TRAVELS, REFLECTIONS AND NEXT STEPS Dr. Amy E. Cashwell, - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation
TRAVELS, REFLECTIONS AND NEXT STEPS Dr. Amy E. Cashwell, Superintendent | Henrico County Public Schools December 13, 2018 AMYS Traveling Henrico County PASSPORT Reflections Recommendations and Next Steps REFLECTIONS Safety
December 13, 2018
STRENGTHS
Maintaining safe buildings, grounds and
protocols as indicated by annual school audits.
Safety practices reviewed and updated,
and drills performed regularly.
Investment in facility maintenance using
meals tax dollars to provide buildings that are safe and conducive to learning. OPPORTUNITIES
Increase wellness programming for students to more
fully cover Virginia Department of Education health and physical education standards.
Expand opioid and other drug awareness programs to
more adequately meet mental health needs for students.
Ensure equity regarding disciplinary consequences.
STRENGTHS
Community largely views Henrico
County’s academic program as rigorous and of high quality.
Continued gains on Standards of
Learning assessments.
Number of state-accredited schools
at six-year high.
OPPORTUNITIES
Ensure that each school examines data for achievement
gaps and has an actionable plan to address those gaps.
Implement research-based practices to close
achievement gaps, with an increased emphasis on strategies that benefit students living in poverty, African American males and students with disabilities.
Redesign curricula to align with Henrico Learner Profile
and the Deeper Learning model, using embedded resources and materials for teachers.
STRENGTHS
Creation of Office of Equity and Diversity. Formation of Equity and Diversity Advisory
Committee.
Early equity initiatives to increase
teacher and student access to culturally relevant literature for embedding in their current curriculum.
OPPORTUNITIES
Increased focus on ensuring that school building leaders,
students and staff members are culturally responsive.
Design a systemic staff training resource related to
cultural competence, cultural responsiveness, bias and equity.
Design a plan to support the access and achievement of
underrepresented student groups in higher level courses.
STRENGTHS
Strong collaboration with the county
manager and government agencies.
Regular parent and family
engagement workshops.
Large numbers of parents report
school staff to be caring and nurturing. OPPORTUNITIES
Increase opportunities for strong, trusting relationships with school staff members, particularly with marginalized families.
Create ways for students in the disciplinary process to restore relationships with teachers and students. Strengthening relationships addresses the root of many disciplinary incidents, decreasing the chance that incidents will recur.
Strengthen avenues for student support by enhancing our focus and re-examining the ways we serve students and families through the McKinney-Vento Homeless Assistance Act and enrollment variances.
RECOMMENDATIONS AND NEXT STEPS
Teaching and Learning Safety and Student
Support Systems
Equity and Diversity Organizational Efficiency Financial Planning
Revisit the division’s literacy plan, and ensure that schools
have the tools, resources and staffing for struggling readers to receive appropriate intervention and instruction.
Staff elementary and middle schools with a reading
teacher who possesses expertise in teaching reading (a specialization/master’s degree in reading) to serve as the school’s literacy leader to coach and model literacy strategies for teachers, and to work directly with students.
Develop a plan to ensure a robust library of guided
reading materials at the elementary and middle school levels to meet a wide range of reading levels.
Determine a model to capture parent input and suggestions
related to the Individualized Education Program (IEP) meeting process and re-examine IEP meeting protocols to ensure that all meeting attendees are valued members of the team.
Develop a multi-year plan with clearly stated desired goals
and outcomes that will address the recommendations from 2018’s independent special education review.
Develop a plan for key staff in all schools to participate in
professional development on conflict management and relationship restoration.
Implement an annual school climate survey to include
components that relate to student, staff and parent perceptions on safety, equity and inclusiveness.
Ensure curricula are relevant, authentic and provide
resources that promote multicultural awareness.
Require training for all staff, delivered online annually, that
covers cultural sensitivity and implicit and explicit bias. This would be tracked by site supervisors and school division leadership.
Create a mechanism for community stakeholders to
easily understand the division’s work toward meeting the strategic goals outlined in the division’s strategic plan. Communicate measures and progress on attaining those goals.
Develop a comprehensive approach to teacher retention
that includes: personalized/differentiated pathways for teacher professional development and increased classroom support systems.
Examine and create a stronger structure for school
improvement.
Develop a financial plan that eliminates student laptop fees
and other instructional fees for items and materials essential to course participation in core academic programming.
Restore prerecession funding levels that more accurately
meet the division’s needs for textbooks, instructional materials and digital resources to ensure equitable access to resources across all schools.
Eliminate the burden and reliance on PTAs and other
fundraising efforts to provide schools with access to basic instructional resources.