The Musketeer Way
Our Why: Schools should be accountable to their local community.
The purpose of our work as an educational system is to teach the whole child and prepare every student for the future beyond graduation. It is our strong belief that a standardized test score is only one data point that can not tell the full story of a child's capabilities nor that of their school system's success. Therefore, in 2021 our district began working with our community to establish what their hopes and dreams were for Greenup County students. We held an open invitation to stakeholders to take part in developing a shared vision and expectation of our school system. More than 50 stakeholders joined together over a period of three years to collaborate and design a transparent and multisystem accountability model that would meet local needs beyond a singular data point. We are forever grateful to those who gave of their time and energy to assist us in the creation of this innovative way to share exactly why everyone should... #BelieveInGC
Our How? It Takes Everyone
From this work with our community and in correlation with state initiatives, three key teams were formed over the span of three years.
Strategic Planning Committee - community business owners, administrators, staff, and board members developed three-year term goals and direction of the district. This team looked at the entire scope of the district for strengths, weaknesses, and opportunities for improvement. These key areas were categorized into four pillars and are what is monitored on the local accountability dashboard. You can view the full plan implementation here.
GC Education Innovation Team - made up of students, staff, community members, board members, and administrators with a focus on how Greenup County Schools can be innovative and best serve all stakeholders moving forward. This is where the Profile of a Musketeer basic concept was developed. This group also requested a way to monitor progress in our work.
The Deeper Learning Team - composed of teachers and administrators who fully developed the components and competencies of the "Great 8" and "Core 4" and established scoring criteria, expectations, and procedures for this initiative. Next, they used community feedback to develop key data points and indicators for success to be utilized for communicating progress on our own local accountability dashboard.
Our What? Greenup County Local Accountability Model
As a result of the work with our community, staff, and students via the L3 Framework and with the influence of John Tanner of BravED, a new vision for our district emerged in the area of how schools are truly accountable to their local community. Teachers and administrators reviewed the feedback from the local community and agreed that more transparency and better communication is needed to convey if a school is effective or ineffective in meeting the needs of the local stakeholders. The Greenup County Local Accountability Model correlates with our strategic 4 pillar plan to reach gold standard success in the areas of student success, staff support and competency, community engagement, and quality operations and facilities.
How are we doing? Local Accountability Dashboard
Communicating the Local Accountability Model:
To convey how the goals of "The Musketeer Way" are being accomplished, a dashboard has been developed. The Deeper Learning Team convened monthly to identify key data points that should be monitored for progress and alignment with the four pillars. The Deeper Learning Team also asked for transparency for each status and that key components should be shared publicly.
Fall 2023 implementation:
Data that reflects the expectations of our shared vision with the community will be compiled. Collected data will be noted for improvement or decline and their status will be reported publicly on an easy-to-read dashboard. This will be updated quarterly and shared with stakeholders.
Checks & Balances:
Semi-Annually, the GC Education Innovation team will meet and review the dashboard data to learn about progress, make suggestions, and ensure alignment of their expectations.
Our End Game: The Profile of a Musketeer
The feedback from our community and our work as an L3 school district led to the development of a Profile of a Graduate. Our work has been aligned with the KY United We Learn initiative and the adopted Kentucky Statewide Portrait of a Learner. We believe that all students should be capable of demonstrating specific competencies beyond test scores prior to earning a diploma. Graduates of 2026 and beyond will be required to collect evidence to complete the "Profile of a Musketeer - Great 8" and present it to a panel of stakeholders. "The Profile of a Musketeer Great 8" ensures every student is future focused throughout their days at GCHS and students will graduate with a clear path toward their goals and be on their way to future success.
It is important that these key competencies are developed prior to high school and are refined at each learning level. During grades 6-8, all middle school students will begin collecting evidence that demonstrates a "Profile of a Musketeer - Core 4". Requirements for each grade level have been developed so that students are prepared to present their competencies in the spring of grade 8 to a panel of stakeholders. Note the "Core 4" is directly linked to the "Great 8" for transitional and scaffolding purposes.
At the elementary level, students will begin their journey to understanding competencies via a micro-credential badging system. Students will earn digital badges in grades K-5 that focus on basic academic skills, curiosity, independence, and the ability to be self-sufficient in solving problems. During these critical formative years, students will develop a "Musketeer Mindset" and share their accomplishments with others during family and community nights as well as in one-to-one conversations.
Video: How the real-life connections at our Technical Center has inspired the entire district.