What is the In-depth Review Process?   Overview The in-depth review (IDR) component of the School Quality Review process is the means whereby each of Boston's public schools undergoes a formal accountability review every four years. Cluster based visiting teams comprised of a range of participants (teachers, administrators, parents, business and university partners, etc.) visit the school and prepare an IDR Summary Report based on their findings. Prior to the visit, each school prepares a portfolio that is used in the In-Depth Review process.   School Portfolios The School portfolio is an important component of the In-Depth Review. The IDR Portfolio consists of the Whole School Improvement Plan (SAS, Formative Assessment Data Summary, SMART Goals, Professional Development Plan and Budget) and any additional materials the school deems necessary to assist the Visiting Team (VT) in their evaluation work   School Visits School visits are the other major component of the In-Depth Review. Cluster based teams will review the school's portfolio and visit the school to collect evidence concerning the school's accomplishments in the six key areas. Teams are expected to organize their work in such a way as to maximize the value of the time they spend in the school. Specially, the Visiting Team's responsibilities include receiving training in using the WISP Rubrics, interpreting data, gathering data, observing, interviewing, reviewing the school's portfolio, conducting On-site Inspection(s), and finally, writing the IDR Summary Report. Suggestions for how to prepare for the School Visit will be provided to IDR schools ina separate document.   Roles and Responsibilities The In-Depth review process requires the participation of many different people. Specially. There will be two teams actively involved in the process : the IDR School Portfolio Workgroup and the IDR Visiting Team. The principal or headmaster should assemble a team of key personnel to begin the work of preparing the School Portfolio. The members of the School Portfolio Workgroup will receive training on the key elements and will serve as resource for the Visiting teams during the school-site visits. The Visiting team will make commendations and recommendations to support and assist the school in its change process as part of the determination of the schools status relative to standards after reviewing the evidence (i.e., School Portfolio and site visits). Each Visiting Team is comprised of a diverse range of stakeholders, such as a Teaching and Learning support Services team member, an administrator, a university or business representative, a parent, and teachers.    In-Depth Review Timetable Who participates: Approximately one-fourth of the schools each year. When: each school participates once every four years &emdash; by preparing a portfolio in the spring and fall and receiving visits from an In-Depth Review visiting team during the following winter/spring Thirty-one schools will be undergoing the In-Depth Review during SY2000-2001. Schools will develop school portfolios, integral to the IDR process, by December 2000. Then, on-site visits will be conducted during January and February 2001.    Available supports for the In-Depth Review Process Support for the IDR process is available from a number of sources. First each IDR School and Visiting Team will have a designated contact person from the Office of Research, Assessment and Evaluation (RAE). This RAE staff person will be able to answer many of the operational questions and may be of assistance for more substantive questions regarding evidence, and data collection and interpretation. The Cluster Coordinator for the IDR school will also be available for operational support. A number of these coordinators have served on Visiting Teams so they will also have first hand experience with more sustantive issues. The Cohort Directors are also available to the schoolsfor support in preparing for the Visiting Team. As always, staff from Curriculum and instructional Support will be available to answer relevant questions. If a school or Visiting Team member is unsure of where to gofor assistance, the first contact can always be RAE.   Essentials and Indicators The In-Depth Review process is organized around the six Essentials of Whole School Improvement that are presented graphically below. Rubrics, detailed explanations and questions for the Visting Team can be accessed by clicking each essential in the index below.          Essentials of Whole School Improvement  1. Identifying an Instructional Focus Coherence Effectiveness 2. Looking at Student Work and Data Instructional Improvement Impact on School Culture Student and parent Awareness/Communication Achievement Equity 3. Creating a Targeted Professional Development Plan Ownership Evaluation Application Leadership/Collaboration  4. Learning and Using Best instructional Practices Prevalence Impact on Achievement Sustainability 5. Aligning Resources with the Instuctional Focus Integration of Funds Use of Teaching Personnel Alignment Time and Support  6. Parental and Community Involvement Ownership Ongoing Communication Community Support Diversity Participation   Schools prepare their portfolios to address their accomplishments in each of these areas, and the Visiting teams use detailed rubrics (further explained below) that address each of these Essentials. Evidence from both the school portfolio and the school visits will be used to assess the school's accomplishment with respect to each of these Essentials. For each of the six Essentials, two to five observable outcome indicators are defined in order to evaluate accomplishment on the Essential. The Indicators are listed below.   The Indicators of Whole School Improvement The outcome of this review process will be to classify schools into one of four categories; 'Outstanding Accomplishment', 'Substantial Accomplishment', Some Accomplishment', or 'Little or No Accomplishment'. Detailed Whole School Improvement Rubrics (see next section) provide the criteria whereby Visiting Teams determine the school's status with respect to both system-wide Performance Indicators and School-Based Performance Objectives identified as part of the Whole School Improvement Process.