Personal Opportunity Plans are a highly targeted system of accountability to ensure that all students have the resources they need to have a fair and substantive opportunity to learn. The policy model was introduced by the Opportunity to Learn Campaign in 2011 — and provides a framework to align academic, social and health supports to enable students who have been left behind to catch up and excel as high achievers.
Every student who is a grade level or more behind in math or reading should be given a Personal Opportunity Plan that provides the student access to supports in three areas:
- Academic (tutoring, extended day learning, English language instruction, etc.)
- Social (mentoring, parents’ training)
- Health (vision, dental, mental health)
In any school where more than one-third of the students are eligible for Personal Opportunity Plans, the district must create a plan to intentionally connect service providers of these supports to the school. The steps involved for these schools are:
- A comprehensive needs assessment done in partnership with parents, educators, students and community members, so that local solutions are tailored to local problems.
- Implementation of research based on instructional and educational reforms.
- A plan to address essential social, emotional and physical needs of students.
- Coordination of resources to support service delivers’ efforts to provide supports to students in the school.
- Recognition that parent, student and community leadership is critical to sustainable student success.