At the beginning of every school year there is a lot of discussion centered on establishing goals for the upcoming year. Parents give careful consideration to the goals they have for the children as they enter a new school year. Teachers are focused on establishing a learning community that supports the needs of every child in their classroom. Likewise, principals evaluate the overall condition of learning and develop plans for continuous improvement within their buildings. Even the board of education spends time discussing what they want to accomplish in a new academic year. November is a great time of year to pause and reflect on the progress of our goals and ensure efforts are aligned to the priorities we established at the beginning of the year. The Woodward-Granger Board of Directors worked closely with the Iowa Association of School Boards to identify our goals for the 2019-2020 school year.
Board Goal A: Cultivating support that ensures strong, successful student learning
To accomplish this goal, learning must become personalized for each and every student. It becomes personalized when teachers know what students can and can’t do in the classroom and respond with appropriate and timely instruction. This demanding work can not be done in isolation. Teachers organize themselves in professional learning communities (PLC) and develop common formative assessments to conduct frequent checks for understanding. This allows for a flexible, responsive approach to teaching and learning. To be successful in this endeavor, principals and teachers must participate in a continuous improvement cycle to grow the knowledge and skills necessary to meet the individual needs of all students.
Board Goal B: Growing a culture of ongoing development of staff
Our greatest asset as a school district is our staff and faculty. We have a lot of talented educators currently in our system. Additionally, we need to continue to attract other talented educators to join our district and contribute to our efforts in becoming a premier school district in the metro area. Retaining our talent is equally important. We want to make HAWK HAPPENINGS sure we provide staff with the resources and supports necessary to do their jobs at high levels. Resources and supports can come in the form of supplies and materials, professional development or even emotional support. I believe teaching is the toughest job on the planet and we need to make sure we are recruiting and retaining a talented workforce to meet the demands of the job.
Board Goal C: Exploring, prioritizing and implementing programs to meet the full range of student needs
In today’s schools we are preparing students for jobs that currently do not exist. We need to expose our students to a wide variety of experiences and opportunities. When we consider ‘building futures one student at a time’ we must recognize every student may choose a different path to that future. The challenge is providing programming that meets the needs of students regardless of the chosen path. In preparation of our changing, dynamic society we must provide programming that will enhance their experience beyond high school.
Board Goal D: Advancing a strong community-school partnership (emphasis on strengthening trust)
We’re proud of our school district and we have a great story to tell. The parents and families of Woodward-Granger CSD entrust the school district with their most valued possession- their children. We want to work in partnership and recognize the value of harnessing our collective resources to accomplish our goals. We are better together. We want to create a safe and welcoming environment for all of our stakeholders and invite participation. We also want to share the Woodward-Granger story with our community.
Throughout the 2019-2020 school year these goals will be driving our efforts. If you attend a future board meeting you’ll probably see various presentations from the buildings. One common theme in the presentations is a strong focus on the board goals. These goals help us focus our energy and efforts. We’re off to a great start at W-G and I look forward to continued successes in our classrooms and buildings!
Dr. Matt Adams
Superintendent
