State of the District a Leadership Team Report of the District 2013-2014
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State of the District A Leadership Team Report of the District 2013-2014 Submitted to the Board of Education by Maria C. Rice, Superintendent of Schools 2014 CORE INTELLIGENCE Our Mission... The New Paltz Central School District exists for the children of the community. The focus of its programs and activities is the commitment to measured excellence and continuous growth and development for all. Our Vision... Our school community – students, staff, families and community members – are citizens of the world, passionate about learning and empowered to achieve their dreams. Citizens of the world: responsible, ethical, contributing, participating members of local, national and global communities who value all peoples and care about each other; we respect the environment, work to improve the society in which we live, and understand our role in it. Passionate about learning: confident and reflective, curious, nimble thinkers whose knowledge of the past makes them capable of questioning, analyzing, and assimilating new information. They are technologically creative and able to imagine alternatives to what is and what is yet to be. They also dare to be risk takers in crafting their futures. Empowered: they are well prepared to be self-directed and expressive, to develop and use their personal skills and abilities, to be comfortable with change, achieve deep understanding, make informed and wise decisions, and to cooperate, collaborate, and compete. They live a healthy life style, are creative, and are empowered to achieve their dreams. Our Guiding Principles... 1. To maintain a focus on learning and success for all. 2. To create a cohesive and inclusive culture PK-12, across buildings and departments. 3. To empower and create success for disengaged and disenfranchised students. Educational Standards These standards are the scaffolding upon which the educational master plan is built: Core Intelligence: Standard 1.0 All policies, decisions, agreements, and procedures developed and implemented by policy makers and leadership in the New Paltz Central School District are compatible with the mission, vision and guiding principles, and enhance and assure the learning and success for all students. Program Coherence: Standard 2.0 All programs, curriculum, and instructional strategies employed within the district are coherent and provide the learners with the knowledge, skills, and dispositions that are expected of the citizens of the future; are founded on strategies that lead learners to the highest levels of understanding, empathy and self-knowledge; and empower learners to be curious, self-directed, responsible, ethical, confident and reflective who have a love of learning. Teacher Skill and Competency: Standard 3.0 All teachers in the district demonstrate a thorough knowledge and understanding of the content area they teach, knowledge and application of current learning theories and principles, and proficiency in conducting, guiding, and assessing the teaching and learning process. Learning Environment: Standard 4.0 A safe and supportive learning environment is sustained throughout the district to promote inquiry and learning for all. Leadership Capacity: Standard 5.0 Leadership within the district is collaborative, aligned with the district mission and vision, invites staff input in collegial inquiry and decision making, and promotes excellence, to enhance and to improve student learning. Resources: Standard 6.0 The District assures that all resources (human, physical, and financial) are allocated and provided equitably, efficiently, and in a timely fashion, to support and enhance student learning. Standard 7.0 The District is a valued resource within the community. Introduction This evaluative report is a reflective assessment of the many aspects and activities that have transpired over the 2013-2014 school year in the New Paltz Central School District. It is impossible to capture all of the positive events that have moved us toward the quality education for which we have been recognized. This report will provide data from each of the four buildings, the department of pupil personnel services, as well as the financial and programmatic supports that are in place to help us achieve our goals, live our vision, and accomplish our mission. The report is divided into several components: the Superintendent’s Overview of the State of the District (including a brief synopsis of the progress we have made toward meeting the Board established District Goals), directions for the future, and a plan to consolidate and coordinate the many efforts in our school system. Table of Contents SECTION ONE Superintendent’s Overview .......................................................................... 1 SECTION TWO Educational Master Plan ............................................................................. 7 SECTION THREE Building-Level Activities toward Meeting District Goals Duzine/Lenape Elementary Schools .................................. 31 New Paltz Middle School .............................................................. 81 New Paltz High School .................................................................125 SECTION FOUR District-Level Activities toward Meeting District Goals Pupil Personnel Services ...............................................................195 Department of Educational Programs ...........................................219 Business Office ............................................................................357 Department of Health, Physical Education, Health Services, and Athletics .......................................................363 SECTION FIVE Auxiliary Support Services Department of Food Service .........................................................375 Department of Transportation ......................................................383 Facilities and Operations Department ...........................................395 Section One Superintendent’s Overview Superintendent’s Overview Schools have always been at their best when confronted with overwhelming problems and when people are allowed to address them at the level of the problem and not given solutions from the “great designer.” In this case the great designer may be the New York State Legislature, or the State Education Department imposing laws and regulations that too many times have no basis in research, nor do they focus on the students our schools serve. Fortunately, the New Paltz Central School District is unique in its focus, its core values, and its unflinching focus on student learning. The New Paltz Central School District has a strong sense of its purpose and reason for its existence. We refer to this as our Core Intelligence – the formal and informal understanding of the way things are done in New Paltz. These shared understandings and common values are the main element of our district. It is the collective commitment to these principles that articulate what the people in the district believe and what they seek to create. It is our mission, the vision we live, our guiding principles and the educational standards designed by and for our district. Each and every day our schools—students, faculty, and staff—are engaged in meaningful and productive learning and growing. In fact we are focused on learning and growing as a collective and adaptive organization. It is this focus and this adaptive process which enables our school district to consistently achieve excellence. This statement is true even though we are faced with considerable challenges. The past few years have been froth with trials. Specific examples of these challenges include: Unfunded mandates such as APPR, Gap Elimination, and a complex tax levy formula which limits our mechanism to raise funds. In many otherwise stable districts these challenges have resulted in a changing of course, veering from the organization’s goals and aspirations. Not in New Paltz Central School District. Our Master Plan, along with our Mission and Vision Statements, has provided the “terra firma” on which to stand as we navigate these rough waters. Our resolve is unwavering; our objectives clear. “The New Paltz Central School District exists for the children of the community. The focus of its programs and activities is the commitment to measured excellence and continuous growth.” Guided by this common moral compass, all of our schools and departments have achieved excellence throughout the 2013 – 2014 school year. Below are highlights of these achievements. Duzine As the socio-economically disadvantaged subgroup of students did not meet a NY State benchmark on Math and ELA assessments, Duzine was designated as a Local Assistance Plan School (LAP). This challenge engendered a call to action. Teachers, administrators, and a parent representative came together to support this student population. The LAP team engaged in a Diagnostic-Self Section 1: Superintendent’s Overview, Page 1 Review process. Through their deep refection they were able to identify root causes and thereby successful suggest and implement solutions. In 2014 Duzine Elementary was relieved of the LAP designation. Describing this achievement as “a success story” Ulster County BOCES (Board of Cooperative Educational Services) which had achieved this goal, requested Principal Deborah Hogencamp and Assistant Superintendent Michelle Martoni to present on this topic to a group of administrators and teachers from around the County. Principal Deborah Hogencamp and Assistant Superintendent Michelle Martoni continue to provide