Strategic Plan
 
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If you have questions about the Strategic Plan or would like further clarification about the vision we are working to shape through this framework, please contact our central office.

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Academic Preparation


Introduction:

The goals established by the CSD for 2007-08 are closely linked. School climate and Community-School Relations feed Academic Preparation; and strategies achieve results across goals.

The clearest need behind every goal is for time. Island educators recognize what educators and researchers know all across the U.S.: the shrinking size of the public school day is not preparing our students for the global, information-based economy; one in which literacy, communication skills, and flexibility are paramount.

Adding time for education cannot be volunteer time. Island schools, like others, have and continue to try this, most prominently with the community mentorship and volunteer programs. More effective education relies on dedicated professionals and therefore costs money; and the case for necessary increases to public education budgets must be convincingly made on the basis of research and results. As the schedule is reconfigured, how might professional and volunteer time be better structured to insure that changes to professional contracts are maximized?


Current Focus:

Currently, there are many wonderful programs—both curricular and co-curricular—in the CSD. The results of the K-12 consensus building process include an excellent asset mapping document for the school community to use for future reporting, funding, etc. However, this work K-12 indicates that few of these are integrated into a systematic, purposeful learning system in which students’ progress, with clear standards and expectations, from grade to grade.

Programs and expectations differ from teacher to teacher; and program changes often occur before programs can be properly evaluated. The schools’ largest, most consistent strategy—to Individual Learning Plans and Project Based Learning—is moving forward, but is hampered by precedent, schedule, and budget constraints.

This plan is essential to the school district’s success in working with state and federal regulations. NCLB and MLR standards and tests, sources of great complaint, can—within the context of the clear, unified local vision expressed in this plan—be an integral aspect of a strong local curriculum and systems for monitoring and assessing achievement.


Academic Preparation Goals:
To prepare students to succeed at whatever they choose, by offering students a variety of learning opportunities and teaching real life skills, strengthening the characteristics of ingenuity, entrepreneurship, and independence.

Intended Outcomes
In addressing the area of Academic Preparation, the staff has identified the following intended outcomes:
  • The curriculum includes a variety of coordinated learning opportunities, with a focus on programs that teach real life skills: ethics; parenting; budgeting; reading; writing; problem-solving.
  • The curriculum focuses on strengthening in students the characteristics of ingenuity, entrepreneurship, and independence.
  • The program provides the opportunity for all students and their families who want to succeed at higher education to do so: the percentage of district students who successfully complete secondary education – through graduation in 13 years, via GED, or Adult Ed—increases annually; as does the percentage of district students who complete college-level education.
Strategies
Many potential strategies and resources exist and have been identified to achieve these outcomes. The primary strategies expressed for immediate implementation are:
  1. Expand the time for learning by reconfiguring the daily schedule and/or annual calendar; create consistent time for faculty collaboration and planning within this new schedule, and integrate special programs and specialists into expanded, coordinated instruction.
  2. Restructure use of Professional Staff, Support Staff, and Community Volunteers; so that Professional Staff is focused on teaching and others fulfill “non-teaching duties” currently handled by Professional Staff.
  3. Develop Individual Learning Plans, for each student K-12, that are keyed into a coherent educational strategy and curricula, using project-based methods and authentic assessments to fulfill these goals.
  4. Enhance, expand, and integrate available technologies fully into life of school and curricula, enhancing student and family learning, and eliminating unnecessary paperwork and meetings.
  5. Implement Foreign Language Instruction K-8: this remains the major content area missing from curricula.
  6. Focus on K-12 literacy skills (reading, writing, etc.) cross-discipline.
  7. Agree upon and communicate expectations for K-12, and utilize assessments as a tool to measure these expectations.
Future Directions (a.k.a. the Parking Lot)
Throughout the period covered by this strategic plan, CSD 13 will pursue the strategies noted above. The district is also considering additional strategies in support of Academic Preparation. Its ability to do so, however, will depend on its success in implementing the strategies noted above and achieving the desired results; and on the resources therefore made directly available to the schools or on partnerships with other community and educational organizations. These additional interests include:
  • Add Curriculum Director or Coordinators in each academic area, to take on the responsibility for curriculum development rather than leaving it up to individual teachers
  • Strong pre-school and after school programs coordinated with expectations and goals.
  • The Arts and other electives integrated more fully, using professional models, into the curricula.
  • Improve method of grading (for example, moving from numeric to standards-based narrative assessments).
  • Restructure grades and classes by interest and ability level, not age.