2001 Annual Report - Town of South Windsor

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T O W N O F S O U T H W I N D S O R www.southwindsor.org B O A R D O F E D U C A T I O N In reviewing the Scholastic Assessment Test (SAT) results, it was noted that the performance of the Class of 2000 exceeded that of the state and national reference groups in all major categories. This was accomplished notwithstanding the fact that the percentage of South Windsor graduates taking the test was extremely high. A high percentage of test takers usually results in lower test averages. In an effort to use all test and other assessment data effectively, the school board authorized the purchase of data warehousing software known as eScholar. Simply put, eScholar allows us to collect and manage information about students in a way that makes analysis easier and more productive for improving student learning. During the 2000-01 school year, South Windsor staff, working with eScholar staff, developed data domains in testing and assessment, student attendance, student demographics, professional development, staff demographics, and student grades. When the warehousing initiative is completed, the school board will be able to receive a broad range of reports concerning the performance of our students and the effectiveness of our curriculum and instruction. The eScholar initiative is consistent with the South Windsor Public Schools strategic plan, Beyond 2000: Challenge and Change. Two other initiatives called for by our strategic plan, Beyond 2000: Challenge and Change, are the expansion of foreign language to grade six and the establishment of an educational portal for use by students, teachers, and community. Extension of foreign language teaching to grade six was approved. Unfortunately, it was not funded in the 2001-02 budget. This initiative will be reconsidered for 2002-03. The educational portal was funded. A report was provided to the school board concerning this exciting project. An educational portal might be thought of as an AOL or America On Line dedicated to matters related to education, instruction, and learning. The South Windsor Public Schools, in partnership with the Capital Region Education Council (CREC), worked with representatives from Copernicus to develop the educational portal. The portal is now operational and can be accessed through the South Windsor Public Schools website, swindsor@k12.ct.us. Lastly, three substantive activities took place in the area of School Governance. First, the school board reviewed a status report on the implementation of the school system technology plan. The school board wanted more information both about its impact and costs. Second, the school board was advised that the strategic plan goal of establishing before-and after-school programs for students has been achieved. It was reported that during the 2000-01 school year, programs offered before and after school included foreign languages, pottery, photography, cooking, and art, to name a few. Participation in the programs was significant and feedback has been positive. Finally, the school board approved a revision of the high school graduation requirements. Policies and operations Activities under Policies and Operations are those activities the school board uses to manage, administer, and monitor the direction of the South Windsor Public Schools. One of the means that the school board uses to accomplish these tasks is the setting of school board goals. Administrators are then required to establish their own objectives for the year, based on those goals. Each year the school board reviews progress made in achieving the previous year’s goals, establishes goals for the next year, and reviews and approves administrative objectives related to those goals. In 2001, the school board approved goals which included the development of viable options for long-term solutions to our elementary school space needs. In addition, the goals continue to reflect the implementation of the Beyond 2000: Challenge and Change strategic plan. The goal concerning the elementary space needs reflects an ongoing concern of the school board. To help the school board get a better understanding of the physical 8 2000-2001 ANNUAL REPORT
www.southwindsor.org T O W N O F S O U T H W I N D S O R B O A R D O F E D U C A T I O N condition of the buildings, a facility study was done by O, R and L Facility Management. The study was conducted and the results were reviewed at a school board meeting. It is a comprehensive study which assesses the quality and condition of the district’s elementary schools. The study was needed to give the school board substantive information to determine the relative merits of renovation versus new construction. Although the Timothy Edwards Middle School construction is virtually completed, this construction program still required school board attention. A good example of this is the report provided by J. P. Engineering. The report was requested by the town to determine specific reasons why components of the heating system throughout the Timothy Edwards Middle School building froze up so quickly during a relatively brief heating failure. The report contained recommendations for preventative measures. The school board wrote to the Public Building Commission (PBC) requesting that it follow through on the recommendations noted as soon as possible. To manage the enrollment growth and to monitor the class size policy, the school board reviewed two related reports. One was the annual enrollment projection. The report established the official enrollment for the 2000-01 school year at 5,008. It also indicated a slowing of growth in grades k-5 enrollment, and significant growth continuing at the middle school and high school over the next five years. There was also a report on the effects of the class size policy at the high school. This report is an indication of the additional staff that might be requested in the next fiscal year. Under Connecticut state law, the school board is the conferring agency for high school diplomas. Although diplomas are usually based on the successful completion of a course of study, a different kind of diploma was established. This diploma was made possible by a law passed by the Connecticut State Legislature. Public Act 2000 1-124, An Act Concerning High School Diplomas and Veterans of World War II, allows local boards to award diplomas to qualifying veterans. Veterans who left high school prior to graduation to serve in the Armed Forces and did not receive a diploma as a consequence for such service were eligible to receive these diplomas. The school board approved a policy which established veterans’ diplomas in South Windsor. Other policies that were approved or revised during the 2000-01 school year related to student discipline, regulations governing the use of the Internet by students, and the aforementioned graduation requirement revisions. Each year a report is provided concerning all the activities in our professional development program. A professional development program is required by the state. It provides to teachers opportunities to keep their skills and knowledge current. All teachers must pursue professional development courses in order to renew their certificate every five years. A report that focused on our teacher evaluation system was also provided. This report is required by the state and it focuses on the results of our program that evaluates the effectiveness of teachers. Other annual reports which were reviewed included one on our information services and another on our custodial and maintenance programs. The information services report included implementation plans for eScholar and a progress report on the new student administration system (SASI). In the spring, the school board welcomed visitors from the Uzbekistan Republic. Through a resolution, the South Windsor Public Schools recognized nine students and their teacher. This is the third time that students from the Republic of Uzbekistan visited South Windsor under the supervision of their teacher, Evgeniya Flaeeva. During the summer of 2001, several students and parents from South Windsor reciprocated by visiting Uzbekistan. No description of the activities of the school board in the area of policies and operations would be complete without a review of the 2000-2001 ANNUAL REPORT 9
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Town of South Windsor 1540 Sullivan
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2001 Annual Report - Town of South Windsor

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