Waterbury Duxbury School District

Strategic Plan

Approved

October 25, 2007

MISSION

The mission of the Waterbury Duxbury School District, in partnership with the community, is to ensure that all students acquire the knowledge, skills and attributes needed to achieve their full potential and to be contributing members of a democratic society in a changing global community.

VISION

Our vision for students is that they are learners who will: 

• strive to improve and grow academically, socially, and emotionally;
• possess a solid academic foundation that is relevant in the real world;
• be resourceful, self motivated, self disciplined, and engaged;
• be curious and will think critically and creatively;
• question, solve problems, and make decisions;
• have the courage to explore new ideas;
• be flexible and adaptable in a diverse, changing community;
• be effective communicators; and
• demonstrate strong interpersonal skills, including respect, empathy, and compassion

To achieve our mission and vision for students, our school district seeks to continuously improve our system to ensure that:

Our programs:

· have as their foundation, the identified knowledge, skills and attributes in the  mission;

· reflect diversity and a changing global community;

· are designed to engage the interests, strengths and needs of each individual child;

· focus on the development of the “whole” child – academically, socially, emotionally;

· integrate community partnerships, connections across disciplines, and real world applications of learning;

· incorporate collaboration and teamwork in learning and skill building;

· balance the integration of technology tools in the learning process; and

· are affordable to the community.

Our partnerships:

· involve shared responsibility for learning among the school, families, and the community;

· provide resources, support, and practice for student learning; and

· communicate effectively between school, families, and the community.

Our staff:

· are learners and model their learning for their students;

· collaborate to develop and implement effective programs and partnerships to improve student learning; and

· use the mission and vision of the school district to guide their work.

GOALS

Goal 1:      Our students will be independent learners, critical and creative thinkers, and courageous citizens who are respectful stewards of their local and global communities.

Strategies to accomplish this goal:

1.1 Create a flexible and collaborative learning environment that engages students, values diversity and creates powerful educational experiences, guided by on-going authentic[i] assessment.

1.2 Develop rich, student–centered[ii] instructional programs that challenge students and are connected across grade levels and integrated across disciplines.

1.3 Support the growth and development of skilled and respectful educators who continue to develop their abilities to ignite and sustain a passion for learning in all students.

Goal 2:      Our students will be empowered by the knowledge of their own worth and will act with respect, empathy and integrity.

Strategies to accomplish this goal:

2.1 Employ and integrate developmentally appropriate principles, concepts and learning opportunities in all areas of our schools.

2.2 Implement a systemic process to support students, families, educators, and community members to work together to help students live with respect, empathy, and integrity.

2.3 Provide professional development for staff to support and integrate the strategies in this goal.

2.4 Reflect regularly on progress of students’ social and emotional growth.

Goal 3:      Our school district will strengthen partnerships[iii] among families, the community and the schools that enrich learning and maximize resources.

Strategies to accomplish this goal:

3.1 Enhance interaction between school and families to provide information, skills, and support to effectively enrich children’s learning. 

3.2 Utilize the community to help enrich and supplement learning opportunities and maximize resources.

3.3 Strengthen communication links from the schools to build an informed community and to build support for school district programs and outcomes.

3.4 Engage with the community in regular dialogue regarding school policies, practices, and programs through clearly defined processes and procedures.

GLOSSARY

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[i] Authentic assessment  (also known as "alternative assessment" or "performance assessment") seeks to gather information about a student's level of knowledge by engaging him/her in a task that:

• offers an opportunity to demonstrate understanding as it applies to a real situation or possible scenario
• may extend his/her knowledge of the subject through completion of the task
• is designed to 'make visible' the students' performance on a specific set of criteria (related to course objectives)

[ii] Student-centered learning focuses on the students’ learning and what students do to achieve this, rather than what the teacher does. This definition emphasizes the concept of the student doing. It includes: the reliance on active rather than passive learning, an emphasis on deep learning and understanding, increased responsibility and accountability on the part of the student, an increased sense of autonomy in the learner, an interdependence between teacher and learner, and mutual respect within the learner teacher relationship.

[iii] Partnership is used in the broadest sense here, and could include a range of formal or informal associations such as parent-teacher relationships, family or community members volunteering in the schools, and collaborations with local businesses and organizations.