The Westwood Regional School Board, in cooperation with the Administration, sets the following comprehensive goals for the District in order to clarify priorities and focus staff on ensuring safety and improving student success:

Goal 1:  Improve academic achievement in mathematics and ELA by meeting or exceeding the NJDOE’s annual targets for “all students” in Math and ELA on a district-wide basis by June 2027.

• Year 1 Action Steps:

  • Enact the K-5 Consistency Improvement Plan

  • Enact the Year 1 activities in the 3-Year Mathematics Plan

  • Enact the Year 1 activities in the 3-Year Special Services Plan

  • Enact the Year 1 activities in the 3-Year ELA Plan

  • Implement a new master schedule at WRMS to provide more daily instruction 

  • Create a before and after school program for students in need of math interventions.

  • Begin a WRHS Summer Bootcamp Program and build upon programs in mathematics. 

  • Begin to build a standards-based reporting system for WRHS and WRMS 

  • Apply for the NJDOE Hi Impact Tutoring Grant

  • Assess staff certifications and historical State testing performance of staff in tested grades

  • Review various types of master schedules and determine whether there are different models that will increase total annual student contact time in core areas

Goal 2:  Improve climate and culture for staff and students, as evidenced by incrementally improving student, staff, and parent climate survey results on an annual basis, starting with the 2023-2024 to 2024-2025 school year comparison.

• Year 1 Action Steps:

  • Provide professional development for  middle school staff on Responsive Classroom and begin to implement the program components

  • Refine, if necessary, Responsive Classroom in the elementary schools by surveying students and staff on the success of the program implementation

  • Implement a new “core values” program at the middle school

  • Research advisory programs that are offered for students/staff grades 9-12 

  • Research partnering with the Rutgers University “School Climate Transformation Project”

  • Determine which climate surveys to utilize

Goal 3:  Develop and implement a 3x per year Recognition Program for staff and students that identifies role model behavior and attributes in key areas and publicly recognizes and rewards it based on specific criteria:

• HR Director and Superintendent works with Directors and Principals to identify criteria for staff and students

• Superintendent develops a name for the program

• Superintendent establishes a nomination process

• Program is advertised to stakeholders in order to seek nominations

• Nominations are reviewed by Admin Team

• Certificates of recognition are presented ast BoE meetings

Goal 4:  Review the District's motto, mission, vision, and belief statements; create a WWRSD Student Promise:

• review project with Administrative Team at Summer Retreat

• Principals work with School Safety & Climate Teams to develop a draft for consideration

• Principals involve students (grades 3 and up) in reviewing the school’s draft

• Superintendent takes the six models and turns them into a stakeholder survey

• Survey is distributed to staff, parents and students in grades 3-12

• Superintendent compiles the survey results and presents a final draft to the BoE

The Westwood Regional School Board sets the following goals in attempt to strengthen the Board, support the Administration, and serve the school community:

• Goal 1:  The Board will develop a Community Relations program to foster increased public participation, collaboration and open communication with all stakeholders by developing a quarterly Board Update newsletter and by evaluating the potential for an annual community survey designed to solicit public feedback on progress related to district and board goals.

• Goal 2:  The Board will support the implementation of the new Strategic Plan through its committees.

• Goal 3:  The Board, in collaboration with a professional search firm, will identify and select a highly qualified successor Superintendent.

• Goal 4:  The Board, through an RFP process, will interview and appoint the Board’s architectural firm.

• Goal 5:  The Board will negotiate and adopt a new collective bargaining agreement with the Westwood Education Association and the Westwood Administration Association.

• Goal 6: The Board, primarily through the Finance and Facilities Committee, will continue to study the need for elementary school expansion resulting from anticipated growth in student enrollment.