The school board updated its goals for 2010-2012 with a
district-wide system of assessment as the hook for its motivation.
The system itself is not finalized but new assistant superintendent
Socorro Shiels is manning the project.
The school board updated its goals for 2010-2012 with a district-wide system of assessment as the hook for its motivation. The system itself is not finalized but new assistant superintendent Socorro Shiels is manning the project.
The district is hoping for more cohesion among schools when it comes to gathering data and therefore assessing how to best help students that are under-performing. On Monday, it was announced that California placed near the bottom of states eligible for Race to the Top funding by the federal government. Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger will decide this week if California will apply, but the state has already failed to make it as a finalist in the first-round primarily because its lack of providing “longitudinal data system to measure student achievement and teacher or principal performance.” Morgan Hill Unified has no plans to seek Race to the Top funding, but an assessment system will benefit the district in helping bridge the achievement gap, the school board reasons.
Five goals outline the board’s efforts and also Superintendent Wes Smith’s; they are, student achievement, highly qualified and dedicated employees, responsible financial practices, safe, healthy and sustainable environment and partnership through communication. Smith’s evaluation as superintendent will be weighed against how and if the goals are met and whether or not they are done successfully. Essentially, the goals of the school board are the goals of Smith’s. The over-arching ideas remain the same as they were under former Superintendent Alan Nishino from 2005 to 2009, with additions and new strategies for how to accomplish the goals.
Embedded in student achievement are two additions – developing the district-wide assessment to better target students who need the most help and investigate the impact to course offerings and graduation requirements for all students to be eligible for a four-year college.
The college-readiness objective will explore graduation requirements to reflect the courses needed for enrollment into a California State University or University of California.
During a March 2 school board workshop, the board discussed the pros and cons of changing high school curriculum so a student could graduate high school with classes needed to attend a CSU or UC school. Currently, students are given the choice to take a foreign language, however CSUs and UCs require two years of a foreign language. The most recent count by the California Department of Education tallied about 40 percent of MHUSD high school seniors graduating with the necessary classes to enroll into a public California college.
The school board is also examining revenue opportunities for 2011-2012 school year and beyond through a close look at the possible budget and the best ways to save the district money but maintain a high level of education and quality services.
Ways to meet these goals are still in the planning stages. The next school board meeting is scheduled to start at 6 p.m. May 11 at 15600 Concord Circle.
NEW GOALS AT MHUSD
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Develop a district-wide system of assessment and interventions to meet the academic needs of under-performing schools
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Investigate impact to course offerings and graduation requirements for all students to be eligible for a four-year college upon graduation
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Explore revenue opportunities for 2011-12 school year and beyond
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Establish protocols for communications from staff to board and board to staff
