Councilrockschool District

BLUEPRINT FOR EXCELLENCE!2006-2012 Strategic Alignment Plan

CouncilRockSchool District

30 N. Chancellor Street

Newtown, PA 18940

August 2006

1

BLUEPRINT FOR EXCELLENCE!2006-2012 Strategic Alignment Plan

COUNCILROCKSCHOOL DISTRICT

SCHOOL BOARD

STRATEGIC PLANNING CORE TEAM

Table of Contents

Strategic Plan Checklist

Executive Summary

Making a Difference

Our Goal and Six Yardsticks of Student Success

Our Mission

Where are We Now?

The FOUNDATION Upon Which We Are Building

By The Numbers

Highlights of Current State of Educational Practices

The Design to Strengthen our Foundation

Six High-Leverage Practices

Ensuring Disciplined Implementation and Accountability for Performance

Criteria for Setting Annual Performance Objectives

2006-2007 Performance Objectives & Milestones of Progress

Appendix

District Benchmarks & Academic Standards

Requirements for Graduation

Professional Education Plan Checklist

Induction Plan Checklist

Act 48 Professional Education Plan

New-Teacher Induction Plan

Metrics of Excellence

Strategic Plan Checklist

Chapter 4 - Appendix C

1. A mission statement.

1. A listing of educational and organizational goals as they relate to student achievement and the high school graduation requirements.

1. A description of the academic standards for student achievement.

1. (a) The planned instruction to be offered and the instructional and assessment practices to be used to strive for the academic goals and attain academic standards and the graduation requirements.

1. (b) Procedures for educating all gifted students enrolled in the district.

1. An assessment plan designed to determine the degree to which students are achieving the academic standards. Includes methods and measures to determine achievement, use of information to assist students who have not demonstrated mastery and how information will be made public.

1. A plan for improving students’ achievement, including specific measurable goals for student growth and plans to attain the student achievement goals. Achievement goals demonstrate a connection to the academic standards, including but not limited to annual improvement goals for student scores on State and local assessments.

1. (a) A three-year professional education plan (see Professional Education Plan Checklist).

1. (b) An induction plan (see Induction Plan Checklist).

1. A description of the school’s organization and organizational goals and their relationship to differing student needs within the district/school goals and attainment of the academic standards.

1. A description of the professional personnel, school libraries, classrooms, laboratories and other resources.

1. A description of the process used to develop the strategic plan, including the internal and external needs analysis, process of selecting participants, and list of the people involved in its development.

1. A plan for additional instructional opportunities for students not achieving at the proficient level.

1. Requirements for graduation.

1. Priorities for action and action plans.

1. A signature page showing that the plan was available for public inspection before it was approved, recommended by the CEO, and approved by the School Board.

1

BLUEPRINT FOR EXCELLENCE!2006-2012 Strategic Alignment Plan

Executive Summary

Making a Difference!

In February 2006, the Council Rock School District initiated a strategic planning process to set the broad directions for the district for the next six years (2006-2012). A Strategic Planning Core Team, made up of 38 Council Rock parents, students, community members, teachers, staff, and administrators, met for many months to develop the plan. In addition, a number of “reality check” discussions were held with larger groups of Council Rock stakeholders to elicit their input and feedback.

In Council Rock, we strive to make a difference for our students every school day. This strategic plan reminds us that we all make a difference by striving to provide success for every student every day. The varied parts of our Strategic Plan help us to align our efforts to ensure we are all moving forward to accomplish our mission and goals. We can make a difference not only in our classrooms but by providing efficiency in fiscal operations, by reaching out and engaging our community, and by ensuring that relevant technology remains available to our students and staff. We make a difference by recognizing the talent embedded in our staff – our deep smarts – and by creating professional development opportunities to allow our entire staff to grow. This Strategic Plan recognizes the excellence that is already present in our school district and seeks to expand it. It is our collective commitment to continue our path from good to great.

A disciplined framework for planning is a vital tool for bringing about alignment of people, programs, processes, and resources. The resulting plan offers a coordinated roadmap for continuous improvement of educational practices and student achievement. In its essence, Council Rock’s Strategic Plan shows us how to make a difference for the students and community we serve.

CouncilRockSchool District offers its sincere thanks to Performance Fact, Inc, led by Mr. Mutiu O. Fagbayi (President/CEO), for their work in facilitating our Strategic Planning Process. Full implementation of the 2006-2012 Strategic Plan for Council Rock School District will begin in Fall 2006, following Board approval.

Making a Difference

CouncilRockSchool District’s BLUEPRINT for making a difference for every student every dayconsists of four essential components.

1. A challengingGoal – statements of our highest aspirations for our district, our students and our staff.

1. Six Yardsticks of Student Success– the measures of student progress toward the goal.

1. OurMission– an articulation of our central purpose as an organization; a statement of our “reason for being.”

1. Six High-Leverage Practices – the strategic priorities the district will pursue to achieve our goal. They define the capabilities we need, must develop, and must implement well in order to achieve desired results. The six high-leverage practices are:
2. Excellence in Teaching & Learning;
3. Culture of Continuous Professional Learning;
4. Leadership for Results;
5. Engaging the Community;
6. Facilities & Financial Resources; and
7. Educational & Informational Technology

Together, these four essential componentsproduce a Blueprint for Excellence that is responsive and accountable to the community’s expectations.

This 6-year strategic plan has been fitted to the needs of the community and the students it serves,while keeping in sight the challenges that lay ahead. When fully implemented the plan will strengthen the performance outcomes for every student, teacher, administrator, and staff member at all levels of our school system. It will position Council Rock as a premier school district in the country.

Our Goal and Six Yardsticks of Student Success

CouncilRockSchool District’s Goal is about excellence:

• Excellence in learning and achievement for every student;
• Excellence in our collective performance as a school district.

The goal gives meaning and direction to the work of the district, informs the selection of educational programs, and guides the allocation of resources in purposeful ways. The goal is a statement of our collective commitment to our students and our community.

Successful accomplishment of CouncilSchool District’s goal for student learning and achievement requires paying regular attention to student progress toward that goal. Thus, Council Rock has articulated Six Yardsticks of Student Success that function as the “vital few” indicators and measures of student progress. These yardsticks enable us to continually monitor student growth and development, so that we can intervene in a timely manner, provide extra support when needed, or adjust our educational practices to be more responsive to student needs.

The Six Yardsticks of Student Success provide multiple measures of student progress that address social-emotional and cognitive development. Each yardstick has at least one or more clearly measurable data points, also known as “Metrics of Excellence,” which will be closely monitored throughout the year.

As a collective, the yardsticks provide a gauge of “health and wellness” of our students at any point in time.

• We will assess how well our students are doing in core subjects such as English, mathematics, science, and social studies.
• We will pay attention to how regularly our students come to school.
• We will listen to what our students think about and how they feel in their learning environments.
• We will examine how well our students acquire skills that will guide them through life.
• We will measure student growth related to participation in co-curricular activities.
• Finally, we will want to know how successfully our students are making their transitions: from one grade to the next and from elementary to middle to high school to post-secondary education.

These six yardsticks will enable us to set annual student achievement improvement targets, make informed decisions about resource allocations, make midcourse adjustments, and hold ourselves accountable for results.

Our Mission

If the fundamental aim of our public schools is to nurture the full potential in every student, then the core purpose of CouncilRockSchool District must be to create and sustain a culture where the life-long process of learning can thrive.

Council Rock’s mission statement is a declaration of the district’s essential purpose – its reason for being. It articulates why we exist as a school system and it gives shared meaning to the work of everyone within the district. It is a declarative statement of “what we have come together to experience and to accomplish.”

Therefore, everything we must do – including how we treat and relate to each other – must be consistent with this mission.

Where are We Now?

The FOUNDATION Upon Which We Are Building

This section provides a two-part overview of the current state within CouncilRockSchool District.

The first part contains a profile of student learning and achievement in CouncilRockSchool Districtbetween 2001 and 2006. Specifically, it highlights results based on the Pennsylvania System of School Assessment (PSSA) administered annually to students. In addition, it includes school Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) status, attendance and graduation rate, college prep statistics via the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT), as well as district, staff, and community demographics.

The second part provides highlights of the current state of educational programs and practices within the district, organized according to our Six High-leverage Practices.

Analysis of student achievement data, coupled with deeper analysis of educational practices, lays the foundationfor designing CouncilRockSchool District’sBlueprint for Excellence!
By The Numbers– A Profile of Student Achievement & Demographic Data for CouncilRockSchool District (2001-2006)

5-Year Trend of PSSA Math & Reading Results

PSSA District Rankings (2003-2005)

READING

MATHEMATICS

Student Achievement

(Comparison to State & County)

Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)

(“Yes” indicates AYP was achieved)

Yes: All ANNUAL YEARLY PROGRESS (AYP) goals have been achieved

1: Warning - One or more AYP goals not met; requires effort to improve, no state or federal consequences

2: School Improvement I - One or more AYP goals not met for two years in a row; requires schoolchoice, school assistance teams, and a specific plan for improvement.

3: School Improvement II - One or more AYP goals not met for three years in a row; requires same asSI I, plus supplemental services such as tutoring.

4: Corrective Action I - One or more AYP goals not met for four years in a row; requires same as SI I &II plus significant changes in leadership, curriculum, professional development or other strategies.

5: Corrective Action II - One or more AYP goals not met for five years in a row, requires same as CA I,plus significant changes in governance such as reconstitution, chartering, or privatization.

Attendance/Graduation Rate (2002-2005)

CRSDCollege Prep Statistics - SAT

(Comparison to State & Nation)

Council Rock Community Demographics

(Comparison to State)

District Staff Demographics (2005-2006)

Highlights of CurrentState of Educational Practices

Regarding Excellence in Teaching & Learning