Superintendent's report out

I post here our report from Superintendent Boone on her goals and objectives for this school year. It is on this that the School Committee will be evaluating her next Thursday. As I've said before, I welcome your input.

Overarching focus:  To move Worcester Public Schools from a compliance-based system to performance/results based system.

GOAL: Develop and ensure effective district governance through positive school committee-superintendent relations 

• Objective:  To establish the Committee and Superintendent as a cohesive leadership team with a student-centered agenda and begin to build positive working relationship with School Committee members

• Accomplishments:

• Planned, with the Mayor, a school committee/superintendent retreat facilitated by MASC, as an opportunity to improve relationships supporting district improvement (September 2010)

• Partnered with the School Committee to build consensus around innovations that will move WPS closer to meeting the WPS Compact and valuing community priorities and interests
• Adoption of Innovation School process to include the School Committee and resulted in unanimous support by the School Committee
• Developed budget aligned with framework of priorities of School Committee and community
• Secured language changes to advance professional practice and expectations in new teachers contract

• Garner information from the School Committee to inform decision-making and problem-solving; examples:
• Level 4 Schools
• Innovation Schools
• Race to the Top Priorities
• School Redesign Grant

• Focus on two-way communication
• Invited each member to meet regularly
• Met regularly with individual School Committee members
• Conducted individual budget related meetings

GOAL: Increase organizational effectiveness and efficiency

• Objective:  To align the district’s human capital to achieve focus on supporting schools to improve student achievement

• Accomplishments:

• Built consensus around innovations that compensate for budget shortfalls and support continued improvement in increasing student results
• Restructured alternative education to create Challenge and Reach Academies, creating a seamless grade 7-12 service delivery system

• Provided leadership with Level 4 schools that resulted in JRC decisions leading to increased collaborative planning and professional development at those schools

• Developed successful District Redesign and Level 4 school redesign plans

• Secured School Redesign Grant Funds to support Level 4 schools

• Secured Race to the Top Funding to accelerate districtwide school improvement and innovation efforts

• Focused on leadership development with principals through implementation of PLAN meetings for principals

• Conducted Special Education Review; action plan under development

• Continued development of and implementation of comprehensive Environmental Management System, in response to settlement agreement with the state’s Attorney General

• Objective:  To develop a budget that reflects the district’s alignment to a focus on student achievement and serves to address both quality teaching and learning along with the community’s values in education

• Accomplishments:

• Continued with zero-based budgeting process that resulted in the second budget recommended to School Committee that preserves core instruction programs and services while repositioning the district’s finances to accommodate for loss of stimulus funding

• Engaged in Six-Prong Communication Plan to garner input from students, parents, teachers, principals, community partners, and business community on budget priorities to advance student achievement, 21^st century educational opportunities, and to meet the goals of the WPS Compact

• Realized additional savings and efficiencies to allow for reprogramming of funds to support teaching, learning and student achievement and to offset budget deficit

• Continued utilizing the district leadership team (LEAP) as core budget team to analyze current resource alignment and recommend future adjustments to address goals of student achievement

• Secured $15 million in competitive grant funds over the past two years to support the district’s drive to become a performance based organization (including grants for teaching and learning, child nutrition, etc.

GOAL: Increase student achievement for all students while simultaneously closing the achievement gap 

• Objective:  To continue to focus on a common framework for continuous improvement resulting in the reduction of the number of schools not meeting state and federal expectation

• Accomplishments:

• Implemented district’s Comprehensive Accountability System, resulting in a highly efficient and effective manner of school and department improvement planning

• Implemented High Quality Teaching & Learning Framework

• Eight WPS identified as “Commended Schools” due to their achievement in narrowing proficiency gaps, exiting 2009 AYP Accountability Status, and/or high growth

• Achieved a 1.3% decrease in the annual high school dropout rate

• Experienced double digit gains in Grade 3 Reading on MCAS; continued trends in increasing the rates of proficient in ELA and Math

• Piloted FastForword across the K-12 spectrum

• Scheduled school visits (through Focus on Results partnership) to support school-to-school learning network around best practices

• Increased the number of teachers with SEI training

• Realigned delivery of ELL support services to ensure access to high quality standards

• Achieved LEP performance that exceeded the state outcomes

• Developed school turnaround plans for the Level 4 schools that were approved by the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education

• Implemented process for establishing and approving Innovation Schools, as aspect of the Act Relative to the Achievement Gap

• Partnered with the Promise Neighborhood initiative to fully engage the Main South Community in healthy schools and neighborhoods

• Served on the Mayor’s Latino Education Commission

GOAL: Improve public trust, commitment, and confidence through open, honest communication and responsive corrective action to identified obstacles to improving student achievement and the conditions of teaching and learning

• Objective:  To establish collaborative relationships and partnerships to garner understanding of and support for district efforts to improve student achievement

• Accomplishments:

• Presented first annual State of the Schools message, sponsored by the Worcester Education Collaborative, September 2010

• Engaged in Six-Prong Communication Plan to garner input from students, parents, teachers, principals, community partners, and business community on budget priorities to advance student achievement, 21^st century educational opportunities, and to meet the goals of the WPS Compact
• Received approximately 1000 parent responses through process facilitated by CPPAC in support of the Six-Prong Communication Plan

• Convened second Community Partners Summit, engaging community organizations, faith based partners, realtors, higher education, etc., in Six-Prong Communication Plan

• Reduced the number of mediation requests to DESE related to Special Education

• Demonstrated leadership at the local and state levels through participation on the Governor’s STEM Advisory Executive Committee; Tri-chair of the Urban Superintendent’s Network; Early Education and Care Data Advisory Team; Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiatives Team

• Established a Innovation School Process to include a local partnership group, mirroring the Level 4 Stakeholder Group

• Supported customer service delivery improvements at central office and the schools

• Participated on numerous boards including United Way of Central Mass, Central Mass Workforce Investment Board, Pioneering Healthier Communities Leadership Team, UMASS Memorial Health Care Community Benefits Advisory Group

• Presented at numerous events across the city and state promoting public education and the accomplishments of WPS

• Initiated parent, student, teacher perception surveys (administration to continue through early summer 2011)

• Advanced new policies for implementing social networking and other communication technologies

• Instituted “Media Alerts” to engage public with district strategies and focus

• Appeared on the Jordan Levy Show, Channel 3 program on bullying prevention, met with the Editorial Board of the Telegram & Gazette     

GOAL: Establish a supportive, positive and effective district climate and culture singularly focused on the improvement of student achievement, using a continuous improvement model 

• Objective:  To design a comprehensive accountability system for Worcester Public Schools linking all district practices to student achievement

• Accomplishments:

• Implemented the Comprehensive Accountability System to drive improved district teaching and learning and school/department performance (first district Performance Report to be released in the fall of 2011)

• Implemented Focused Instructional Coaches to support and ensure instructional improvement at all elementary and middle schools; will be expanded to high schools in 2011-12
  

• Implemented student, faculty and parent surveys via the Office of Research and Accountability

• Continued focusing on district leadership through the LEAP team and developing as a professional learning community studying best practices in leadership
  

NOTE:  These goals represent long-term, ongoing areas of focus throughout my tenure.  I will continue to address actions to improve and advance student achievement, communications, community engagement and strong fiscal and organizational operations.