School Improvement 2008/2009
by Tom Mulligan
August 08, 2008
The Riverton School District is well under way on implementing the district school improvement process for the 2008/2009 school year. This process is how the district analyzes school district data (such as test scores, attendance data, perception survey data, etc.) and determines goals and action plans that will help the district improve. A more detailed explanation of our school improvement process can be found by clicking on the Baldrige Tab and scrolling down.
On July 31, the district administrative team conducted a SWOT analysis. This analysis included a review of district data and a determination on the district’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats (or strategic challenges). The group also established tentative strategic objectives for the 2008/2009 school year. These will be given to the school board for final approval on August 18. On August 4, the district held an all day training session for the building leadership teams (the building administrators and 5 or 6 key staff members) where the leadership teams set tentative building goals that are aligned to the district strategic objectives. On August 6 and 7 during the teacher workdays, the building staffs established their project teams (teams of staff members) that are organized to develop action plans that will allow the building to accomplish their goals.
One change that we have made to the school improvement process this year is that our project teams will be posting team minutes and information about their team’s progress on the website so the learning community can be more informed about the district’s improvement efforts.
The Riverton School District takes the school improvement efforts very seriously. In last year’s end of the year perception survey for staff, the district realized very positive results from the staff about the school improvement process. The following are some of those results:
|
The School Improvement Process allows for. . . . |
% Staff that Agreed |
|
Clear expectations for staff |
95.7% |
|
Efficient use of available time (early out days/inservice days) |
92.5% |
|
Actions that make a positive difference in the classroom |
92.3% |
|
Actions that lead to a positive affect on student achievement |
96.7% |
|
Clear direction from district strategic objectives |
97.8% |
|
Clear direction from building goals |
97.8% |
There will be a lot more information on the district's school improvement activities in the near future!
