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DCPS Business Plan for Strategic Reform
MISSION
“To develop inspired learners who excel academically and socially in
dynamic schools that instill confidence and generate enthusiasm throughout
the District’s many communities and make DC Public Schools the first
choice of parents”
DCPS BUSINESS PLAN
- Six transformational goals that will enable us to achieve that
mission
- The 3-phased process that we will use to pursue these goals
- Guiding principles for implementing the plan
OUTCOMES
Specific improvements that represent attaining our mission
- Improved student academic and social learning
- Dynamic schools able to provide an excellent education to all
students
- Reliable and capable organization focused on each student’s
education
Back to top of page
SIX TRANSFORMATIONAL GOALS ADDRESS THE DISTRICT’S MANY CHALLENGES
AND WILL HELP TO MAKE THIS MISSION A REALITY
|
Business plan goals |
Rationale |
Principals and teachers |
Develop, attract, and retain excellent principals
and teachers |
Our principals and teachers need more competitive
compensation packages and better on-going professional
development, skill building, evaluation and monitoring |
Curricula, programs, and learning environments |
Implement first-rate learning environments, rigorous
curricula, strong academic programs, and extensive enrichment
offerings |
We need excellent learning environments that include
clear standards supported by textbooks, instructional guides,
assessments, and content-related professional development,
particularly in early childhood literacy and numeracy; we also
need accelerated learning opportunities and strengthened academic
and co-curricular programs |
Central administration and support |
Develop an excellent, service-oriented central
administration to support schools |
We must dramatically improve our ability to reliably
and effectively deliver crucial school-based and central support
functions to schools — and we need to do so in a data-driven,
fully customer service-oriented manner |
Fiscal responsibility |
Maximize the dollars used to improve student
achievement |
To better meet our students’ needs and regain our
fiscal credibility, we need to focus our dollars on teaching and
learning, eliminate misdirected spending, and aggressively pursue
additional funding from varied sources |
Parents and community |
Enable and energize parent and community involvement |
We need to treat parents as both partners and
customers; we also need to find productive ways to engage the many
community groups that are interested in giving more to our schools |
Interagency partnerships |
Strengthen partnerships with city agencies |
We need to capitalize on stronger and more involved
partnerships with city agencies, particularly in the areas of
special education, health, family services, early education,
recreation, and libraries |
Back to top of page
EACH PHASE FOCUSES ON SPECIFIC INITIATIVES
Summary of major initiatives
Phase 1 (2001-02): Getting the fundamentals right
|
System-wide priorities
- Devise and implement successful principal and teacher
recruiting process
- Design professional development academies for principals and
teachers
- Develop an improved principal evaluation tool
- Transform 9 low-performing schools into Children First
schools
- Plan the reinvention of high schools of '02-03
implementation
- Adopt and begin to implement a core curriculum for all grade
levels
- Begin transformation of central administration and institute
a performance management system
- Complete facilities modernization of 3 schools
- Develop theme and coordinated approach for community
involvement (e.g., after school programs)
- Open expanded co-located health and mental health services
with city agencies, beginning in 9 transforming schools
- Increase collaboration with city recreation and family
service departments
|
Operational improvements
- Develop plan for state-of-the-art procurement function pilot
at 25% of schools
- Deploy PeopleSoft for HR and finance
- Establish interagency coordination process
- Develop performance-based programmatic budget
- Develop tools to track spending and increase fiscal
accountability
- Certify all uncertified teachers by September 1
|
Phase 2 (2002-03): Building on our early successes
|
System-wide priorities
- Open professional development academy with focus on new
curriculum, instructional strategies, classroom management,
and school leadership*
- Implement new principal evaluation tool; begin development
teacher tools"
- Develop special support for new teachers and principals
- Reinvent all high schools*
- Implement core curriculum in 30 elementary schools*
- Develop and implement a comprehensive behavior management
program
- Improve internal special education service levels; open
additional DCPS programs
- Complete building modernization of 6 schools*
- Work with city early education development centers to
integrate curriculum, certify staff
|
Operational improvements
- Roll out new procurement function to all schools
|
Phase 3 (2003-04): Reaching for excellence
|
System-wide priorities
- Implement new teacher evaluation tools*
- Complete curriculum rollout*
- Implement student assessments based on new curriculum*
- Complete building modernization of 8 schools*
- Strengthen non-public partnerships by launching DC satellite
facilities and negotiating contracts
- Improve professional development opportunities for
school-based support staff
|
Operational improvements
- Change budget to match July 1—June 30 school year
- Develop improved student information databases
|
*Continuation from previous phase
Back to top of page
OUR GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR THE TRANSFORMATION WILL PRIORITIZE
ACCOUNTABILITY, FOCUS, AND COLLABORATION
BUSINESS PLAN
High expectations and accountability
- Set high expectations for what our school system and our students
can achieve
- Assign performance measures and accountable people for each
initiative; build clear monitoring systems that focus on results and,
after providing support, take decisive action when accountable people
do not deliver
Clear focus
- Focus on a specific set of reforms for a sustained period of time
- Prioritize initiatives that improve teaching and learning
- Address problems systematically rather than attempting to fix one
component without addressing its causes and dependents
Collaborative mindset
- Expand on local DCPS and external best practices
- Work in partnership with many communities to reform the system and
share accountability for the plan’s success
Back to top of page
OUTCOME: SPECIFIC, MEASURABLE IMPROVEMENTS AT THE STUDENT, SCHOOL, AND
SYSTEM LEVELS
Anticipated outcomes
|
Sample measures
|
Students
|
Increases in student performance |
- % of students at or above grade level in reading and math
- % reading by start of 3rd grade
|
Improvements in graduation and promotion |
- % of 9th graders graduating in 4 years
- Promotion rate at each grade level
|
Decreases in behavioral problems |
- Mid-year interschool transfers
- Office referrals for discipline
|
Increases in social learning |
- Attendance rate
- Participation in extra-curricular activities
|
Schools
|
Excellent teacher and principal skills |
- 100% teacher certification and trained on new curricula
- 100% of principals rated excellent on revised evaluation
tool
|
Clean, safe, supplied learning environment |
- Teacher satisfaction with safety and facilitates
- Decrease in safety incidents
|
High parent and community involvement |
- 90% attendance rate at parent-teacher conferences
- 100% of schools have 1+ community partnership
|
Effective use of student data |
- 100% of student records are complete, accurate, and
effectively used to analyze individual needs
|
Efficient use of resources |
- 100% of schools use budgets that meet DCPS standards and
effectively further the local school plan
|
System
|
Reliable service delivery |
- 90% of procurement orders processed in 24 hours
- 100% of parental inquires responded to within 48 hours
|
Service-oriented administration |
- 80% excellent customer service ratings for central
administration by local schools
|
Improved fiscal responsibility |
- Quarterly public issue of budget including budgeted dollars
contrasted with expenditures
- 100% of schools and departments given monthly budget updates
|
Increased transparency and accountability |
- Public display of school and departmental performance report
cards
|
Improved use of data to improve performance |
- 100% of schools given classroom-specific reports on
achievement with benchmarked comparisons
|
|