The Key Work of School Boards: School Board President Response to Chapter 2 - Vision

The Key Work of School Boards:  School Board President Response to Chapter 2 - Vision

I discussed the Vision Self-Assessment questions with our local school board president.  The majority of the questions were answered as “mostly achieved.”   Two of the questions received a “fully achieved” rating.  One question received a “partially achieved” rating and one question received a “beginning to achieve” rating.

The district has established a written vision/mission that commits to student achievement as the top priority of the school board.  These statements are posted on the school website and are clearly displayed in large poster format in each district school building. 

When establishing district goals, the board enlisted an outside facilitator who gathered two major groupings to supply the board with input.  The first group was made up of school staff.  The second group included members of the community.  Out of these groups the board formalized seven district goals:

1) Increase rigor and accountability in academics

Goal: Investigate better ways to measure student learning & achievement (skill- based or competency-based report cards?)

2) Building & facilities plans

Goal: Work toward a successful referendum in November.

3) Clear guidance & expectations from administrators

Goal: Provide regular communication from superintendent & administrators to all staff & community members.

4) Focus and time to implement programs and goals year after year

Goals: 4A) The administrative team will create a 2013-14 school year professional development schedule.

4B) The administrator who supervises the employee will meet with that employee to find what they can "take off their plates."

5) Develop a strong PreK-12 reading program

Goal: Pursue optional funding to implement, support & enhance a research proven effective reading program.

6) Incorporate Spanish as a "special"

Goal: Develop a PreK-6 introductory level foreign language program for FY15

& provide 30 minutes of instruction per week for PreK-6 students.

7) Increase respect at all levels

Goals: 7A) Complete building-level surveys to ID morale issues & develop improvements through SIT.

7B) Research & select a data-gathering tool to measure student bullying.

Although the school board president believes that the board is aligning all of its decisions toward the achievement of the vision and goals, he also stated that the board does not revisit the vision and goals frequently.

I believe that the current school board approached the work of establishing board goals with the best of intentions.  However, there appears to be confusion in the need to establish/revisit vision, mission and goals.  The vision and mission were established many years ago and have not been revisited by the board any time recently for review.  The work that was done to establish board goals, however, was done with several groups of stakeholders involved.  This was done shortly after the first building referendum failed which is probably why one of the goals includes mention of passing a building referendum.

My suggestions for improvement?  Show the school board how a continuous improvement plan is done elsewhere.  Allow the school board to decide on a method that they believe will be effective in Arcadia.  Develop a schedule for implementing the plan and put this information in the eye of the public.  Keep everything as transparent as possible!  As the plan is proceeding – keep putting the results in the eye of the public.  Do the same when the plan is completed.  Also plan for regular updates and follow through with the plan.  This will bring the vision and the goals that support the vision to the forefront of board discussions on a regular basis.