U-46 closer to setting strategic plan goals
Elgin schools officials this week inched closer to developing a five-year strategic plan which aims to prepare students for becoming better global citizens.
A process that started in December 2014 will culminate with officials drafting measurable goals that will be presented to the Elgin Area School District U-46 school board next month.
Among those goals are meeting the needs of an increasingly diverse student population and recruiting a diverse workforce, U-46 CEO Tony Sanders said during Monday night's school board meeting.
Officials spent the past eight months gathering community feedback through public forums, focus group roundtables, the district's website and social media, sharing the strategic plan's priorities with more than 5,000 stakeholders, Sanders said.
In the area of student achievement, the focus is implementing a challenging standards-based curriculum across all content areas, and meeting the academic, social, and emotional needs of each student, officials said.
Top priorities include developing and recruiting high quality workers who reflect the diversity of the district's more than 40,000 students, and encouraging collaboration and ongoing professional development for employees, officials said.
To that end, the district's efforts to recruit Spanish-speaking teachers from Puerto Rico has proved successful in addressing the growth of its dual language program and population of English language learners, Sanders said.
Community engagement is another key area of focus in the strategic plan. Officials have been reaching out to businesses, elected leaders of communities within U-46 boundaries, and other partner agencies to get them involved with the schools in their towns and also in planning for the future of students.
"We will support and empower schools to be welcoming centers of family and community engagement," Sanders said quoting one of the priorities.
Officials also are aiming for increased accountability and transparency with how the district's resources are allocated to meet these ends.