OUR VIEW
Nantucket School Committee
SEND YOUR VIEWS AND LETTERS TO THE EDITOR: INFO@NANTUCKETINDEPENDENT.COM As we move forward with the '08 Nantucket Public Schools budget process, the School Committee would like to highlight how we move forward from the district's mission statement to the bottom line that we recommend for the 2007-08 school year.

STRATEGIC PLAN Starting with the schools' Mission Statement.

To engage students in a process of learning and discovery that cultivates their unique strengths and talents, meets their diverse educational needs, and promotes social responsibility. ...We work from our strategic plan, formulated in 2004, by a large, varied group of school and community stakeholders. We update the plan each year and it is the basis for the decisions and initiatives that come from the School Committee. It addresses the areas of student achievement, curriculum and instruction, professional development, school climate, facilities, budget, technology and communication. It is the School Committee's guiding document.

IMPROVING STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT

The Committee's overarching goal is to improve student achievement. In 2005 the district developed an action plan to improve in this area, which resulted in providing students with tutoring and remediation opportunities tailored to their areas of weakness. This should help them be successful in meeting performance standards.

Individual schools are also reviewing curriculum and instruction practices to address the individual school needs and consequently improve performance. For example, the high school will move biology to 9th grade next year in order to help students meet the science competency requirement for graduation. NES staff is meeting one to two times per month to discuss: a) how common grade level assessments may be useful in identifying areas of students' needs and b) how writing instruction can help students perform better in all assessments.

Improving student achievement involves a collaborative effort of the Superintendent, along with the input of administrators, staff and School Councils that allow the School Committee to assess what is working in our system, what could be working better, what gaps exist, and what are areas of excellence. This process is ongoing and never ending if it is working correctly. It is the best way to provide a valid, transparent and systematic look at our schools. Everything should be on the table and subject to the same process of evaluation if we want to be certain that what is in place will improve student achievement while at the same time ensure that every dollar is well spent.

COMMUNICATION

Since the fall of 2005 the School Committee and the Superintendent have provided the following opportunities to involve stakeholders in the process of improving public education:

+ Monthly coffees which are

open to the public + Regular building-level

staff coffees + Regular student forum meetings + Invitations to stakeholders to join

search and advisory groups + District-wide calendars + Information dissemination

through the PACE phone

message system + State of the District

address (quarterly) + Ongoing efforts to improve

communication with the

NTA and School Councils. + Open door policy for all,

on any issue of importance to them

Our mutual goal is to continually evaluate and improve the various methods of communication used in the district. We are committed to utilizing established practices and procedures to hear, and where possible, incorporate the collective wisdom of stakeholders who have been involved in the Nantucket Public School system.

WORKING WITH THE TOWN

The School Committee conducts a yearly self-evaluation, through which we realized the need to improve communication between town boards. To this end, the Committee regularly shares information with both the Finance Committee and the Board of Selectman at their public meetings, especially with regard to the district budget. Through this communication, the Board of Selectmen and School Committee have both adopted coordinated and more precise timelines for developing their budgets.

In addition, the School Committee, Selectmen, and Finance Committee members are re-thinking the approach to budget development and have agreed that we need to have three-to-five-year projections as opposed to approaching the budget one year at a time. It has been an important step forward to have the leadership of these three groups meeting together to plan for the future in a collaborative effort.

As a School Committee who is trying to work harder and smarter to guide our schools, we feel it is important to showcase all the components of how we function and make decisions.

We are striving to develop a clear system of addressing the needs of the schools, while constantly evaluating what those needs are. The process should also exhibit an understanding of how the schools' role fits with those of other town boards.

The Committee recognizes the need to constantly evaluate and improve the process as we work with stakeholders to improve public education on Nantucket.

This is the first of several articles from the district leadership to be published from time to time.

- Sue Genthner, Chair

- Christine Elahi

- Jane Miller - Tim Lepore - Robin Rowland