We have been making progress toward fulfilling five primary District Goals that were identified as an outcome of our summer discussions. Aligned with our mission of creating life-long learners with support from the community, the following goals were established: Student Achievement, Teacher Effectiveness, Culture of Caring, Fiscal Responsibility and Community Engagement.

Student achievement is our central focus, and the other four goals will help us strengthen and support this objective. This year we are taking a closer look at how all students are performing in a variety of subjects and analyzing growth. Teacher effectiveness plays into this, and our staff evaluation plans are changing given the new Annual Professional Performance Review (APPR) requirements. Our APPR plan has been submitted to the State and we await approval. I believe we can be a leader in the region with this plan and that it will put us in a better place in terms of student learning and teacher effectiveness.

Achievement is being supported through a “culture of caring” that will help students understand social responsibility. Community engagement throughout the district is providing a greater understanding of our various endeavors as we build and strengthen relationships with local constituencies. Last but not least, fiscal responsibility is always one of our priorities and we continue to focus on it as we develop budgets under the constraints of the tax cap and unfunded state mandates.  

You will hear more about our efforts to focus on each of these goals in the next few weeks.