Goal 1.1
Every child ready for
school
Increase pre-kindergarten programs to support
opportunities for all at-risk four-year-olds.
Ensure that each elementary school has at least
one pre-kindergarten classroom.
Provide pre-kindergarten classes for all Limited
English Proficient students.
Ensure that all eligible preschool handicapped
children have access to a quality preschool program.
Expand
Partner with community service organizations who
serve young children to seek grants, corporate support, and county funding for preschool
opportunities.
Provide school support and staff development for
community preschool programs.
Communicate to ESL and other parents the
advantages of attending a pre-kindergarten program.
Educate parents on readiness criteria so they
can help their children come to school with readiness skills.
Develop resource kits and make them available to
parents before they register their preschoolers for kindergarten.
Partner with daycare facilities, community
agencies, and churches to communicate school-readiness criteria to parents through
parent resource kits and information sessions.
Conduct, in collaboration with Orange County
Social Services, regular bilingual parent education sessions on a variety of
health and school readiness topics.
Goal 1.2
Rigorous and relevant
academic standards and assessment systems for every student
Define and communicate academic standards and
expectations.
Align course standards with national standards,
the North Carolina Standard Course of Study, and district requirements.
Create, expand, and refine pacing guides for all
courses.
Communicate to schools and community the standards
and expectations of the ABCs of Public Education and No Child Left Behind
accountability programs.
Provide parents and the community with
grade-by-grade curriculum expectations via newspaper or district-produced
publications.
Require consistent, frequent communication
between schools and parents about student progress and concerns.
Establish each year a list of required staff
development to address state standards and district expectations.
Conduct a yearly parent education session with
curriculum specialists to update standards, information, and policy changes.
Using the North Carolina Standard Course of
Study (NCSCOS), develop an assessment system that allows students to
demonstrate knowledge in a variety of ways.
Develop a variety of district strategies for
assessing student knowledge of the NCSCOS objectives.
Align assessment for elementary and middle
grades science and social studies with the new state end-of-grade tests in
these subjects.
Develop benchmarks to assess student knowledge
in a variety of ways and a timeline for implementation of a nine-week monitoring
system.
Develop a regular and timely schedule of sharing
disaggregated data with principals and building level staff.
Provide required staff development in authentic
assessment.
Goal 1.3
Every student masters
essential knowledge and skills
Identify critical basic, functional, and content
skills, and build instruction in those skills into the curriculum.
Develop a task force of educators, parents, and
community members to address high school reform and graduation requirements.
Using the NCSCOS, determine exit criteria for each
grade level.
Provide transition programs at grades six and
nine to support the development of students and build upon essential knowledge
and skills.
Create and implement a district-wide plan for
teaching study skills, communication skills, and critical thinking.
Provide on-going training to principals and teachers
to address demonstrated student instructional needs.
Require all teachers to incorporate speaking,
writing, reading, and critical thinking into their lessons.
Develop local measures to assess content
knowledge and build reteach/retest process into classrooms; offer structured
remediation/acceleration for every class.
Use quarterly assessments of math, reading,
science, and social studies to determine the need for remediation or acceleration.
Develop school-level remediation or acceleration
plans, including opportunities during the daily instructional schedule, for
students who are learning at a different pace from their peers.
Offer a variety of options, including tutoring,
to students who need additional instructional support.
Provide time for teacher collaboration to plan
and assess instruction at the elementary, middle, and high school level.
Provide staff development for teachers in test
administration and reteaching skills.
Develop summer opportunities for elementary ESL
students.
Goal 1.4
Every student
graduates from high school
Evaluate the structure of our high schools to
determine whether current scheduling meets the needs of all students and adjust
accordingly.
Study high school scheduling options, assess the
need for change, and make recommendations to the school board.
Investigate the creation of Career and Technical
Education (CTE) academies (e.g., business and finance) within the high schools.
Explore
additional alternative instructional delivery systems, such as distance
learning, Web-based courses, dual enrollment, and other school district
partnerships.
Develop in- and out-of-school work-study
programs, coordinating with school guidance, CTE, the Exceptional Children’s
Transition Team, and the business community.
Develop a
Involve students and parents in the development
of individual courses of study.
Survey students and parents regarding their
desire for new courses.
Conduct an evaluation of our high schools to
determine their effectiveness in meeting the needs of students.
Develop a process with parents, guidance
counselors, and other school staff to allow students to take independent
studies or individualized courses of study.
Ensure that every child is linked with an adult
advocate.
Create a student advocacy program at each school.
Develop a peer helper program at each school.
Implement mentoring programs at each middle and
high school.
Ensure that curricula have components that establish
relevance to students’ lives and futures.
Focus teaching and learning on relevant,
real-life experience.
Integrate a problem-based curriculum into student
instruction.
Provide shadowing opportunities at each high
school grade.
Develop transition activities for all students
for either post-secondary education or work.
Provide expanded curricular opportunities for
all students across the district.
Examine school schedules to see where expanded
curricular opportunities may be added.
Use the Internet and distance education as
appropriate to allow students the opportunity to enroll in courses that are not
available at school sites.
Provide opportunities for collaboration between
the two high schools to offer classes, including certification courses, that
are currently not available at both sites.
Goal 1.5
Every student a lifelong
learner and ready for work
Identify skills essential for workplace success,
and build teaching and assessment of those skills into curricula.
Create a guidebook for teachers that includes
identified workplace skills, teaching methods, activities, and assessments.
Survey businesses and community organizations for
assessment of student workplace behavior and skills, as well as for workplace
expectations.
Establish a business and community speakers’
program to enhance curriculum relevance for students.
Provide individualized incentives and support to
all students, matching students’ needs, abilities, and interests.
Develop partnerships with community to create
incentives and support for students.
Build celebrations of success into the school
calendar at all schools and at a district level.
Develop a comprehensive alternative school
program.
Provide relevant, real-world opportunities for
students to experience work-based learning through internships,
apprenticeships, and job-shadowing; continue to offer opportunities leading to
licensure and certifications.
Develop a plan for a Middle or Early College
Program in partnership with an area community college or university.
Partner with community colleges to increase
licensure opportunities in appropriate skill areas.
Develop long-term apprenticeships and
internships in cooperation with community colleges, universities, and
businesses.
Ensure that articulation agreements with area community
colleges remain current.
Investigate the expansion of dual enrollment
opportunities for students in area community colleges and universities.
Survey all secondary students annually to
determine if our offerings are compatible with their career goals.
Conduct a study to determine how internship
participation is affected by transportation issues.