School districts set goals for a variety of reasons - the best being to use the process to align the interests of many stakeholders, and to put a plan in place for how to attain those goals. Orinda used to have a strategic plan using the
Baldridge Improvement Process.
Several of the top 10 districts in California have developed strategic plans including Mill Valley and Moraga. Mill Valley's strategic plan involved 1,000 stakeholders over several months, and produced a document that puts students and their teachers first. Their plan is regularly updated. You can see it
here.
Our process and draft goals follow.
The Process:
OUSD Goals were written first with input from site leadership in August. The Superintendent then fleshed out the four bolded goals. The first draft was presented to the Co-ordinating Committee of leadership staff, parent club presidents and two board members in mid September. The second draft was circulated to the remaining board members. Teachers did not get an official draft copy to give input to. We did give e-mail input to goals previously published, to our site representatives. Three reps and OEA president Charles Shannon saw the revised goals for the first time on Tuesday 30th September at the OEA input meeting. Here is the result of that meeting.
2014-2015
DRAFT DISTRICT GOALS
I.
Implement
the Orinda Local Control Accountability Plan for 2014-15
A.
Create a
timeline that meets state requirements for the Annual
Review Process
(by November 2014).
Lorreen – The district
will be doing backwards planning.
B.
Align
goals, services, outcomes, and expenditures into the new state template for the
2014-15 Annual Review Update (by May 2015)
C.
Provide
communication to parents and staff on the progress and accomplishments of LCAP
implementation (November 2014, March 2014, June 2015)
OEA - Promote
effective communication between and among staff,
parents/guardians, administration, trustees, and
the community-at-large.
OEA – Make sure information is
communicated through multiple forms
with a feedback loop
to make sure stakeholders are informed and can give feedback that can create
real change.
OEA - Utilize
digital and “out-of- the-box” media to improve communication.
OEA - Evaluate
satisfaction levels of parent/guardian, student, community, and staff on an
on-going interactive basis.
OEA - Complete
annual surveys and communicate general results to the community.
OEA - Offer opportunities for the community
to interface with district, site administrators, and school board members at
scheduled events.
OEA - Meet regularly to assess short and
long-term communications and strategize on how to proactively communicate key
issues to stakeholders.
OEA - Continue to explore partnerships with neighboring
school districts (professional development, curriculum & instruction,
business services, technology, etc.).
D.
Present
annual updates to stakeholder groups for input (by May 2014)
E.
Hold a
Public Hearing on the 2014-15 Annual LCAP Review Report (by May 2014)
F.
Present
the 2014-15 Annual Review Report at a second Public Hearing prior to Board
approval on or before the last Board Meeting in June 2015. (by June 2015)
II.
Student
Achievement: Maintain strong academic
standards that will challenge student learning of the Common Core State
Standards and continue to promote positive school climates district-wide (Curriculum Plan Goals for 2014-15)
A.
Implement
LCAP Goals 1-5
B.
Implement
Curriculum Plan Goals for 2014-15
1.
Align curriculum programs and instructional practices to support full
implementation of the CCSS and CAASPP testing (by June 2015)
a)
Revise Board Policies to align with CCSS and new
state assessments (by September 2014)
b)
Pilot textbooks and instructional programs for
potential adoption (by Jun 2015)
c) Provide
professional development on new curriculum programs and CAASPP testing
preparation for staff and students (by
June 2015)
OEA - Offer a quality and differentiated
professional development program for staff that includes a combination of grade
level collaboration, peer observations, teacher leaders, trainers, conferences,
and training institutes.
OEA – Increase overall participation of staff
in quality professional development programs and establish a mechanism for
training evaluation, feedback, and implementation.
OEA - Utilize innovative teachers to lead staff
development.
OEA - Research the possibility of distance
learning opportunities for students and teachers.
OEA - Send teachers to other schools to
observe innovative teaching practices.
OEA - Provide funds for teacher innovations grants.
OEA - Offer professional development based on staff
Professional Development (PD) survey.
d)
Implement common curriculum calendars, K-8, for
Reading Writing and Mathematics (by Jun
2015)
e)
Implement CCSS elementary report card (June 2015)
OEA –
Will teachers be able to give additional feedback?
Kathy –
Yes. This is a pilot year and the report
cards can be further revised.
OEA –
Did you say the District has spent too much money to have changes made on OARS
and will not make further changes?
Kathy –
No. This is a pilot year and changes can
be made for next year.
f)
Develop a district vision for science instruction
in preparation for 2015-16 Next Generation Science Standards (by March 2015)
OEA –
There should be a science committee of teacher representatives from each site
who work with their colleagues to create a district vision for science instruction
in preparation for 2015-16 Next Generation Science Standards. (There is, this is in process - Sue B, OIS Science).
g)
Research
and review current character development programs, for consistency,
inclusiveness, and effectiveness (by May
2015)
OEA – This sounds
like one more program teachers will be directed to teach without the time and
compensation to make it happen.
h)
OEA - Establish a
partnership with colleges/universities to help train and recruit teachers from
diverse backgrounds.
i)
OEA - Work to
strengthen OUSD’s emergency response by working with local law enforcement,
fire, and insurance on safety risk management.
III.
Fiscal
Develop a long range budget
plan to maintain the District’s fiscal solvency
OEA – Who is going to develop this plan?
Lorreen – Fiscal Advisory Committee
OEA -
How long of a time frame is ‘long range’?
Loreen – Current year plus 3 additional
years
OEA – By ‘maintain’, does that mean the District
wants to maintain operating with a 28% reserve?
Lorreen – No, not specifically. The District needs both the ending fund
balance and cash flow to get a positive certification from the county.
OEA – How much of a reserve does the district
need to maintain?
Joe – The Board gives direction on this.
OEA – Wouldn’t this be the mandated 3% plus the
6% the Board is comfortable with?
Joe – The Board decides what the reserves
should be.
A.
Explore
ways to reduce costs through more efficient practices (reduce and conserve
resources)
OEA – Who is going to do the exploring?
Lorreen – The Fiscal Advisory Committee
OEA – What costs will be reduced?
Loreen – The Fiscal Advisory Committee will make
recommendations to the Board.
OEA - How much of a reduction are they hoping to
achieve?
Lorreen – The Fiscal Advisory Committee will explore what’s
possible and recommend this to the Board.
B.
Maximize
current resources in order to reduce ongoing expenditures
OEA -
Maximize – to what extent?
Lorreen –
The Fiscal Advisory Committee will explore this.
OEA –
What ‘current resources’ does the District have in mind?
Loreen –
The Fiscal Advisory Committee will explore this.
C.
OEA - Target total staff
compensation in top quartile of comparable districts by conducting a current
staff total compensation analysis including salary, health and welfare
benefits, step and column requirements, and work conditions.
Joe – I’m
not going comment on this since the District is still in negotiations with OEA.
D.
OEA - Produce an
annual report of total compensation comparisons and a plan for bridging
possible gaps in moving towards the top quartile.
Joe – I’m not going comment on
this since the District is still in negotiations with OEA.
E.
OEA - Provide staff
oversight/review and monitoring of ongoing expenses/commitments including total
compensation.
F. OEA - Review the
Board’s adherence to the level of reserves in OUSD’s budget.
IV.
Technology
Implement Year 1 of the
District adopted Technology Plan with best practices to support students and
staff in a 21st Century learning environment
A.
Support
and sustain technology infrastructure
1.
Document and review existing network and server environment to identify
areas for improvement.
2.
Upgrade production server operating systems to a minimum of Windows
Server 2008R2
3.
Spec and roll out a new classroom paging system
OEA – Our phone/paging system is not that old and still works well.
Joe – Our paging system and phones
are not all working and we need to upgrade them.
4.
Assess and prepare the infrastructure and
support to ensure the successful implementation of CAASPP testing
OEA - Our
technology support for CAASPP makes it difficult to use this same technology
for Lexia and other interventions.
OEA - Develop and implement a technology professional
development model that includes “in-class” instructional coaching and support.
B.
Integrate
technology with instructional and business practices
1.
Provide ongoing staff development to meet end user needs
2.
Review existing business practices for opportunities for increased tech
integration (ex: virtual meetings, standardized email distribution lists)
3.
OEA - Develop and
implement a progressive plan to effectively move toward providing innovative
devices (i.e. mobile tablets) on a grade- appropriate student to device ratio.
4.
OEA - Highlight the
use of technology that enhances student learning.
5.
OEA - Identify top
tier schools and programs to send our District Technology Director to visit and
make recommendations to adopt best practices.
6.
OEA - Continue to
develop a plan to fund maintenance of current infrastructure and support future
needs/ upgrades.
7.
OEA – Create a
model plan that increases levels of classroom technology integration.
V.
Facilities
Improve our facilities with
available funding to create a better learning environment.
A.
Secure
Funds for Facility Improvements
1.
Utilize available programs from the state, i.e.: Prop 39. Grants, Rebate
Programs, Energy Savings from rebates by PG&E.
B.
Implement
next phase of Facility Task Force Priority Projects
1.
Prioritize remaining projects and update timeline.
2.
Prepare estimates.
3.
Go out to bid
C.
Complete
the Energy Plan and implement projects that ensure savings and a comfortable
learning/teaching environment.
1.
Energy Conservation
2.
HVAC Controls
3.
Air Conditioning
4.
LED lighting
5.
Occupancy sensors for lighting.
6.
Solar
