School Assistance & Intervention Team (SAIT)

A School Assistance and Intervention Team (SAIT) is an external technical assistance team, approved by the California Department of Education (CDE), to work with a designated state-monitored school. By law, the state may require that a district with a state-monitored school contract for the services of a SAIT. (The state has other options for intervening in state-monitored schools which are described in related code sections.)

The requirement of a SAIT or another sanction is precipitated by the school’s receipt of funding under the Immediate Intervention/Underperforming Schools Program (II/USP) or the High Priority Schools Grant Program (HPSGP) followed by failure to make agreed-upon accountability academic growth targets. State-monitored schools have three years in which to make sufficient growth to exit either II/USP or HPSGP or additional sanctions are invoked.

The purpose of a SAIT is to assist a school, working with a District/School Liaison Team (DSLT), to identify gaps and deficiencies in the school’s educational program. Using an Academic Program Survey which assesses nine Essential Program Components, the school and SAIT identify where efforts should be directed. Once this has occurred, the SAIT works with the school and the DSLT to make the instructional program one where students can meet and exceed academic standards. The SAIT is responsible for making regular reports to the state on the school’s progress and facilitating the delivery of support services.