Danville Schools now have strategic plan
Published 6:34 pm Thursday, March 28, 2019
- Danville Superintendent Tammy McDonald reviews a proposed strategic plan with the Danville school board during a working session earlier in March. The board passed the plan as part of its consent agenda last week. Photo by Ben Kleppinger.
The Danville Schools now has a strategic plan — something Superintendent Tammy McDonald said it didn’t have before.
The school board unanimously approved the “Success for All” plan as part of its consent agenda this month.
“I just want to say kudos to everybody who worked on it,” school board member Lori Finke said. “I know this has been a need for a while and I’m proud of our district and everybody has worked really hard. … I’m excited about having a plan and watching it be implemented.”
Danville school board member Paul Smiley said he thinks the district’s new strategic plan is “extremely well done.” Photo by Ben Kleppinger.
The plan includes a vision statement that “all students will graduate with the skills and knowledge for success in their chosen path and be prepared for civic engagement in a diverse society.”
And it has a mission to “engage all students in the pursuit of the Danville Diploma …”
“As an innovative district, we look for new and meaningful ways students can learn by doing, show what they know and contribute to the community and wider world,” the mission statement reads.
The plan sets up three “pillars” for success — academic success, school wellness and operations. There are eight goals split into the three pillars:
• juniors will score an average of 21 on the ACT by 2022;
• Danville will be at or above the state average for reading and math by 2022;
• the district “will provide equitable access to education and growth via a rigorous and relevant curriculum in all subject areas, regardless of student performance level;”
• the district will work to increase its “capacity” to help students with social and emotional health;
• the district will use “operational behavior management systems resulting in improved student behavior” and use alternatives to suspensions “to reduce referrals and out-of-school suspension rates;
The Danville Independent School District’s new strategic plan has eight goals divided into three “pillars” or areas — academic success, school wellness and operations. Graphic courtesy Danville Schools
• the district will regularly review emergency management plans;
• the district will “demonstrate effective and efficient financial planning and fiscal responsibility;” and
• the district will form a recruitment plan that will increase the number of applicants for open positions by 10 percent, and the number of minority applicants and applicants for “hard-to-staff subjects/positions” by 20 percent.
The plan lists between three and seven strategies that will be used to accomplish each goal.
McDonald said developing the strategic plan was a months-long process that involved the school board, community members, school committees, students and parents.
“I think this is extremely well done,” board member Paul Smiley said earlier in March, when the board reviewed the plan during its working session.
Board Chair Steve Becker said he is impressed by the plan and thankful to the wide variety of people who assisted in its creation.
“This document cannot be one that gets printed and put into a file,” he said. “The way I look at this document — this is the pathway to our district continuing and becoming more successful.”
