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August 2008
Avon Public Schools
District
Improvement Plan
2007 - 2012
Mission
Statement:
To educate all
students to be life long learners and responsible citizens in a
global society.
Guiding Beliefs:
We believe:
·
all students are capable of learning.
·
students have different learning needs and styles.
·
all students are entitled to an excellent education.
·
all members of the school community should be held to the highest
performance standards.
·
education should be a shared responsibility among students, family,
school, and community.
·
all students should be responsible for their actions.
·
diversity enriches our lives.
·
students and staff have a right to a safe, healthy, and well
maintained learning environment.
·
technology is an effective instructional tool.
·
understanding and positioning to compete in a global society is
critical.
Vision Statement:
Avon Public Schools is committed to excellence in teaching and
learning and is a source of pride in the community. We respect and
appreciate individual differences. We utilize a variety of teaching
strategies to meet the diverse needs of our students and foster an
atmosphere of intellectual pursuit. All students will graduate from
the Avon Public Schools with the skills necessary to be life long
learners and productive and responsible citizens in a global
society.
Goal #1
-
Avon Public School students will be presented with a rigorous
curriculum aligned with the state curriculum frameworks.
Assessment-driven instruction will be used to attain a high level
of achievement. Student mastery of the curriculum will be
measured through a wide variety of assessment tools.
Objectives:
1. All subject areas will have a complete and up-to-date district
curriculum aligned both vertically and horizontally to the latest
version of the Massachusetts Curriculum Frameworks.
·
Teachers will continue to work in committees, through ACT, and
during professional development days to write, update, and enhance
the curriculum and the maps in all subject areas.
·
The administration will continue to provide teachers with time to
develop lessons/units and common assessments that are aligned with
the district curriculum.
·
The district will review curriculum resources to ensure that they
are free of bias.
2.
Staff will utilize a variety of formal and informal assessments to
monitor student achievement and guide instructional design and
remediation.
·
The district will continue to formalize the use of the Six Facets of
Understanding to frame teaching and learning.
·
Ralph D. Butler Elementary School staff will continue to implement
Dynamic Indicators of Basic Early Literacy Skills (DIBELS) in
kindergarten through grade 4 to monitor student progress in the area
of reading acquisition.
·
The district will investigate a variety of district- wide assessment
tools.
·
Teachers will continue to utilize a variety of assessments to
measure student understanding based on the Six Facets of
Understanding (explain, interpret, apply, perspective, empathize,
self-knowledge).
·
Groups of staff will engage in reviewing student work to assure
equity in design and grading.
3. High expectations will be communicated to all students.
·
Teachers will choose and/or design assessments that target higher
levels of understanding as described by the Six Facets of
Understanding.
·
Teachers will communicate and post the goals and objectives for each
lesson.
·
Teachers will provide students with exemplars and/or rubrics to
communicate expectations regarding student work.
·
AMHS teachers and students will use the school-wide rubrics and the
established levels of proficiency.
·
AMHS teachers will track and communicate student achievement of the
skills articulated in the school-wide rubrics.
·
AMHS teachers will investigate the use of an electronic portfolio
to document achievement of all academic expectations.
·
The district will expand the use of research based projects (project
based learning, research papers, etc.) insuring developmental
appropriateness and the mastery of prerequisite research skills.
4. All students will be challenged to reach their highest
potential through well planned, differentiated instruction and
meaningful classroom and homework assignments.
·
Teachers will review homework practices to assure purpose and rigor.
·
The administration will provide teachers with time to work with
colleagues to develop lessons/units that are rigorous, meaningful,
and engaging.
·
Teachers will communicate to students the importance and relevance
of learned skills needed to compete in the global economy.
Goal #2
-
Avon Public School students will be instructed by a highly trained
professional teaching staff.
Objectives:
1. All staff will participate in high quality professional
development aligned to the district’s curriculum and instructional
goals and objectives.
·
The Six Facets of Understanding will provide the framework for
professional development.
·
The administration will encourage teachers to share best teaching
practices with their colleagues and to serve as trainers.
·
Principals and teacher teams will conduct “Walk Throughs” to
identify best practice.
·
The district will expand its partnerships with other districts to
include peer observations and collaborations with professionals.
2. Administrators and veteran staff trained in the mentoring
process will provide all first year staff with quality mentoring.
The administration will provide time for mentors and mentees to
observe one another.
·
The district will investigate the increased use of substitutes,
including the possibility of hiring a permanent building substitute,
to provide coverage so that colleagues can visit other teachers’
classrooms.
3. The administration will provide all staff members with
opportunities to access peer and administrative support to enhance
teaching and learning.
·
The district will offer peer coaching opportunities to interested
veteran teachers.
·
All teachers will request classroom coverage at least once per year
to observe in a colleague’s classroom.
·
All teachers will arrange to have a colleague or administrator model
a lesson in their classroom at least once per year.
·
All teachers may request informal observations from the
administration for the purpose of gathering data/feedback regarding
instructional techniques.
·
Professional Learning Communities will be implemented for teachers
who are interested in meeting with colleagues before/after school to
discuss teaching and learning.
4. The district will develop strategies to attract and retain
quality teachers.
·
The Leadership Team will discuss and develop practices that will
help to attract and retain quality teachers.
·
The district will continue its partnership with institutions of
higher learning.
·
All members of the Avon Public School staff will be encouraged to
showcase their work.
·
Staff will be encouraged to present their work at the local or state
level.
Goal #3
·
Avon Public School students will be provided with opportunities to
take an active leadership role within the school community.
Students will be engaged in the learning process and will contribute
to decision-making.
Objectives:
1. Students will take an active role in classroom, school, and
district decision-making.
·
Teachers will recognize students input in the process of
establishing classroom rules.
·
Teachers will provide students with leadership opportunities within
the classroom.
·
Administrators will provide additional leadership opportunities for
students within the school buildings.
·
Administrators will create additional leadership opportunities for
students in the area of technology.
·
Ralph D. Butler Elementary School staff will explore implementing
peer mediation.
·
The AMHS will have a more active student council with increased
membership.
-
Students will provide input regarding course offerings and extra
curricular activity options.
·
High School students will be asked, through a survey, to determine
what current course/extracurricular activities are important to
them, which ones are not, and what courses/extra curricular
activities need to be added.
-
Graduates of Avon Middle-High School will provide input regarding
course offerings and extra curricular activity options.
·
The administration will review the process by which it surveys high
school graduates to determine the extent to which their high school
education prepared them for success after high school.
Goal #4
-
Avon Public School students and staff will demonstrate the skills
of lifelong learners. Students and staff will communicate pride
in their accomplishments.
Objectives:
1. Teachers will engage students in self-reflection through the use
of effective questioning strategies and by connecting their learning
to life experiences.
·
Teachers will activate prior knowledge before introducing new
content information to provide students with the opportunity to make
connections and improve their understanding.
·
Students will participate in self assessment at all grade levels.
·
Students will be provided with exemplars and/or rubrics to utilize
for self assessment.
2. Students and staff will increase the frequency by which they
display their work.
·
All teachers will display student work within the classroom.
·
Students will be encouraged to choose their best work for classroom
displays.
·
The administration will encourage teachers to display their own work
within the schools and in the community.
·
The district and the schools will continue to increase the use of
the website to display teacher and student work.
3. The district will offer a wide selection of academic and cultural
extra curricular activities to students.
·
Teachers will be encouraged to teach in the after school program and
offer enrichment activities in various academic areas such as math,
poetry, science, history, etc.
·
The district will provide students with a variety of cultural
experiences, such as assemblies, foreign travel, teacher exchanges,
and visiting faculty.
·
The AMHS will increase its attention to academic
competitions/initiatives as well as drama, film and musical
presentations, looking to involve our students in as many enrichment
activities as possible.
·
The administration and staff will explore the production of a
musical at the AMHS.
Goal #5
·
Parents of Avon Public School students as well as the larger Avon
community will demonstrate a sense of pride and ownership in the
Avon schools.
Objectives:
1. Parent involvement will increase in each school.
·
The administration will continue to gather information regarding the
level of parental involvement.
·
Staff members from the Old Colony YMCA Extended Day Program will
provide free child care services during evening meetings at the
Ralph D. Butler Elementary School.
·
The administration will offer Informational meetings/activities at
various times of the day to address the needs of various schedules.
·
At the AMHS and Butler School, the principal will increase
opportunities to meet together via coffee meetings.
·
At the Ralph D. Butler Elementary School, the principal or designee
will attend monthly parent group meetings to promote open
communication regarding school based activities/programs.
·
The superintendent, assisted by the principals, will publish a
monthly newsletter in the local paper.
2. Avon Public Schools staff will communicate high expectations
regarding student performance to all parents.
·
AMHS administrators will provide parents with school-wide rubrics
that articulate their child’s high quality work expectations.
·
The Ralph D. Butler Elementary School staff will provide parents
with a defined set of skills for each elementary grade level through
the use of standards based report cards.
·
Teachers will share exemplars with parents during parent-teacher
conferences to articulate high quality work expectations.
3. Parents will work as partners with the school staff in an effort
to attain excellence.
·
The principal will describe various volunteer opportunities to
parents at the Open House at the beginning of the school year. (i.e.
library, office, classroom, etc.)
·
The Ralph D. Butler Elementary School will implement a formal
volunteer orientation training session.
·
AMHS will work with parents to boost parental involvement in extra
curricula activities through Booster Clubs, etc.
4. The community will increase the utilization of the school
facilities for a variety of activities.
·
Avon Public Schools staff will invite community members into the
schools to participate in “special occasions.” (i.e. Read across
America, Flag Day, concerts, Celebration of Diversity, Arts Night,
etc.)
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