Huntington School Board members voted without opposition to adopt a set of nine goals for the district during the 2019/20 school year. Trustees took the action during their meeting last Monday night in the Adam Spector Memorial Auditorium at Jack Abrams STEM Magnet School.
Trustees have been “kicking around” possible goals with each other and Superintendent James W. Polansky. During the September 9 public meeting, Mr. Polansky discussed the process of developing the final list of goals and then reviewed each of them as trustees offered their own thoughts.
Progress toward meeting the goals is typically reviewed periodically by trustees during public meetings throughout the year.
The adopted goals for 2019/20 include:
- Transition to new standards in pertinent disciplines, while maintaining or expanding opportunities for individual student growth and interest-exploration, leading to improved building/subgroup academic outcomes and cohort graduation rates.
- Explore and/or establish culturally responsive and transformative K-12 learning environments designed to meet the needs of individual learners within a diverse school community.
- Implement practices that address safety and security needs of students and staff, while maintaining welcoming school environments and engendering a district culture that supports students, staff and other stakeholders.
- Investigate/implement energy and other facility-related efficiencies to maximize savings and/or revenue, and update the district’s long-range capital plan.
- Upgrade/enhance technological infrastructure/hardware/applications to prepare students for future academic and professional experiences, while also emphasizing that technology is a tool and should not replace conversation and face-to-face interaction.
- Broaden hiring and retention practices supporting a highly qualified staff, upholding consideration toward its reflection of the district’s culturally diverse population, that collectively help students to reach their academic and personal potential.
- Build upon existing means of home-school communication and collaboration, further increase parent engagement and community outreach.
- Continue to provide and augment relevant and engaging professional learning opportunities designed to support staff member growth and morale, with a focus on differentiated and innovative instructional practices, as well as learning relevance.
- Review and improve district “wellness” practices and initiatives; work with the district’s food-service provider to evaluate and improve the district’s food service program in terms of both appeal and nutritional value.