Wednesday, August 29, 2012

Goals for the 2012-2013 School Year

Each year we ask each member of our professional staff to consider goals that will enrich their career and improve the school experience for our students. Goals may be in an area of interest to the faculty member or a specific teaching strategy they would like to explore in the classroom. In some instances, a goal area may be directed by a supervisor that asks the employee to consider an area that may need focus or attention in their practice. In my case, I write goals with the input and consideration of the Board of Directors. These goal statements are written over the summer and shared with the board for input and discussion over the course of two months. The board adopted these goals at our meeting on Monday night. 

When goals are written, they must be what we call SMART Goals. Those are goals that are strategic and specific, measurable, attainable, results oriented, and time bound. In my case, I am taking this one step further by sharing these goals with you. So, when you see me around town or in the district don't be afraid to ask how I am doing on my goals.

Goal #1 – Instructional Program (Standard 2):  Meet or exceed the Annual Progress Goals established by the Board at their August, 2012 Board Meeting.

Explanation:  The Board has an expectation that the Annual Progress Goals, recommended by the SIAC and approved by the Board in August of 2012, will be met or exceeded.  These goals are to increase the percentage of students who meet targeted growth in the areas of Math, Reading, Science, and Language Arts.

Action Steps:
1.  Staff and Administration will engage in the Professional Learning Communities at work model.  By the end of the school year, each PLC group will have completely gone through the entire PLC process, answering the four key questions. In grades 7-12 the focus will be in content areas whereas grades K-6 will focus on math.
a.   Faculty that attended the PLC conference in St. Louis will serve as the professional development team for the 2012-2013 school year.  This team will meet one time per month to evaluate the progress of PLC work and to solve problems as they occur.
b.   An additional group of teachers and at least one administrator will be recruited to attend the PLC conference in St. Louis during the summer of 2013.
2.    During PLC meetings, time will also be devoted to reviewing the characteristics of effective instruction and ensuring these characteristics are being implemented in each classroom.
3.    Academic achievement goals will be posted in each instructional space.  Administration will review goals periodically with faculty during grade level meetings and discern progress on the goals.
4.    By the end of the academic year, the district will be positioned to make an informed decision regarding the relevance and necessity of purchasing a comprehensive district wide math curriculum.
5.  All teacher professional development will have a direct relationship to the PLC implementation process.
6.       Faculty will continue to utilize and align curriculum with the I-CAT tool.

Goal #2 – Develop a Vision for Learning that is Shared and Supported by Others (Standard 1); Respond to Diverse Community Interests and needs, mobilize community Resources (Standard 4): 

Explanation:  This is the Hudson Community School District.  As such, the community should have an opportunity to help shape the vision on the district and provide input when it is relevant to do so. By creating a spirit of collaboration and cooperation, the district will be able to accomplish more than they would without community support.

Action Steps:
1.   The Superintendent will engage stakeholders in a visioning process beginning in September with a goal of completing a strategic plan through 2020.  A draft of the plan will be available to the Board of Directors for the April 22nd meeting.
a.      The SIAC membership will serve as the governing stakeholder group for the visioning process.
b.   SIAC will meet on a more consistent and regular basis with a clearly defined agenda with goals and objectives.
2.       The Superintendent will continue to blog weekly and post regular updates to twitter.  Additionally, a new website was launched on July 1st that is dynamic and rich in content.  This website will be continually maintained and updated by a variety of users.
3.    The Superintendent will host a monthly breakfast meeting at the AMVETS hall prior to each monthly board meeting in an effort to discuss topics of interest and gauge community interest in school topics.  Citizens will be encouraged to ask questions and provide feedback regarding issues related to the school district.

Goal #3 – Finance (Standard 3): Continue to improve the financial position of the Hudson Community School District in Regard to All Key Financial Indicators.

Explanation:  The final determination of the unspent balance figure for Fiscal Year 2011 is still unknown.  However, the Board has the goal of continuing to advance unspent balance to the level set on January 19th, 2009 ($550,000), and then preserving that balance within a range of $50,000 through FY14, and feels that with careful overview of District revenue and expenses this goal is challenging, yet attainable.

Action Steps:
1.    The Superintendent will provide to the Board a projected USB once the district audit and CAR is filed.
2.  The Superintendent will continue to oversee all purchases and expenses incurred by the district, finding efficiencies where possible while not impacting the District’s educational integrity.
3.      The Superintendent will prepare a line item budget for FY13 in conjunction with the financial audit, and will use that line item budget as a tool in which to look for additional financial efficiencies.
4.    The Superintendent will complete an energy/maintenance audit in conjunction with FBG and present findings to the board for review.  This audit will contain valuable data to be used in making decisions in regard to future energy projects with an aim of improving efficiencies.  Additional data will be provided that will enable the district to make informed decisions about the staffing of the maintenance and custodial departments.


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