North Kingstown School District Educational Summit

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North Kingstown School District Educational
Summit

• December 3, 2005

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Strategic Planning Process and Research Findings

• Core Planning Team
• Dr. James Halley, Dr. Daniel McGregor,
• Dr. Barbara Fitzsimmons, Brenda Potter
• Ad hoc members / Committee Assistants
• Lee Rabbitt, Maureen Buck, Bill Daly, Jane
  Kondon, Karen Nutini
• Strategic Planning Consultant / Facilitator
• Eileen M. Moser, Organizational Development

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An Inclusive Process, with Direct Involvement and
Input from

• Administrative Team
• Teachers/Staff
• Union Leadership
• Students
• Parents
• School Committee
• Business and Community Leaders
• PTOs, SACs, and COZs.

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Research Findings from Focus Groups

• Strengths of NK School System
• Challenges to NK School System
• Recommendations to NK School System
• Priorities for the Future

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STRENGTHS

• Teachers, staff, administrators
• Families and students
• Culture of school spirit, pride, sense of
  community
• Excellence of schools and school programs

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CHALLENGES

• Negative, adversarial climate
• Lack of consistency/ equity among schools
• Lack of opportunities for meaningful input from
  key groups
• Lack of timely communications
• Fallout from reconfiguration
• Resources to education shrinking
• Need for better planning

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Focus Group Ideas and Recommendations

• Bring groups back together
• Change focus from antagonism to a focus on
  district administration, teachers, unions, school
  committee, working cooperatively
• Better understanding of the issues and goals that
  leadership and key constituent groups are trying
  to accomplish, and a better appreciation of the
  realities of what they are up against.
• Develop common ground as to common goals, facts
  and realities, and points of leverage.

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Focus Group Ideas and Recommendations

• Involve key groups and use their input
• More input from the school level.
• Strengthen superintendents role as feedback link
  from instructional leaders to the school
  committee.
• Involve teachers in decisions that are important
  to them
• Involve students in rating teachers and courses.
• Provide opportunities for more interaction
  between teachers and administration.
• When committees are used, let them know how the
  input was used - or at least let them know the
  decisions and the rationale.
• Do focus groups or forums more often to get
  opinions, and follow up.
• Inform parents more about long-term planning,
  including equity of programs facilities among
  schools.

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Focus Group Ideas and Recommendations

• Institute More Structured Planning
• Hold forums, group discussions or retreats from
  time to time for teachers to have input to
  planning, share concerns and offer ways of
  solving them.
• Invite teachers to be included in a discussion
  at the principals retreat, like assessment. Could
  be educational and a good discussion.
• Identify the next level of planning, outside the
  comfortable box. Where are we trying to get to
  in 5, 10, 15 YEARS? What skills are needed to
  get there?
• If budget cuts are inevitable, find ways to
  increase revenues - fund raising, educational
  fees as in many towns for extra-curricular. State
  formula requires us to look for ways to fund our
  education.
• Base cuts not only on budget but based on the
  vision/philosophy of NK school system.

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Focus Group Ideas and Recommendations

• Institute More Structured Planning (cont.)
• Focus on adequate Human Resources as well as
  Fiscal.
• Base decisions more on the number of students in
  each school i.e. literacy coaches, custodians,
  copiers, staff, paras, full day K.
• Include a method of Evaluation of the Programs
  and the Plan as part of the strategic planning
  process, including a way to measure progress and
  accomplishments.
• Review the physical plant and programs of schools
  that need the most improvement, and determine a
  plan to improve these schools. Have all day
  kindergarten for all.
• Regionalize. Many states have one school district
  larger than RI that encompass many towns and is
  larger than RI. Do towns of 25,000 need their
  own school system?
• Examine current busing system find what is not
  working and remedy it through more structured
  planning

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Focus Group Ideas and Recommendations

• Ideas for new models / new solutions
• Commit to curriculum ideas that need to be
  implemented in all schools e.g. SMART, etc.
  Sustain the wonderful things, protect from budget
  cuts. Cut whats not working.
• Find models that have worked in the past or are
  working in certain schools to achieve change and
  progress cooperatively, and use them.
• Administration could host forums to being
  important concerns to light.
• PTO's and/or SAC's from different schools can
  join together to create a discussion forum on
  issues of importance to parents.
• Develop new models to streamline communications
  systems in key areas such as technology requests
  and special education questions.

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• Ideas for new models / new solutions (cont.)
• Professional Development
• Customize it more, especially for those working
  with students with disabilities.
• Tie application of professional development and
  new methods to teacher evaluation
• Move from localized professional development to
  more standardization of excellence across the
  system.
• Evaluate aspects of high school curriculum and
  experience that may need improvement
• Courses and electives that have few students vs
  overcrowded or unavailable.
• Senior privileges that help develop responsible
  adults.
• Providing meaningful advisory support and a
  strong advisory relationship for each student.
• Student awareness of student services.

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Review of North Kingstown 2006 Strategic Plan

• Working Document
• December 3, 2005

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NKSD Mission Since education plays a vital role
in the present and future success of all
students, every school must provide for the
maximum intellectual, social, aesthetic, moral,
vocational, and physical development of each
student towards challenging the student to
achieve excellence.
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NKSD Belief StatementsWe believe that all
students

• are capable of learning and becoming
  self-directed learners.
• have a desire to learn.
• learn within a social context which includes the
  family, school and community.

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We believe that student learning is enhanced
when the following conditions exist in schools

• parents are active participants in their child's
  learning and equal partners with the school in
  making educational decisions.
• there is a safe and orderly learning environment.
  
• there is equality of educational opportunity.
• there is a climate of high expectations.
• there is a respect for the uniqueness and
  diversity of the students.

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We believe that student learning is enhanced when
the following conditions exist in schools

• instruction includes multiple strategies to
  accommodate different learning styles.
• instruction includes opportunities for students
  to work independently and in groups.
• opportunities are provided for all students to
  reach their maximum potential.
• opportunities are provided to help students cope
  with emerging challenges in an increasingly
  changing technological world.
• interactions among all members of the school
  community are professional, cooperative and
  productive

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We believe that schools should ensure that all
students will be able to demonstrate wide-ranging
and fundamental knowledge, understanding, skills
and attitudes to

• function as self-sufficient and productive
  members of society.
• function individually and collaboratively as
  informed decision makers and life-long learners.
  
• actively participate in and contribute to the
  well-being of the family, community and society.
  
• appreciate and respect the interdependence and
  diversity of people, ideas and the environment.

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We believe that schools should ensure that all
students will be able to demonstrate wide-ranging
and fundamental knowledge, understanding, skills
and attitudes to

• lead a balanced, healthy life by participating in
  diverse intellectual, physical and aesthetic
  activities.
• act with the self-confidence which reflects a
  positive self-image.
• pursue individual intellectual development
  passionately.

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NKSD Continuous Improvement Statements
Continual Improvement of Student
Achievement.Continual Improvement of
Communications to Support Student
AchievementContinual Improvement of
Infrastructure to Support Student
AchievementContinual Commitment to Lifelong
Learning for the entire learning community.
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Strategy 1 - Leading the Focus on Learning and
AchievementGoal 1.1 Every student is held to
high expectations in every program at every
school.Goal 1.2 By 2014, all children will be
achieving at the standards set by Rhode Island
according to NCLB requirements. Objective 1.2.1
Develop more standardization across the system
of the best ideas and practices to insure that
all students receive an excellent
education. Objective 1.2.2 Develop grade level
standards for each curriculum area in each
grade.Goal 1.3 By 2008, all high school
students will successfully complete the
graduation by proficiency criteria. Objective
1.3.1 Complete the development and
implementation of a graduation-by-proficiency
model. Objective 1.3.2 Institute proficiency
"graduation" criteria for each high school
grade. Objective 1.3.3 At the K-8 levels begin
development and implementation of knowledge,
skills and attitudes to support graduation by
proficiency.
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Strategy 2 - Ensuring Equity and Adequacy of
Fiscal and Human ResourcesGoal 2.1 Resource
decisions are made to support the objectives in
the strategic plan, and to maintain current
programs and infrastructure. Objective 2.1.1
Study and implement ways to increase revenues
fund raising, educational fees, collaboration,
regionalization. Objective 2.1.2 Establish a
community advisory committee to review and
revise the Budget Document to insure that it
produces public support for education of
students. Goal 2.2 Insure adequate human
resources are available to respond to the mandate
of NCLB and success of all students. Objective
2.2.1 Continue to invest in job embedded
professional development to insure that all
staff are able to utilize the knowledge and
skills to insure success of all
students. Objective 2.2.2 Continue to develop
systems that promote school wide and district
wide cooperation and engagement in supporting
student achievement and success.
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Strategy 3. Guiding the Selection and
Implementation of Curriculum, Instruction and
AssessmentGoal 3.1 All Students are empowered
to reach their full potential. Objective 3.1.1
Promote and plan for implementation of best
practices for curriculum and instruction in all
schools. Objective 3.1.2 Provide opportunities
through classrooms and school programs to
involve students in making choices about their
education and learning. Action 3.1.2.1 Provide
regular review and evaluation of student
access to courses as part of School Improvement
Plan.
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Strategy 3. Guiding the Selection and
Implementation of Curriculum, Instruction and
Assessment (cont.)Goal 3.2 Student Achievement
and success are at the center of all programs and
instruction. Objective 3.2.1 All programs
are organized so that students have
opportunities for challenging courses without
lowering standards. Objective 3.2.2
Processes/infrastructure are in place to help
teachers recognize and accommodate different
learning styles through individual assessment
and differentiated instruction. Objective 3.2.3
Procedures and infrastructure are in place to
insure that North Kingstown schools are able to
serve the needs of all children. Objective
3.2.4 Obtain and use input from students,
teachers, and parents on curriculum and
instruction as part of assessment to gather
perspectives on what is working and what is
needed to insure student achievement and
success.
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Strategy 4. Recruiting, Supporting and Retaining
High Quality PersonnelGoal 4.1 All teachers
will receive appropriate professional development
that increases their instructional capacities to
improve student achievement. Objective 4.1.1
Continue to formalize use the use of
professional continuous improvement options as
part of professional development and teacher
evaluation. Objective 4.1.2 Establish processes
to share best practices e.g. Classroom Walk
Throughs.Goal 4.2 Continue to monitor
procedures to insure that School improvement
plans are aligned with the District Strategic
Plan and inform the professional development of
teachers. Objective 4.2.1 Establish procedures
to share school improvement plans, and share
them throughout the district.
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Strategy 5. Using Information for Planning and
AccountabilityGoal 5.1 Timely and appropriate
data from identified sources and systems are used
as a basis for all decisions. Objective 5.1.1
Continue to develop the data system, including
grade level expectations and goals as internal
benchmarks. Use data to inform
instruction. Objective 5.1.2 Identify the next
level of where our schools need to go beyond
maintaining. Do benchmarking identify where we
want to be and what skills/ resources will be
needed. Objective 5.1.3 Communicate with
teachers, students and parents to gather
information for planning. Objective 5.1.4
Document supporting data for decisions and
communicate decisions with key constituents in a
timely manner.
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Strategy 6. Engaging Families and the Community
Goal 6.1 Involve parents meaningfully in their
children's education to improve student
outcomes. Objective 6.1.1 Provide information
and education that encourages parents to become
meaningfully involved. Objective 6.1.2 Develop
a workable model to gather meaningful input and
ideas from key constituents that will contribute
to the good planning and to the success of our
schools.Goal 6.2 The public is well informed
about, and supportive of, the North Kingstown
school system. Objective 6.2.1 Use the available
data and communicate it more effectively to keep
the public well informed. Action 6.2.1.1
Conduct an annual "Year in Review" presentation
for the community. Action 6.2.1.2 Continue to
improve the website to include more relevant
and timely information/ communications.
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Strategy 6. Engaging Families and the Community
(cont.) Action 6.2.1.3 Reformat the mailings
to all taxpayers to make them more "readable"
by the average reader. Action 6.2.1.4 Use
available technology to improve the videotaping
of school committee meetings, to more
accurately show the actual proceedings.Goal
6.3 There are effective communications between
the schools and their constituencies. Objective
6.3.1 Develop and communicate a set of
educational principles to guide decision making
for curriculum and instructional
improvement.. Objective 6.3.2 Develop an
effective two-way communications system that
people come to rely on as the appropriate
vehicle(s) to learn what is going on and to have
appropriate input.
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Strategy 7. Ensuring Safe, Supportive
Environments for StudentsGoal 7.1 Insure
sufficient human resources and adequate physical
infrastructure in all schools to support a safe,
orderly learning environment.Goal 7.2 Continue
with process to develop standardization of
programs and facilities throughout the system.
Objective 7.2.1 Document inequities among
schools, and identify a plan to address
them. Objective 7.2.2 Provide full day
kindergarten services to all students within the
district. Goal 7.3 Implement a three-phased
capital improvement plan for Davisville
Elementary School, Wickford Middle School, Forest
Park Elementary School, and Fishing Cove
Elementary School. Objective 7.3.1 Establish a
building committee to oversee funding /
construction of Wickford Middle School
Modernization. Objective 7.3.2 Continue to
emphasize in the Capital Improvement plan the
need to implement the recommendations of the
RGB report and Modernization Committee.
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Form Your Discussion Group

• Topics
• Groupings
• Rules
• Select a Timer and Reporter
• Hold first Discussion Session

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TOPICS

• 1. Improving Parent and Community Engagement
  (Strategies 5 6)
• 2. Improving Learning and Teaching (Strategies 1,
  3, 4)
• 3. Improving the Adequacy and Equity of Resources
  and the Physical Plant (Strategies 2  7)

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DISCUSSION QUESTIONThree Gold Coins

• If you had three gold coins to spend on your
  Discussion Topic, how would you invest your
  money?
• You may spend you money on any goal, objective,
  or action step.
• Or you may suggest a new idea, write it on your
  sheet, and invest in it.
• Use the Discussion / Tally Sheets provided.

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RULES

• Round Robin format
• 60 Second Rule. Stick to it.
• Listen and learn from each other
• Expect and respect diverse views
• After Round Robin, review expenditures and hold
  discussion on results.
• Prepare most important findings for group report
  no more than three.

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Select Timer and Reporter

• Timer the Enforcer Qualities for the job
  include ability to measure one minute, and
  enjoyment of cutting people off in mid-sentence.
• Reporter the Synthesizer Qualities for this
  job are ability to add single digit numbers, good
  listening skills, and a loud voice for reporting.
• Group the Brain Trust Qualities for this job
  include being able to recognize good ideas, and
  if necessary coming up with your own. And the
  ability to spend gold coins wisely!

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Time for Lunch!
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Back to Work!
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Thank you for being a Valuable Participant in
the Educational Summit

• Have a great day!

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District Planning Groups

• Technology review/update plan
• Web Page improve product
• Communications develop plan
• Key Communicator Network
• Curriculum review cycle
• Guidance review program

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District Planning Groups

• Professional development
• Forums identify and organize a series of
  community forums
• Healthy schools
• School Advisory committee review policy
• WMS Modernization about to start
• School Start time already formed
• Budgt format already formed

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District Planning Committees

• LINKS
• Business Education Partnership
• Child opportunity Zones
• SELAC
• Video and public access

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School Level Planning groups

• School advisory committees
• School improvement teams
• Parent teacher organizations
• Child opportunity Zones
• Parents as Teachers
• LINKS Volunteers