Practice Identification & Validation

Upon receipt of a district/school's S³TAIR Project nomination, the Regional Facilitator will contact nominated district/school to initiate the completion of an online survey which goes into more depth about the practice.

Upon successful completion of the online survey, a site validation visit will be scheduled. Site visit teams are composed of at least three people including the Regional Facilitator and a higher education faculty member from an institution with a teacher preparation program. When possible, the team also includes a representative of a New York State or federally funded Parent Information Center.

Nominees receive a copy of the site visit protocol in advance of the visit so that it can be used to guide preparation for the visit. The site visit protocol may be downloaded as well. Upon completion of the site visit, the visitors come to consensus on the status of the nominee's practice. Nominees receive a copy of the consensus protocol at a debriefing meeting. 

Districts/schools whose practices are validated become Effective Practice Model Schools; their practices are spotlighted on the  Validated Practices page of this site.

Districts/schools whose practices are validated may apply for an Effective Practice Mentor School Grant to support their work as a mentor to a low performing school or district that wishes to replicate the effective practice.