By Jennifer Eisenbart
Editor
After a several-months process, a list of strategic goals was presented Monday night to the Burlington Area School District School Board’s Long-Range Planning Committee.
The list covers three years and five different categories, and was the end result of the Stakeholder Driven Strategic Planning sessions guided by the Wisconsin Association of School Boards and Louis Birchbauer.
The planning committee was comprised of staff members and half community members, and worked through five meetings to come up with a list of suggestions. While the process originally started as a possible look at facilities needs, the goals were much broader than that.
The recommendations are broken into five categories – academic programs, extra-curricular programs, facilities, funding and taxes, and staff and employees.
All the recommendations passed, though there was a good deal of discussion on the various topics.
Among the hot topics were trying to figure out the best combination of grades clustered in the schools various schools. The current structure has grades K-4 at four elementary schools, grades 5-6 at Dyer Intermediate School, grades 7-8 at Karcher Middle School and grades 9-12 at Burlington High School.
That may end up changing. With declining enrollment, the question of what grades should be in what buildings will need to be addressed. The district will also need to account for the 4-year-old kindergarten students.
Assistant Superintendent Connie Zinnen said the district also needs to get a handle on the number of transitions students are making. A goal for a study of all of that was set for December of this year.
“There’s no one silver bullet,” Zinnen said.
Another hot topic is how to educate the community on education programs. To that end, a goal was created to set up a districtwide open house.
Some involved in the process want to see more than just an open house. Zinnen said the topic had been discussed at the goal-setting sessions, but a broader goal seemed to be best.
Here’s a brief look at the goals established by the committee:
District Strategic Goals
Goal One – Academic
- By Dec. 1, 2015, a study committee will determine the best grade configurations from an educational standpoint that includes a recommendation if the Burlington Area School District 4K-6 Montessori program should be housed in one building.
- Continue character education at all levels to further develop 4K-12 work ethic, life and social skills, and civic responsibility.
- By the fall of 2016, complete a study of innovative methods to meet the needs of all 4K-12 students and their learning and technology needs.
- By December of 2016, complete and examine a cost analysis of the types of charter and virtual school options for Burlington Area School District to allow for academic opportunities for 4K-12 students.
Goal Two – Extra Curricular Activities
- By Jan. 1, 2016, evaluate current and potential 4K-12 extra-curricular offerings to determine whether opportunities are limited by facilities, cost staffing, program alignment, interest trends and transportation accessibility.
- By March 1, 2016, develop an action plan to address the findings of the extra-curricular evaluation done.
Goal Three – Facilities
- By October 2015, the School Board will appoint a construction management firm to develop a list of needed facility repairs and enhancements and the associated costs.
- By April 2016 the School Board-appointed construction management firm will present a completed study of needed facility repairs and enhancements, with the associated costs, to meet the identified academic and extra-curricular programming needs of the district.
Goal Four – Funding/Taxes
- Starting April 1 each year, the management team will investigate grants, sponsorships, advertising or other funding opportunities that are available to support our education initiatives within the district.
- By July 2016, a financial firm will identify financing plan options for all facility repairs, maintenance and improvements that BASD needs for the next 20 years.
Goal Five – Staff/Employees
- By Sept. 1, 2015, explore the idea of implementing a districtwide open house designed to educate community members about district programs.
- By May 15, 2016, district administration will conduct the Comprehensive Assessment of Leadership for Learning survey to ascertain areas of strengths and weaknesses in order to improve communication, professional development and district culture.
- By Sept. 1, 2015, create an exit employment survey for all staff leaving BASD.
- By Sept. 1, 2017, analyze the current calendar/schedule to increase the amount of time provided to teachers for training, preparation and professional growth.
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