New Goals: Fiscal Integrity, Middle School Program Changes in Washington Twp.

While the wheels on the bus go round and round, and some 2,200 students enter the various Washington Township classrooms for the 2015-16 school year, the district’s administrators and school board members are seeking ways to maintain high quality or implement changes to programs.

At its final meeting of the summer before the school year kicked off, the Board of Education convened on Sept. 1, and established, then approved, four goals to reach during the school year.

Those goals, as specified by the board, include:

• Focus Area: Curriculum and Instruction
  Goal: The Washington Township Schools will continue its strong emphasis on providing high Q.U.A.L.I.T.Y. learning experiences for all students and related professional faculty relative to the delivery and integration of English/language arts and mathematics. In addition, a review of current district-wide assessments will be conducted to ensure timely, age-appropriate benchmark assessments in English/language Arts and mathematics. The following will serve as the guiding principles in realizing goal attainment:

~Quality Professional Development
~Use Student Achievement Data to Refine Instructional Practices
~Accentuate the Social, Emotional, and Cognitive Development of Children
~Learning Environments that are Safe, Secure, and Clean
~Instructional Practices that Maximize Active Student Engagement
~Teacher Supervision, Observation, and Evaluation that Support Professional Growth
~Year-long District and Regional Professional Collaboration

• Focus Area: Student Assessment and Achievement (second year of two-year goal)
  Goal: To design standards-based report card instruments for grades kindergarten through eighth that clearly define grade level-specific learning goals relative to district curricula and accurately reflect students’ progress toward goal achievement.
• Focus Area: Middle School Program Planning
  Goal: Engage in a thorough review of the current 6th grade instructional program model based on projected student enrollment and recommend necessary refinements to ensure an effective and efficient educational program delivery model for the 2016-2017 school year.

• Focus Area: School Finance
  Goal: Maintain the award-winning, nationally recognized fiscal integrity and accountability of the Washington Township Schools.

What do you think of the district’s new goals? Do they pinpoint trouble areas in need of improvement? Should they be more specific? Broader? Tell us in the comments.