

Developing and maintaining a safe and disciplined school environment requires accurate and complete information; however, schools and school systems around the nation vary widely in how they collect and track data on incidents of student violence and discipline. In Alabama, the School Incident Report (SIR) program was initiated to meet state and federal reporting needs of these violations. It was also designed to give local education agencies (LEAs) comprehensive access to as much information and data as possible

To access the SIR for Huntsville City Schools, please utilize the following link:

2020-2021 SIR Web Reports

ALSDE Student Achievement Report

The Student Achievement Report is designed so parents, educators, stakeholders, and others can easily understand how their schools are doing, just as report cards help parents understand how their kids are doing. The goals are to provide a starting point, with easy-to understand and concise information showing how a school is doing, and to make sure that schools are accountable for explaining that to their communities.

To access the Student Achievment Report for Huntsville City Schools, please utilize the following link:

School Performance - Alabama Department of Education

Click School Proficiency for 2020-21

• ELA Proficiency
• Math Proficiency
• Science Proficiency

ACT WorkKeys - Grade 12

ACT WorkKeys is a job skills assessment system that helps employers select, hire, train, develop, and retain a high-performance workforce. This series of tests measures foundational and soft skills and offers specialized assessments to target institutional needs.

 

• As part of ACT's Work Readiness System, ACT WorkKeys has helped millions of people in high schools, colleges, professional associations, businesses, and government agencies build their skills to increase global competitiveness and develop successful career pathways.
• Successful completion of ACT WorkKeys assessments in Applied Mathematics, Locating Information, and Reading for Information can lead to earning ACT's National Career Readiness Certificate (ACT NCRC), an ACT WorkKeys assessments measure the cognitive and non-cognitive skills needed for success in the workforce. Students take the Applied Mathematics, Reading for Information, and Locating Information tests.  Based on the scores attained on the three assessments, students may be eligible to earn a Bronze, Silver, Gold, or Platinum Certificate. 
• Visit the ACT website for more information portable credential earned by more than 2.3 million people across the United States.

ACT Plus Writing - Grade 11

The ACT is the capstone of ACT College and Career Readiness Solutions, and it is aligned to Alabama's College and Career Readiness Standards. The ACT with Writing is administered to all Grade 11 students enrolled in Alabama public high schools. The ACT  

• Is accepted by all four-year colleges and universities in the United States;
• Has been approved for use in No Child Left Behind and Annual Yearly Progress accountability;
• Will enable school and district leaders to track student performance with aggregate and standards-based reporting past high school classes;
• Will be used as an instructional improvement program statewide to improve the college and career readiness of Alabama students;
• Will raise college awareness and exposure among all students, rather than just self-selected, college-bound students now that it is administered statewide; and
• Will provide user-friendly information about how ACT tests align with state standards.
• The ACT Individual High School Reports are excellent tools that can be used by counselors and teachers as they assist students in preparing for their futures. Educators will know the students' educational strengths and weaknesses, areas of need, college plans, and career interests. Teachers and administrators will use the ACT Profile Report in intervention, curriculum review, course planning, collaboration, and professional development.
• For more information, please visit the ACT website.

ACCESS for ELLs - Grades K-12

ACCESS for ELLs 2.0 is a secure large-scale English language proficiency assessment anchored in the World-Class Instructional Design and Assessment (WIDA) English Language Proficiency (ELP) Standards and administered to students in Grades K-12 who have been identified as English language learners (ELs). It is given annually in Alabama and is used to monitor EL students' progress in acquiring academic English within the school context, as well as language associated with language arts, mathematics, science, and social studies across four domains of Speaking, Listening, Reading, and Writing     

Primary Purposes:

• Generates results that serve as a criterion to aid in determining when ELs have attained the language proficiency needed to participate meaningfully in content area classrooms without program support and on state academic content tests without accommodations.
• Provides information that can be used to enhance instruction and learning for ELs.
• Provides districts with information that will aid in evaluating the effectiveness of their English as a Second Language (ESL)/bilingual programs.
• Used as a criterion for determining when an EL student will exit from the ESL program.  Exit criteria is a 4.8 composite score. Once this score is achieved, students will no longer receive ESL services and will be placed on monitoring status for two academic years.
• Provides data to study changes in performance over time.

Alternate ACCESS for ELLs

This is a performance-based assessment developed specifically for English learners (ELs) in Grades 1-12 with significant cognitive disabilities. 

Participation Criteria:

• Student must be classified as an EL.
• Student must be identified as eligible for special education services as a student with a significant cognitive disability.
• Student must be participating in an alternate curriculum and in the Alabama Alternate Assessment (AAA).
• For more information, please visit the WIDA website.

Alabama Comprehensive Assessment Program (ACAP Summative & ACAP Alternate)

Participation on the ACAP summative or the ACAP alternate

Federal legislation and Alabama law require the inclusion of every student in Alabama in the ACAP. The Administrative Code of Alabama, Chapter 290-4-2, states the following:

All students must be provided the opportunity to participate in the state testing program.

This pertains to all students, including students with disabilities, English learners (ELs), and ELs with disabilities. Federal laws, such as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act of 2004 (IDEA), Section 504 of the 1973 Rehabilitation Act, and Title III of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA), require the participation of all students on state assessments.

ACAP Summative Parent Guides:

ACAP Summative Parent Guide Spring 2021 - English

ACAP Summative Parent Guide Spring 2021 - Spanish

ACAP Alternate Parent Guides:

ACAP Alternate Parent Guide Spring 2021 - English

ACAP Alternate Parent Guide Spring 2021 - Spanish

Additional Enrollment Resources

Resources

Visit the HCS Magnet Programs webpage to find information regarding applying for a magnet program.

Visit the HCS Majority to Minority webpage to find information regarding applying for a majority to minority transfer.

Visit the Extended Learning webpage to find information regarding after school care.