Superintendent’s Action Plan

Goal 1: Communication.  Effectively, honestly, and respectfully communicate with and listen to all district constituents, to openly address concerns, improve district culture and reach district goals. Promote the same by administration and staff toward students, parents, staff, administration, the Board, and various community members.

Group

Action Steps

Measurement

Students

• Utilize Superintendent’s Roundtable to communicate with representatives of the FCSD JR/SR High School student body.
•  Set guidelines for administrative team to communicate effectively with student and highlight student accomplishments. These guidelines will be set through written goals by each administrator.
• Include student representatives, where appropriate, on FCSD committees (CEP, BLT, Wellness, etc.).
• The Superintendent will also continue with a student group called the Superintendent’s Liaison Committee which is made up of various students, representing various groups, who are randomly chosen to meet throughout the school year to discuss issues on the minds of students.

A second administration of the Effective Schools Survey will be administered to all students in grades 4-12 before the end of the school year to determine the degree to which the school district has: communicated effectively; listened; addressed concerns; improved district culture and moved forward in completing goals. This survey will be measured against the results from the 2006-07 survey.

Parents

• Superintendent and administrative team will continue to be active participants in PTA/PTO meetings and activities.
• Include parent representatives, where appropriate, on FCSD committees (CEP, BLT, Wellness, etc.).
• Continue to work with parents in the community through community meetings.
• The Superintendent will also work with the Board of Education to put together one or more “Town Meeting” type events for the school community. These meetings will take place throughout the year through the direction of the Board of Education.

A second administration of the Effective Schools Survey will be administered to all parents in grades Pre-K-12 before the end of the school year to determine the degree to which the school district has: communicated effectively; listened; addressed concerns; improved district culture and moved forward in completing goals.  This survey will be measured against the results from the 2006-07 survey.

Teachers

• Written and verbal communication between the Superintendent and teachers will continue to be regular and timely.  Emphasis will be given to our efforts to improve instruction.
• Regular communication with leaders of the Fallsburg Teacher’s Association will continue to occur at the district and building levels.
• Teachers will continue to be included, where appropriate, on all district committees.
• The Superintendent will also work with the Board of Education to put together one or more “Town Meeting” type events for the school community. These meetings will take place throughout the year through the direction of the Board of Education.

A second administration of the Effective Schools Survey will be administered to all staff members before the end of the school year to determine the degree to which the school district has: communicated effectively; listened; addressed concerns; improved district culture and moved forward in completing goals. This survey will be measured against the results from the 2006-07 survey.

Administrators

• Written and verbal communication between the Superintendent and administrators will continue to be regular and timely. Monthly administrative council meetings will continue to be held.
• Administrators will continue to read, analyze and discuss the text, The Skillful Teacher, to assist in the implementation of Professional Learning Teams. The principals will introduce this book to faculties in both buildings as a teaching tool.
• Administrative team will continue to regularly review and critique our written and verbal communications.
• All administrators will schedule short “walk-throughs,” on a regular and revolving basis, so that they are highly visible throughout the school year to staff members.  The administrators will use these scheduled walk-throughs to get a better handle on what kinds of academic things are taking place in the classroom.

A second administration of the Effective Schools Survey will be administered to all administrators before the end of the school year to determine the degree to which the school district has: communicated effectively; listened; addressed concerns; improved district culture and moved forward in completing goals. This survey will be measured against the results from the 2006-07 survey.

Community

• Continue to meet with key community leaders at the local and state levels.
• Continue to offer to meet with formal and informal community groups to discuss activities and programs of  FCSD
• Continue, during the budget season, to schedule meetings with community members to discuss the proposed 2008-09 school budget.

This goal will be ongoing and be measured during and after the 2008-09 budget planning process.

Stakeholder attendance at various Board meetings and workshops.

Goal 2: Teamwork.  Develop positive and supportive relationships in which all staff can grow professionally and work together. Develop, through the leadership of the Superintendent, all staff members as critical players who truly work together to exchange ideas and to have a voice in school improvement at all levels. All staff need to become involved because they are valued members of the school district.

Group

Action Step

Measurement

Administrators

Administrators will read, analyze and discuss the text of The Skillful Teacher, to assist in the implementation of Professional Learning Teams as well as to roll out the book to all staff members during the 2007-08 school year.  This activity will serve as a team building activity for administrators and as an educational tool for teachers.

Administrators will utilize the recommended behaviors in the text when developing Professional Learning Teams.  The administrators will also plan group activities, using the text, throughout the year.

Teachers

Administrators, Teachers, Support Staff, Students, and Parents

Staff members will continue to plan, establish and participate in Professional Learning Teams.

A CEP Planning team will continue working on the plan that they began working on in January of this year.  The CEP team will include representation from all groups in the FCSD.

Continue to monitor alignment between the work of the CEP Team and the Building Leadership teams that were put back in place last year.

Functioning and productive Professional Learning Teams; samples of minutes, decisions and behaviors.  

The completed and updated CEP plan.

Functioning Building Leadership teams; samples of minutes, decisions, and behaviors.

Teachers and Administrators

Monitoring of the established mentoring program for teachers.  Continued involvement of teachers and administrators in the planning and oversight of the mentoring program.

Periodic reports to BOE on activities and outcomes by the Mentor Coordinators.

Goal 3: Academics.  Improve student performance K-12 in all core academic areas for all children. Improvement areas include local and state assessments, analytical and writing skills, number of students continuing to university education, level of university attended, and level of technical training. Core academic areas include math, social studies, English language arts and science.

            Carry out staff development that supports district goals and our Comprehensive District Education Plan (CDEP). Staff is to be included in the development and planning of improved educational programs.

            This goal is considered critical to the school’s academic standing, and more importantly, to its mission of preparing our students for life.

Group

Action Step

Measurement

CEP Team

Analyze all district learning results and ancillary data and establish multi-year targets for improvement with the CEP plan.

Baseline data will be identified in each area and multi-year results will be recorded and analyzed as they occur.  The results will be compared to targets set by the CEP team and the Professional Learning Teams.

Administration and staff

Continue staff development to support academic improvement through the Professional Learning Teams.

Reports to the Board on the progress of the PLT’s, throughout the school year.

Goals required annually of all professional staff.  Goals will consist of two data goals and one technology goal.

Research Writing Projects will be due annually at grades 5, 7, 9 and 11.

Writing samples will be due from all students in grades 1-12, three times a year.

A current and relevant Comprehensive Education Plan will be completed.  The plan will be assessed for its relationship to academic improvement targets.

Goals will be submitted by teachers after they have had a chance to work on goal-setting during PLT training.  Beginning in September 2008, goals will be submitted by all professional staff at the start of the school year.

Staff will get training in PLT workshops so that the research writing requirement can be in place at the beginning of the 2008-09 school year.

Staff will receive training in PLT workshops so that the writing sample requirement can be in place at the beginning of the 2008-09 school year.

Administration and staff

Data on student learning, and student behavior will continue to inform all decision making.  Data analysis will become a district-wide practice.

Special attention will be paid to our graduation rates as well as to students who go on to higher education, the military, trade schools and/or the world of work

The Board of Education will be presented with plans and recommendations accompanied by the data to support them.  Data sources will include but not be limited to the following:  State and local assessments, BEDS report, the annual School Report Card, demographic data, enrollment data, participation data, student, staff, parent and community surveys.

The School Report Card warehouses graduation rate and completer information.

Goal 4: Board of Education. 

• Maintain a unified Board of Education and the highest levels of professional conduct. Keep strict confidence of executive session discussions, pursuant to Education Law.
• Bring questions or concerns to the attention of the superintendent.  The superintendent will investigate and report to the Board on issues brought to the attention of the Board and/or the Superintendent.
• Work as a team when communicating with the public. Remember that no single Board member speaks for the Board as a whole, with the exception of the Board President, and only as authorized by the Board. 

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Group

Action Step

Measurement

Board of Education

Keep focus on the goals of the FCSD through regular reports to the BOE related to Goals/Action Steps.

Conduct mid-year and end of year reviews of status of Goals/Action Plan.

Keep BOE informed of activities through timely e-mails and regular reports on activities

Schedule of reports accepted by the BOE and presentations made throughout the year.

Brief written summary:

What is going well?

Where are the problems?

What changes need to be made?

E-mails and completed reports will serve as documentation.

Goal 5: Buildings and Grounds. Develop a working system of oversight and accountability in maintenance of all buildings and grounds. Achieve timely preventative maintenance throughout the physical plant through careful assessment and planning. Improve appearance of grounds and buildings to develop community pride.

Group

Action Step

Measurement

Maintenance and custodial staff

Building Condition Survey will be reviewed and utilized as resource guide for improvement actions.

Annual Board of Education facilities walk-through.

Supervisor of Buildings and Grounds will prepare and begin to implement a plan to monitor and improve building conditions.

Supervisor of Buildings and Grounds will give monthly building condition updates to the BOE and Administrative team.

Superintendent will work with Supervisor of Buildings and Grounds to create long range plan for facilities improvement.

An updated Building Condition Survey.

Plan prepared and accepted by Superintendent and BOE.

Acceptance of Monthly reports by BOE.

Long Range Plan accepted by BOE.