School board adopts strategic plan to guide district’s future

Members of the Houston board of education last Tuesday adopted a strategic plan that will guide district learning and interaction with patrons.

The approval comes after conversations held with the district’s employees, students and members of the community.

“We believe the strategic plan brings renewed focus, purpose and enthusiasm to our work of preparing students to succeed in their personalized path of learning and growth,”  wrote Dr. Allen Moss as a preamble  to a four-page document that highlights the district’s comprehensive school improvement plan.

There are six focus areas:

Effective teaching and learning

Ensuring that class structure — size and assignment — is consistent with program standards. That includes doing a bi-annual audit of every course, class or program of study. The district will provide high quality career education and learning that ensures success among all graduates. The school also will implement evidence-based instructional practices and put in place several tiers of support that addresses the academic, emotional, behavorial, social and physical needs of the district’s 1,000 students.

Collaborative climate and culture

The district will intentionally engage parents/guardians and the community to create effective partnerships that support the development and achievement of all students.

Alignment of standards, curriculum and assessment

The goal is to develop comprehensive, rigorous, guaranteed and viable curriculum for all courses and programs.

Equity and access

The district will administer assessments to measure academic success and demonstrate improvement in learning over time. That calls for intentionally looking at education outcomes to reduce gaps between those deemed gifted and those at-risk.

Facilities and Improvement

The district will continue to make improvements to facilities, including the middle school building, track and fine arts department. It will provide space and facilities to promote and expand early childhood and pre-school education. It will provide space and facilities to host and expand career and technical education. As promised, it will finalize planning for phase 2 of the bond issue. Phase one is coming to a close with the completion of the new high school gymnasium and other improvements.

Finance

The district will develop and implement plans to ensure sufficient financial resources are in place to meet objectives. That includes processes to maximize the district’s revenues while increasing efficiencies. At the same time publicizing district financial information to inform the public and build trust.

Most recently it hired an adviser to help with its finances, including saving interest money on its current bond issue on the books, assist with acquiring the space occupying the Piney River Technical Center and work toward phase 2 of the bond issue.