Goals for This Presentation

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(No Transcript)
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Goals for This Presentation

• Share the three school mission statements.
• Report on our strengths.
• Discuss the interview/analysis process.
• Share community feedback on challenges and
  opportunities.
• Revisit how we started this year.
• Discuss next steps.

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Muddy Brook Mission

• Children will, as a result of their time at Muddy
  Brook Elementary School
• Approach life and future challenges with joyful
  curiosity and the skills to succeed.
• Ask good questions, seriously consider big ideas,
  and effectively communicate their thinking.
• Develop knowledge of their strengths and
  challenges that will lead to a strong sense of
  self and increased confidence.
• Care for and respect themselves and each other,
  and connect with their community.
• Relish learning from differences and embrace
  diversity.

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Monument Valley Mission (DRAFT)

• In cooperation with parents and the community,
  the Monument Valley Regional Middle School will
  provide all students a safe environment in which
• Personal and academic excellence is promoted and
  celebrated.
• All people value respect and responsibility.
• A spirit of inquiry is recognized and fostered.
• An enthusiasm for life-long learning is
  instilled.

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Monument Mountain Regional High School Mission
Monument Mountain Mission
The Monument Mountain Regional High School
Community creates opportunities that foster
intellectual and personal growth and challenge
all to become courageous learners, engaged
citizens and individuals of integrity.

• The Monument Mountain
• Regional High School Community creates
• opportunities that foster
• intellectual and personal growth
• and challenge all to become
• courageous learners,
• engaged citizens and
• individuals of integrity.

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Our Strengths

• A few highlights
• NAEYC -- Relationships, Assessments
• NELMS -- Care, Range of Exploratory Offerings
• Art, Music, Social Studies
• WISE Projects and Project Sprout
• Graduation Rates
• College Preparation including 21 AP Scholars
• College Acceptances

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Interview Process

• Interviewed 150 plus people (represents a
  significant percentage of our school community)
  including a wide range of stakeholders.
• Asked 3 Questions
• What are the biggest challenges the organization
  is facing (or will face) in the near future?
• What are the most promising unexploited
  opportunities for growth?
• If you were me, what would you focus attention
  on?

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Interview Process (continued)

• I looked at responses in aggregate and particular
  themes emerged in these areas
• Vision
• Student Learning
• Resource Allocation
• Communication and Collaboration
• Society

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Vision

• Challenges
• Visibility of Superintendent.
• Lack of vision as a district.
• Lack of a plan.
• Narrow focus reinforced by emphasis on high
  stakes accountability.
• How we define success (how its defined for us)?
• What do we mean by thoughtful assessment and
  rigor?
• Competing priorities and doing too much.
• Lack of leadership opportunities for both adults
  and young people.
• What are our expectations for the underserved?
  (Quiet students as well as those who havent
  reached their potential?)

• Opportunities
• Be visible in my role.
• Articulate a bold vision.
• Make decisions that are good for students first
  and adults second (these dont need to be
  mutually exclusive).
• Redefine success (in spheres and how we measure
  it).
• Focus on an unrelenting commitment to success for
  all students and all staff.
• Foster leadership opportunities for both young
  people and adults.
• Take true advantage of our sacred professional
  development time.
• Push connectedness across schools and
  communities.

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Student Learning

• Challenges
• For too many students school is boring.
• What are we doing about engagement?
• What range of instructional strategies are we
  using?
• Not enough inquiry, hands on work and work
  connected to the outside.
• Why are we struggling more in math, writing,
  science, health?
• Why is the middle school predominantly seen as
  controlling and also seen by a few as well
  structured?
• Making better connections between data and
  teaching.
• What are our expectations for the underserved?
  (Quiet students as well as those who havent
  reached their potential?)

• Opportunities
• Excite and engage students in learning.
• Focus on problem solving.
• Embed learning outside of school in nature, in
  communities and with partners.
• Rethink opportunities for CTVE and internships.
• Make better connections among multiple types of
  data, learning and teaching.
• Rethink our range of instructional strategies
  including student support.
• Focus for the moment on math, writing, science,
  health.
• Focus on k-12 curriculum.
• Ensure that the middle school experience is seen
  as engaging, verdant and empowering.
• Challenge our collective expectations and
  approaches to working with the underserved.

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Resource Allocation

• Challenges
• Weak economy and tax fatigue.
• Decreasing enrollment.
• Perception of top heavy/costly positions.
• Push for consolidation.
• Financial impact of charter school.
• Changing Needs
• Physical space particularly Monument
  (renovations, phones and technology)
• Science, Technology and Labs, CVTE.
• Support services.
• Increase in frequency of service and special
  education costs.
• Access after school buses, class size,
  alternative programs, advanced programs.
• Changes in leadership.

• Opportunities
• Largely were stuck with the reality of financial
  uncertainty.
• Consider the following possibilities
• Add a new K section and maintain class size.
• Work to generate other income.
• Demonstrate success in roles.
• Collaborate additionally to increase opportunity
  and potentially realize savings.
• Learn from the charter proposal. What are we
  doing already? Incorporate parts of their plan
  into our work (be political).
• Changing Needs
• Revisit how we allocate resources funds, space
  and time in support of our goals.
• We need to carefully look at which roles have
  what impact and what we value in terms of cost,
  staffing, time and talent as well as the role of
  ancillary positions.
• Work to distribute leadership while building
  leadership internally.

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Resource Allocation (continued)

• Challenges
• Current Resource Allocation
• Schedule and time.
• Staff use and the role of ancillary positions.
• After school.
• Competing priorities (arts, sports, science, etc
  as well as a wide range of programs).
• Food services and transportation.

• Opportunities
• Future Resource Allocation
• Rework how we use time.
• Rethink roles.
• Shift from a culture of advocacy for individual
  programs to one of problem solving for all
  students.
• Work to improve offerings, including additional
  healthy choices, and realize efficiencies.

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Communication and Collaboration

• Challenges
• Credibility.
• Transparency.
• Perception of schools and district internally and
  externally.
• Internally issues with respect and trust,
  transitions between schools, curriculum.
• At the HS we had a lot of conflict, MS is seen as
  un-engaging, ES is in transition.
• Externally issues with the lack of visibility of
  work in schools and being disconnected from parts
  of our communities (seniors and second home
  owners).
• Role clarification SC, Supt, Dept chairs/dept
  liaison, teachers and staff, students and
  families.
• Develop better connections outside of schools to
  the environment and cultural institutions.

• Opportunities
• Be clear and transparent.
• Be explicit about the work in schools.
• Ensure that each student is well known by
  multiple adults.
• Ensure that adults are collectively responsible
  for small groups of students.
• Make schools more community oriented.
• Redefine existing roles (Role clarification SC,
  Supt, Dept chairs/dept liaison, students and
  families).
• Looks past building to campus, past campus to
  district and community, past district to
  collaborating districts.
• Look at role of alumni.

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Society

• Challenges
• Our community is changing Longer-term vs.
  shorter-term residents, education levels and
  economics.
• Drugs, alcohol and smoking are significant
  threats.
• Safety and traffic are also concerns.

• Opportunities
• Acknowledge and grow from the changing nature of
  our community.
• Look at ways to holistically address substance
  abuse and disconnects between rhetoric, behavior
  and our responses. This is a community problem
  not just a Monument problem.
• Finally we need to regularly demonstrate the
  value of public schools to our community.

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Guiding Values
Be simple and clear. Do less, more deeply and
effectively. Make our work explicit and
internally consistent. Look carefully at
multiple types of data. Create opportunities to
solve problems together. Develop leadership
widely.  
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District Goals

• Three District goals that are part of your
  on-going work.
• Use technology such as Edline to support growth
  and understanding.
• Plot our course through curriculum work mapping,
  PreK-12 committees, common assessments and
  benchmarks.
• Look carefully at multiple measures of learning
  and assessment data to see if students are
  getting it.

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Our Charge for the Year
How do we know students are getting it?
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Next Steps

• While the formal interview process is done,
  conversations are just starting.
• Each school community will get a set of questions
  to explore in response to the interviews.
• We will craft coherent and living plans to make
  decisions instructionally, administratively and
  financially as well as to evaluate our progress.
  Id like volunteers to respond to plans crafted
  within existing structures as well as to
  participate in short-term working groups.
• These plans will be finalized no later than
  December 15th and ideally earlier. They will
  start at the District level and reach each
  employee, student and family.

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Next Steps (continued)
Vision, Resource Allocation, Communication and
Collaboration (School Committee, Superintendent,
Administrative Team with feedback from all)
Student Learning Superintendent, Administrative
Team, Curriculum Committee, Department Chairs and
Liaisons, Students and Alumni
Society (All plus families and partners
(Fairview, RSYP, Rockwell, BTF, etc.)
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Next Steps (continued)

• Short-term working groups will craft the
  following
• Community engagement plans.
• Media plans.
• Promotional materials, as well as, website
  feedback.
• Expanding partnerships, including CVTE
  opportunities.
• Structures to organize our alumni.

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Questions

• Now
• At Schools
• At Next School Committee Meeting