What Is a School Improvement Plan (SIP)?
April 10, 2025
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Did you know that schools are required by federal and state systems to create an improvement plan if they fail to meet specific standards two years in a row? Some of these standards include state academic objectives and graduation rate goals.
29% of public schools in the US have made improvement plans because of these federal and state accountability systems. With more than a quarter of schools needing to make changes, leadership teams are developing school improvement plans, or SIPs, to map out their initiatives.
In this blog, we’re sharing a practical guide for developing and implementing effective school SIPs. A well-crafted school SIP can be the foundation for lasting student success.
A school improvement plan, or school SIP, is a strategic guide to addressing issues and weaknesses within a school. These plans include ideas for curriculum improvement and student performance enhancement.
School SIPs pinpoint areas that need attention, set specific goals, and outline steps to achieve them. In essence, a SIP describes the steps a school needs to take to improve educational practices.
The purpose of a school SIP must go beyond a federal or state requirement. These plans, when carefully structured and implemented, can be a legitimate tool for improving each student’s education experience and overall well-being. Some of the core purposes of a school SIP include:
As previously mentioned, federal and state systems require schools to have improvement plans.
The Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) was signed into law in 2015 by President Obama and continues to act as the primary federal law governing US education. The purpose of the law is “to provide all children significant opportunity to receive a fair, equitable, and high-quality education, and to close achievement gaps.”
The law allows states to control their education standards but requires them to measure student performance in reading, math, and science. States are also required to share their standards and performance reports with parents.
Furthermore, ESSA requires states to identify their lowest-performing 5% of schools and create comprehensive improvement plans for them. This requirement is meant to help consistently underperforming students and to close achievement gaps.
A school SIP’s goals are individualized to each school. They depend on a school’s weaknesses, strengths, and overall performance. Therefore, the objectives for plans are very diverse.
Some objectives for you school SIP might include:
Setting S.M.A.R.T. goals ensures that objectives are clear and achievable:
A goal like “improve math scores” is a good starting point, but it is too vague to be very effective. Instead, replace it with a S.M.A.R.T. goal. For example, “increase student math proficiency by 10% on state assessments by the end of the school year through kinesthetic interventions” is a good, manageable goal. It gives everyone something clear and concrete to work towards.
So, how will your school accomplish its goals? What are the key components that make up a well-designed SIP?
You need more than just good intentions to make your school SIP happen. Your plan needs a few essential components to really make a difference. When all of these factors are in place, schools are better equipped to create successful, lasting change.
Consider the following when creating your school SIP components:
Each component of a SIP plays a critical role in ensuring the plan is both strategic and actionable. Leadership teams can follow a step-by-step process to develop and implement their plans while considering each essential component. By following a well-organized process, schools can create a SIP that leads to real, lasting improvement.
To start your school improvement plan, you need to identify what exactly you will improve. This is done best by analyzing data to identify your school’s weaknesses. Do you have any data highlighting student or teacher needs?
Leadership teams can assess student performance by looking at standardized test scores, classroom assessments, absenteeism, behavioral incidents, and student feedback. Collect any data you need by conducting interviews, surveys, classroom observations, and focus groups.
Evaluate the differences between your school’s current standings and where you want to be. For example, say 40% of students are proficient in reading. One of your goals is to have 60% of students be proficient in reading. Your team needs to improve reading proficiency by 20% in the given timeframe.
Study the data over semesters and academic years to identify trends and patterns. For instance, are multiple students in the same class consistently underperforming? Are student absenteeism rates increasing from year to year?
Making data-driven decisions is vital. Avoid making assumptions as they could be incorrect, and you may end up planning to improve part of your school that does not need attention.
Finally, identify your priorities. What are the most concerning needs? Where are the biggest gaps between current standings and goal standings? What areas need improvement the most urgently?
Feedback from your stakeholders is essential throughout the SIP process. Consider the thoughts of students, teachers, parents, principals, and the greater community when establishing your goals and initiatives. Understanding their perspectives, needs, and potential contributions to overall improvement is incredibly valuable.
Involve the people that the SIP affects in decision-making and action plans. This creates shared ownership of the plan as well as joint accountability.
Finally, clearly communicate with stakeholders. Build trust with them by providing regular updates on the plan. Everyone is working towards improving the school community!
Using the insights from the data analysis and your stakeholders’ feedback, create your goals. Clearly outline what your school wants to achieve. Remember the acronym S.M.A.R.T.
Your strategies and action plans should be based directly on your goals. This part of your school SIP will describe how you’ll make your desired improvements. Share how initiatives will be implemented and how the school’s operations will change.
Leadership teams must identify their goals first in order to design relevant plans to accomplish them. Otherwise, there will be no target or clear purpose to the action plans.
While a senior leadership team of principals, administrators, and department heads usually construct a SIP, it’s important to establish who is responsible for what early on.
Ensure that everyone is aware of their responsibilities in carrying out the plan.
Resource allocation must also be outlined. Consider what staff, materials, and finances are needed to carry out initiatives. List all of your resources out and how you will obtain them.
Finally, you want to establish the timeline when developing your school SIP. Most SIPs outline goals and initiatives for three years, but they can also span over just one year or up to five years. It depends on how extensive the objectives and plans are.
Note that once your plan is reviewed, approved, and put into action, the work is not done. At this point, you know your problems and your goals. You’ve outlined the steps to remedy the problems. But how will you know that your action plans are working?
This is where monitoring and evaluation comes into play. Regular review ensures that school SIP initiatives are making a difference and that goals aren’t forgotten.
School improvement plans are living documents. They should be continuously updated and readjusted as necessary. If certain initiatives aren’t helping the school reach its goals, it’s encouraged to add new ones or change course.
Set dates to review your plan. Leadership teams overseeing the plan should ask:
At the end of your SIP’s timeline, assess whether or not you’ve reached your goals. Ask your team if the changes you’ve implemented are sustainable. Finally, consider the data in your next school improvement plan!
It’s inevitable to face challenges with school SIPs. In many cases, SIPs face criticism for being more about compliance than creating positive change. Some plans suffer from limited organization, while others struggle with inconsistent implementation or failure to address barriers.
Recognizing obstacles at the start of your planning process is the best way to improve your school SIP effectiveness. Avoid these common pitfalls to ensure working towards your goals is possible and seamless.
As said earlier, some schools are required by law to create a SIP. Unfortunately, some schools only create SIPs to be compliant with requirements and do not view them as mechanisms for improvement.
Education leaders should recognize the importance of a school SIP. Developing a successful school SIP does not happen overnight. But when time and effort are put in to craft a thorough, relevant plan, significant improvements can happen.
SIPs are a tool to guide the betterment of education experiences. Instead of haphazardly making changes, a school SIP outlines the need for changes, the efforts to be made, and the goals to reach. It’s a roadmap to follow rather than a compliance exercise to check off your to-do list.
Rushed, brief planning may result in your school SIP being ineffective. You want a cohesive, comprehensive plan to address barriers to learning with both in-classroom and school-wide strategies.
If planning is done in a piecemeal manner, it’s not likely that your plan will be cohesive or comprehensive. If stakeholders are not included in the planning process, they will not be invested in the improvement initiatives, or they may not even know about them. Different staff are isolated and may not work together, so establishing communication between different parties is essential.
It’s essential to clearly outline what implementing your school SIP will look like. Otherwise, educators may be confused about their responsibilities and may not implement any changes. Describe your intentions behind each action plan in as much detail as possible.
Show your staff how their jobs can become more manageable and how your action plans will benefit students. This will keep them motivated to implement new initiatives.
Unfortunately, it is common to face barriers that make implementing improvement plans difficult. It is best to think of these barriers and how you address them early in your planning phase. Consider how the following might affect your action plans:
Research suggests that improvement plan quality is positively associated with student performance (Fernandez, 2011; Caputo & Rastelli, 2014; Huber & Conway, 2015). Therefore, the amount of effort put into planning and addressing barriers can directly affect your students’ success.
Developing and implementing a successful school SIP takes time, careful consideration, and continuous management. Incorporating movement-based learning into your action plans can make accomplishing your school goals easier.
Movement-based learning can:
Math & Movement is an evidence-based program designed to get students active and confident in learning. We use a multi-sensory approach to learning that combines visual, auditory, and kinesthetic elements to engage all types of learners in various subjects.
Our program uses kinesthetic educational products, including heavy-duty floor mats and stickers, that students can move on during lessons. We also provide various resources for implementing kinesthetic learning strategies, including movement ideas, activities to go with our materials, and professional development opportunities. Our program is designed to supplement your school’s existing curriculum and align with state standards.
Our Data Page showcases the improvements teachers have documented while utilizing kinesthetic learning strategies. Educators nationwide have seen their students’ academic performance and attitudes towards school transform thanks to Math & Movement.
Want to head deeper into the research and results behind Math & Movement? Explore our Student Data page to see how schools across the US are transforming student achievement with our program.
School SIPs and movement-based learning can work together. If your goals include:
Consider integrating Math & Movement into your school SIP!
School SIPs are more than just required documents – they’re powerful tools that guide meaningful change in schools. A strong SIP creates a clear path grounded in data-driven decision-making and support by input from stakeholders. By focusing on well-defined goals, thoughtful action plans, and ongoing evaluation, schools can create a culture of continuous improvement that benefits students.
The process of creating and implementing a SIP isn’t without its challenges, but the result is worth it. Incorporating movement-based learning in your strategies can drive change in several desired areas – including student achievement, attitudes, and engagement. Add evidence-based, innovative, kinesthetic strategies to your plans for a better school.
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