Board of Education Discusses Goals for the 2011-2012 School Year

The discussing goals for the upcoming school year.  

Superintendent Scot Prebles gave a presentation on the board-superintendent work plan process. The district’s administrators set measurable goals for the year, specifics that fit within the board’s overall strategic plan for the district. 

The plans for this year fall under five main categories: communications, continuous improvement plans, professional learning communities, cost savings and negotiations. Each of these categories has a number of more specific goals, and each goal has an action plan with steps for how the district will achieve that. 

For example, under the communications category, the district has a goal to meet expectations on transparency and stakeholder engagement. Prebles said they plan to hold superintendent-community meetings regularly this year.

Much of the discussion focused on the continuous improvement plans and professional learning communities, both initiatives that are being implemented in the district. In the continuous improvement plans, the district will regularly assess and update curriculum, using student data on measures like state tests and other assessments. This helps teachers identify where each student is academically and help him or her move forward. The professional learning communities give teachers the chance to work together in groups on this kind of data and talk about what’s working.  

“We can’t just be about money. We can’t just be about levies … We must educate our children,” Prebles said.

The other goals related to reducing energy consumption in the district and discussing how they want to address the negotiations in the spring. 

The board discussed the goals and how they would help the district. Member Alan Scheufler said it was good to look at the big picture and said he saw the continuous improvement plans and professional learning communities as important steps for the district’s future. 

The board also approved a resolution renewing the district’s membership in the Greater Cleveland Educational Development Center, which Director of Curriculum and Instruction Carla Calevich said is often used for professional development, and Prebles and Board President George J. Balasko took time to thank the community for passing the renewal levy at the beginning of the month.