ISD 911 draft Strategic Plan
OBJECTIVES:
1) All young children and their families will have access to opportunities for early learning and school readiness.
What data or evidence are important to you in measuring the progress of our plan?
Tom's comments:
Families already have access to early learning programs, many choices not to engage for different reasons, many choice programs outside of public schools as an alternative. Access to early learning should not be our focus, understanding why people are choosing alternatives or not engaged in this service, is the key to getting more people engaged. Our first series of questions we collect must be focused on, what is it, or why, are families not engaging/selecting the districts programs. Once we understand why, we will create an action plan to improve the program so it is more attractive to families.
2) All students report a feeling of belonging within the school community.
What data or evidence are important to you in measuring the progress of our plan?
Tom's comments:
It is difficult to measure soft skill, like feelings of belonging, they are too emotionally based and the input received from students will largely be depend on the emotion they feel, at the moment the data is collected. The measure cannot be based on the students “reporting a feeling ….” We need that feedback, but it is not a measure of success. We need to create an environment that is supportive, and fosters a feeling of belonging and that will align with our mission to Educate. So the data we need collected will be focused on students "learning".
3)All students demonstrate annual growth toward goals.
4)All students will graduate with a plan for their future.
What data or evidence are important to you in measuring the progress of our plan?
Tom's comments:
I challenge the belief that students need a “plan” for their future at this young age; yes, they need goals, but not sure it raises to the level of a "plan". Many students are not sure what they want when they graduate; many will change their mind after a few years. I believe it's because these young adults are still developing, in their ideas, their ideologies and their aspirations. Many students will not figure out what truly inspires them or interests them in life, until they are well into their mid-20’s…and that’s ok. Expecting them to have a "plan" may not be realistic. We need to focus on helping students graduating with a solid foundation in academics, and an opportunity to experience diverse curriculum, so that they can succeed in whatever their plan is. And as their mentors, we need to support them when they decide to change their plan. As parents we desperately want our children to succeed, and as we look back, and think, if we only had a plan in high school, would we have been better prepared…we only gain that level of understanding through life itself. The best we can do is to support and guide our students. I would change that objective to: We will ensure our students are given options through a diverse set of curricula that Empowers them to take the first step to a successful future.
What data or evidence are important to you in measuring the progress of our plan?
To sum this up, the data we need, is the data we currently collect...graduation rates and the children’s academic test scores are the measure of successful in education. We have seen a decline in the graduation rates and test scores for many years. So, lets figure out why! The draft Strategic Plan is a good start, its sets objectives and beliefs, but we still have a lot to do. We should never be satisfied with our education system; we should strive to continually improve it.