NEW JERSEY DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION
SCHOOL IMPROVEMENT PLAN
MANAGEMENT SYSTEM (SIPMS)
Phase 1 Instruction Guide
Version 3 – 10/29/15
SIPMS Instruction Guide – Phase 1 – Version 3 10/29/15
pg. 1
Table of Contents
Page #
What is the SIPMS? ................................................................................................. 3
Phase 1……………………………………………………………………………..................................... 3
What can I expect in Phase 2? ................................................................................ 3
Where can I access the SIPMS? ............................................................................... 3
What information is required to create an account for the SIPMS? ....................... 3
Logging into the System ……………………………………………………………………………………. 4
Navigating the SIPMS – Home Page ………………………………………………………………… 5
Navigating the SIPMS – Plan Information Page …………………………………………………. 6
Navigating the SIPMS – Editing Pages………………………………………………………..….….. 7 - 8
Updating a SIP Interim Goal ………………………………………………………………………………. 8
Updating a SIP Action Step ……………………………………………………………………………….. 9
Updating a SIP Budget Item ………………………………………………………………………………. 10
Other Items Located on the Plan Information Page …………………………………………… 10
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Budget ……………………………………………………………………………………….. 11
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Climate & Culture Information……………………………………………………..11
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o Climate & Culture Data Entries …….……………………….…………12
o Climate & Culture Rate Chart...………………….…………………….13
o Climate & Culture Export……………………………………….....…….13 ****(NEW FEATURE)*****
Evaluation Information………………………………………………………………. 14
Contact Information for Questions and Concerns …………….…………….………………….14
SIPMS Instruction Guide – Phase 1 – Version 3 10/29/15
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What is the SIPMS?
The SIPMS is an online platform that will track SIP implementation, goal completion and will provide schools a
place to enter data that is collected for each cycle. The SIPMS can be accessed from any device with internet
connection. All updates made to the system can be viewed in real-time. RAC Teams will also be able to view
data entered and provide support where it is needed most.
Phase 1
The SIPMS is live and phase 1 is complete. We will continuously strive to improve the system based on your
feedback.
What can I expect in Phase 2?
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Phase 2 will incorporate the build-out of new SIPs for the 2016 – 2017 school year.
Schools will be able to export additional data and view a dashboard to share with internal
leadership teams.
Where can I access the SIPMS?
The SIPMS is located in NJ Homeroom. In order to acquire an account to log in to the SIPMS, you will need to
contact your district’s Web User Administrator (WUA).
What information is required to create an account for the SIPMS?
The WUA requires all of the following information:
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School Name
User ID
Password
Last Name
First Name
Phone Number (format 000-000-0000 or 000-000-0000 Ext 1234)
Email Address
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Logging into the System
(SIPMS Log – in screenshot)
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Once you have received confirmation that your account has been created from your WUA you may
then enter the SIPMS.
Go to NJ Homeroom at this address: https://homeroom.state.nj.us/ .
Locate and select the link that is listed as The School Improvement Plan Management System
(SIPMS).
The log-in screen looks like the screenshot above.
Use your school, user ID and password to log in.
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Navigating the SIPMS – Home Page
(Home page screenshot)
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Across the top there are three sections: Getting Started, Common Definitions and Equations, and
Updates.
o Getting Started: In this section you can find the latest version of the instruction guide.
o Common Definitions and Equations: In this section you will find the definitions you should
use to enter data on the Climate & Culture and Evaluation section. Also as the new name of
the section reflects the equations that are being used to calculate rates are provided.
o Updates: In this section you can find a description of updates being made to the system.
The “Logoff” button is to the far left. Be sure to use this button when you are finished updating /
reviewing information to ensure that changes are saved upon exiting. This button can be found on
all pages within the SIPMS.
In the blue header section labeled School Improvement Plans all SIPs will be listed.
o If you have a district log-in you will see all the SIPs for the schools in your district.
o If you have a school log-in you will only see your school SIP.
All of the information provided here is found on the title page of your SIP except for the Id Column.
(Please note that the ID numbers assigned to your SIP were generated during the SIP upload
process and have no significance.)
To enter your SIP click on the ID number.
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Navigating the SIPMS – Plan Information Page
(Plan Information page screenshot)
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Once you click on the ID number from the Home page you are brought to Plan Information page.
o On this page you will see that the information found on the SIP title page is repeated. This
will confirm your location in the SIPMS. (This feature will be helpful for those who are
monitoring multiple SIPs.)
o The information across the top of the page remains the same as in the “Home” screen.
Navigation items different from the Home page:
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To the left there is a “Home” button. This will return you to the Home page.
In the light green “SMART Goal 1 Information” there is a down arrow  symbol. If you click on this
symbol you will open the section that contains all of information found in the SMART Goal (1) sheet
found in your SIP (Strategies, Performance Challenge, Target Population, Interim Goals, Action
Steps and Budget Line items).
In the light blue band labeled “SMART Goal 2 Information” you will see an up arrow  symbol.
When the up arrow symbol is selected it will collapse/hide the information in that section.
The arrow symbols are also in the bands for SMART Goals 3 & 4 Information and function in the
same way.
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Navigating the SIPMS – Editing Pages
(Plan Information page – Action Step section screenshot)
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“Edit” buttons are found in several sections in the SIPMS. When an “Edit” button is selected you
will be navigated to an Edit page that will allow you to make updates to the system.
(Edit Action Step Page screenshot)
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When you select “Edit” from the Plan Information Action Step section you are taken to the Edit
page. All of the fields that you entered in the SIP appear here for each action step. You will notice
that most of the screen is grey. Grey fields cannot be edited.
Please note that the grey fields may not show all of the text. You will see two diagonal lines in the
corner of a field. You may click on those marks and drag out to the right to expand the box to allow
hidden text to be seen.
The fields that are white may be edited. In this case those fields are Status and Comments.
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o In the Status field you will see a drop-down arrow that provides you choices to indicate the
status of that particular action step. Depending on the status you select you may be
required to enter a comment. The amount of text that will fit in the comment field is
limited.
Select “Update” when you have finished making your updates. If you decide not to make an
update you may select “Cancel”. You will be returned back to the Plan Information page.
Updating a SIP Interim Goal
(Plan Information page - Interim Goal section)
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This section has all of the same information that is found in the SMART Goal tab in your SIP. You
may use the “Edit” buttons to the right to update the status of each interim goal.
Once “Edit” is selected you will be directed to the Edit Interim Goal page. All fields are grey with
the exception of Status and Comments. Your choices for the drop-down menu for Status are as
follows:
o Not Met
o Met
o NA
If Not Met or NA is selected a comment must be entered. If you do not enter a comment when
required and you select the “Update” button you will be brought back to the Interim Goal Edit
page. If you chose to not update the interim goal at that time you may select the “Cancel” button
and return to the Plan Information page.
You may go into the system at any time to update the status of your interim goals. However,
please follow the guidelines provided by your RAC team for when cycle data should be submitted.
All changes and edits can be viewed and monitored by your RAC team.
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Updating a SIP Action Step
(Edit Action Step screenshot)
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Within each SMART Goal section you will notice the section for Action Steps. The information that
appears is the same as the information in your SIP. To update an action step select the “Edit”
button next to action step you are trying to edit. Once you select that button you will come to the
Edit Act ion Step page shown in the screenshot above.
You will see at the top what action step you are about to edit and you can confirm this information
by reading the description box.
o Remember you can only edit the white sections. On this page that includes the Status Code
and Comments sections.
The drop-down in the status section gives you the below options to select:
o Not Started
o In Progress
o Complete
o Canceled
Comments are required for In Progress or Cancelled Status. If either of these options are selected
and then the “Update” button is selected the screen will bounce you back to the Edit Action Step
page. (At this time the system is not intuitive to know that an action step should be in progress.
Please enter a brief comment so you may move onto the next screen.)
If you chose not to update the action step at that point you may select “Cancel” to return to the
Plan Information page.
You may go into the system at any time to update the status of your action steps. However, please
follow the guidelines provided by your RAC team for when cycle data should be submitted. All
changes and edits can be viewed and monitored by your RAC team.
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Updating a SIP Budget Item
(Plan Information page - Interim Goal section)
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Within each SMART Goal section you will notice the section for Budget Items. The information that
appears is the same as the information in your SIP.
There are blue “Edit” buttons next to each budget item. These buttons currently take you into the
Edit Budget Item page that looks similar to the other Edit pages. The future plan for this section is
to allow you to add comments and track money that is spent. We hope to have this feature
available soon.
Other Items Located on the Plan Information Page
(Plan Information page screenshot with Smart Goal Tabs collapsed – showing “Budget Summary”, “Climate &
Culture Information”, and “Evaluation Information” buttons at the bottom of the page.)
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Budget Summary - This page contains the same information that is found in the budget summary
sheet in your SIP.
o Currently, this page is not editable.
Climate & Culture Information - The page provides a location to enter self reported data that is
normally collected during each cycle including: discipline, student/ faculty attendance and chronic
absenteeism.
o If you are a Focus school you will enter information for your subgroups.
o To edit this page click on the month at the top of each column.
(Climate & Culture Information page screenshot)
o The types of information gathered on the Climate & Culture Information page are the parts
of the equations that make up the rates for Student/Faculty Attendance, Chronic
Absenteeism and Suspension Rate. The rates will be calculated for you in most cases. Each
category is calculated by month except for chronic absenteeism which is year to date.
o Please note that information gathered here is similar to what has been collected during
cycle reviews in the past. The prompts ensure uniform methodology so that the data being
reviewed is comparable from month to month. The definitions and equations can be found
in the Common Definitions and Equations section at the top of the screen.
o Your RAC teams will be available to assist you with this process. The data that is collected
here is intended ONLY for review by you and your RAC team to assist in identifying areas
that fall under the Climate and Culture turnaround principle that may need improvement.
This data is not being submitted to any other departments in the NJDOE.
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Climate & Culture Data Entries and Rate Chart
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Data Input Section: This section is edited by month. The sections in white are for both Priority and
Focus Schools. The blue sections are only for Focus Schools that are in status due to High
Achievement Gap or Low Subgroup Performance and are required to provide data for both of their
two lowest performing subgroups.
(Please note that sample date has been entered as an example.)
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Rates Chart Section: This section self-populates based on the entries you make in the Data Input
section.
(Please note that sample date has been entered as an example.)
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Please note the “Export to Excel” button at the bottom of the page. This is a new feature that will allow you
to download your data that you entered in the Data Input Section as well as in the Rates Chart.
When you are finished entering data in this page you may select the “Return to Details” button to return to
the Plan Information Page.
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Evaluation Information -
(AchieveNJ data collection information)
o The AchieveNJ page collects some basic information upfront and then allows you to update
the page as data becomes available. This information provides the RAC teams with valuable
data to support your work with evaluations.
o Please note for questions #7 - #9 that the data is not available at the start of the school
year. For question #7 please provide 2014 – 2015 school year data when it becomes
available.
o Your RAC teams will be available to assist you with this process. The data that is collected
here is intended ONLY for review by you and your RAC team to assist in identifying areas
that may need improvement. This data is not being submitted to any other departments in
the NJDOE.
Contact Information for Questions and Concerns
For questions, please contact the RAC in your region or email [email protected]. Please be sure to use
SIPMS in the subject line.
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