Input sought in next step of Strategic Planning

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Input sought in next step of Strategic Planning

The community is invited to comment on the next step of the school district’s Strategic Planning process.

Two meetings have been scheduled in late March, one during the day and one at night, to welcome the community’s thoughts on a set of draft “Student Outcome Indicators.” These proposed indicators will help drive the Strategic Planning process.

Your voice is important in this process, and we hope you can join us on either of the two community meetings:

 

  • Monday, March 25 1:30-3 p.m.; Knox Administrative Center Room 303, 1113 Legion Way S.E. Olympia
  • Wednesday, March 27 6:30-8 p.m.; Knox Administrative Center Board Room, 1113 Legion Way S.E., Olympia

 

Listed below are the board-approved Student Outcomes, as well as the draft indicators, which will be reviewed at the two community meetings. If you are unable to attend either of the meetings and would like to comment online, please share your thoughts on a Student Outcome Draft Indicators online feedback form. The deadline to submit comments is Monday, April 8, 2019.

 

OUR STUDENTS WILL:

Outcome 1: Be compassionate and kind.

  • Be aware of and respect one’s similarities and differences with others
  • Communicate respectfully, listen well and cooperate with others
  • Demonstrate awareness of one’s own thoughts and emotions and how they impact behavior 
  • Express emotions, thoughts and impulses in constructive ways
  • Resolve conflicts and repair relationships

 

Outcome 2: Have the academic and life skills to pursue their individual career, civic and educational goals.

  • Read, write and speak effectively for a wide range of purposes, including the interpretation and analysis of both literary and informational texts
  • Know and apply mathematics to a level of fluency that ensures a broad range of post-secondary opportunities and career choices
  • Use analytic and scientific principles to draw sound conclusions
  • Exit with a personalized post-secondary transition plan for work, career and/or college, and complete the first steps toward achieving post-secondary goals before graduation
  • Develop and use conceptual understanding, exploring knowledge across a range of disciplines, and engage with issues and ideas that have local and global significance
  • Problem solve using both creative and critical thinking skills
  • Demonstrate continuous growth across the disciplines to meet or exceed academic learning standards and work towards graduation

 

Outcome 3: Advocate for the social, physical and mental wellness of themselves and others and be hopeful about the future.

  • Communicate effectively
  • Develop knowledge and skills to be physically active, eat nutritiously and access reliable health information and services
  • Understand and apply principles of sound mental and emotional health and learn to identify signs of emotional health concerns such as depression, anxiety and suicidal thoughts in self and others
  • Understand how and when to seek supportive mental and emotional health resources for self and others
  • Identify and develop personal strengths and interests
  • Develop the skills and habits to assess the role of technology and social media in their lives and distinguish between healthy and harmful use

 

Outcome 4: Have the skills, knowledge and courage to identify and confront personal, systemic and societal bias.

  • Be well versed in local, national and world history and understand how prejudice, racism and nationalism have contributed to conflict
  • Develop an appreciation of world cultures, which may include the understanding of the basic structure of another world language
  • Demonstrate the ability to recognize that biased attitudes expressed consistently over time gradually distort their perceptions until stereotypes and myths about people different from oneself are accepted as reality
  • Analyze multiple causal factors that shape major events in history
  • Evaluate the significance of information used to support positions on an issue or event
  • Analyze the validity, reliability and credibility of information from a variety of primary and secondary sources while researching an issue or event 

 

Outcome 5: Discover their passions, be curious and love learning.

  • Broaden their perspectives and seek out multiple and various opportunities to explore new ideas, particularly those areas that are unfamiliar or uncomfortable to find their interests
  • Experience failure, setbacks and disappointment as an expected and honored part of learning
  • Understand and demonstrate the value of service in their community and learning by doing
  • Value the importance of pursuing creative opportunities, such as the arts and athletics, as lifelong enrichment

 

Outcome 6: Be critical thinkers who contribute to and collaborate with our local, global and natural world.

  • Participate on teams and know the power of teamwork
  • Demonstrate the ability to engage in inclusive problem solving
  • Express recognition of one’s own capacity to advocate for and contribute to local, regional or global improvement
  • Use digital tools to learn from and communicate with people and communities around the world
  • Gather, interpret and present information in culturally responsive ways

 

If you are new to our Strategic Planning work, here is a bit of background:

  • Olympia School District’s 5-year Strategic Plan expired at the end of the 2017-18 school year.
  • In May 2018 more than 130 people representing a cross-section of the community — students, staff, family members and community members — came together for an intensive two-day Educational Summit at the Hotel RL in Olympia. Leading up to the Summit, the district received thousands of responses to a budget and pre-Summit survey, all of which helped to inform the two-day event. In addition to 40 students, who were the largest represented group, there were family members, teachers, principals, custodians, bus drivers, other support staff and community members from many backgrounds. The event culminated with the group identifying some key educational focus areas for the board to consider as it finalized student outcomes to drive the measures for determining school district performance and the creation of improvement plans.
  • The school board reviewed work done at the Educational Summit during a board study session and summer board retreat in July 2018. During the board's retreat, directors created draft Student Outcomes to drive the goals of the district's new Strategic Plan.
  • The school board shared the draft student outcomes beginning in August with staff, students, families and the community and asked for input during 49 in-person focus groups and on an electronic feedback form. After reflecting on that initial input, the board made some revisions to the draft Student Outcomes on October 1 and again on October 29 before approving six Student Outcomes on December 10, 2018.
  • Since December school district leadership staff have been working on further defining and interpreting the Student Outcomes. 

 

The Olympia School Board is expected to discuss the draft indicators and review community feedback in April. District leadership staff, working in partnership with schools, support buildings and the community, will then develop action plans and metrics for each of the six Student Outcomes.

We look forward to your input in this important work.