PRINCE EDWARD – County School Board members have tasked separate committees to work on six specific objectives and strategies that are to be a part of a comprehensive long-range proposal.

The board will hold a public hearing at their December 5 meeting on the proposal.

Specifically, the list of previously identified goals aim to:

*Improve academic opportunities and achievement for all students while closing the achievement gap.

*Strengthen home, school, business, and community engagement to advance staff and student achievement.

*Ensure that schools are safe, orderly, nurturing, and supportive of quality teaching.

*Promote a positive, healthy, and inviting school culture conducive to learning.

*Optimize effective use and management of operational resources that support teaching and learning.

*And hire, support, and retain highly qualified teachers and staff.

Each of the six committees met and discussed objectives and strategies associated with each of the goals. Representatives from each of the committees shared information with the board on a draft proposal.

One weighty goal, for example, is to improve achievement for all students while closing the achievement gap with the objective that all grades increase an average of three percent per year in all content areas.

Draft strategies for that objective:

*Resources will be allocated to teaching and learning first;

*Student achievement in all programs will be reported to the school board, parents and the community;

*Communication regarding student achievement will be enhanced to provide more specific information for parents and the public;

*Professional development that is ongoing and job-embedded will be provided each year to teachers and administrators to strengthen teaching and learning;

*Effective incentives and financial support will be identified to encourage and recognize teachers who develop innovative and challenging instructional practices;

*Partnerships with Longwood and Hampden-Sydney will be expanded and strengthened;

*A teaching and learning process which emphasizes inquiry, critical-thinking and problem-solving will be utilized in every content area;

*A learning model that recognizes and encourages interdisciplinary themes will be developed across content areas;

*Students will demonstrate their understanding in a variety of media including portfolio, performance assessments, projects and SOL tests;

*An alternate school year calendar which includes an intersession will be explored;

*The benefits of lengthening the school year and/or school day will be explored;

*A nine-week grading period will be considered to replace the six-week grading period;

*A revised high school master schedule will be explored to meet the needs of students in grades 9-12;

*Opportunities for service learning will be studied as a component of the high school career; additional avenues to achieve an associates degree upon graduation from high school will be explored;

*Remediation and enrichment activities will be provided for students at every grade;

*A model that establishes excellence and equity for all students at all levels will be researched and developed;

*The professional learning community model will continue to provide a framework for grade level teams and school improvement teams;

*And continue to implement the professional learning community model.

While it is a lengthy list of strategies-the longest of all of the developed strategies for any of the goals-strategies were similarly developed for other specific objectives.

Other objectives for improving academic achievement and closing the achievement gap include: having each school meet, on an annual basis, all state and federal accreditation requirements, including targets for proficiency gap groups; that the number of students performing at or above grade level in reading and math increase by five percent each year; the graduation rate will increase by three percent each year; that the number of students graduating with an advanced studies diploma and those with a standard diploma achieving industry certification increase three percent each year; the level of student participation in Advanced Placement and dual enrollment programs be maintained or increased, and that students identified as gifted will demonstrate growth in their area of giftedness each year.

The proposed plan is expected to be made available for the public to review at school offices and the public library and posted at the school division's website.

A public hearing has been planned for the December 5 school board meeting at 6 p.m.

“…And then, with the information that's obtained from the discussion and the hearing…it would be ready for you to approve, say at the January board meeting,” Division Superintendent Dr. David Smith advised.