April 30th, 2010
Hays CISD approves 5-year strategic plan

STAFF REPORT

Hays CISD trustees unanimously approved a five-year strategic plan this week, culminating a five-month process engaging the community and school officials.

“We worked countless hours, conducted research and held numerous team meetings to flesh out the many options, ideas and opportunities for maximizing the district’s ability to serve, given our finite resources,” said Buda Mayor Bobby Lane, a member of the Hays CISD strategic planning team. “These action plans will serve as your blueprint and roadmap for continually identifying opportunities to improve student learning outcomes, reducing the district’s impact on the environment through green initiatives and ensuring that technological resources are planned and implemented to facilitate information access for learning, as well as managing the district’s business and educational activities over the next five years.”

Said Hays CISD Trustees President Patti Wood, “It is amazing to me the participation and the amount of time and effort in this. The charge was taken seriously. People worked very hard.”

Outgoing Trustee Ralph Pfluger challenged the board to “work with it. Give it the best shot you can. It came from the community and a great mixture of people contributed to it.”

Wood and Pfluger also served on the 27-member strategic planning team.

An implementation plan, which includes a timeline, evaluation and budget components and the identification of individuals responsible for the action plans, will be drawn up by district administration during the next few months. Intensive training with district administrators will take place during the summer to produce a roadmap for the annual district improvement plan and campus improvement plans in the context of the five-year strategic plan.

Hays CISD Superintendent assured trustees that communication to staff and the community will “bring it to life,” this summer and through the next school year.

Following is the text of the plan.

Mission Statement

The mission of Hays CISD, an innovative community of learners that values the diversity and legacy of the people, is to nurture students to become extraordinary citizens through unique, personal educational experiences.

Beliefs

We believe that…

* Cultivating positive relationships is the cornerstone of success.
* Valuing diversity enriches and strengthens performance.
* High expectations and hard work dramatically affect performance.
* Balance in life is essential to well-being.
* Every person has inherent value and deserves respect.
* Every person has an innate curiosity and a desire to learn.
* Every person is a learner and a teacher.
* Every person is ultimately accountable to self and others.
* Fostering community is essential for individual and collective prosperity.
* Choices we make today determine our future and the future of our planet.
* Safety is paramount to success; risk is essential to achieving greatness.
* Integrity requires open, honest communication.
* Allocation of resources reflects the values of the organization.
* Recognizing and addressing unique abilities and needs generate powerful outcomes.
* The power of possibility and change fuels opportunity and achievement.

Strategic Objectives

* Every student will develop and complete a challenging, personalized educational plan with guidance from family and school.
* Every student will practice civic responsibility and demonstrate respect.
* Every student will value self and others.
* Every student will graduate prepared to pursue personal aspirations, lofty dreams, and unforeseen opportunities.

Parameters

* We will make decisions based on what is best for students.
* We will honor relationships and treat all people with dignity and respect.
* We will seek balance to promote well-being in all areas of life.
* We will be responsible stewards of our resources.
* We will not compromise excellence.
* We will not give up on any student.

Strategies

I. We will revolutionize the learning experience by meeting the needs of 21st Century learners through relevant curriculum and engaging instruction guided by personalized education plans.

Specific Results:

A. Establish a personalized education plan for each student.
B. Personalize the learning experience for each child through the dedicated use of each child’s personalized education plan.
C. Create meaningful opportunities for student demonstration and mastery of core subjects and 21st Century skills through competency based measures of student progress
D. Create a freshman center within each comprehensive high school.
E. Utilize best practices and 21st Century skills for a rigorous, relevant, engaging curriculum.
F. Create a 21st Century District.
G. Ensure students opportunities to take electives that reflect emerging skill sets and careers to meet current workforce demands.

II. We will remove barriers to student performance by assessing physical, social and emotional needs and providing necessary supports.

Specific Results:

A. Identify students in need of physical wellness improvement plans and implement individual student wellness goals.
B. Expand existing Pre-K program to become an integrated, effective full-day Pre-Kindergarten program that meets the social, emotional, physical and learning needs of students.

III. We will create an employee-friendly organization based on the ideals of trust and communication.

Specific Results:

A. Improve employee benefits menu with comprehensive compensation plan.
B. Establish an employee development and growth model that supports our mission and includes rewards and incentives for employees.
C. Develop an efficient system of communication.

IV. We will actively establish relationships with community and business groups to enhance educational opportunities in support of the District’s mission.

Specific Results:

A. Establish a comprehensive student volunteer program at each school.
B. Expand the district’s Community Ed program by establishing a systemic process for community Partners to participate.
C. Provide campuses with best practices in training, resources and access to the district database for a comprehensive volunteer/mentor/Partner program.
D. Through collaboration with the Education Foundation Board of Directors, transfer the duties of the Education Foundation executive director to a position independent of the district.
E. Improve career clusters opportunities for K-12 students through a comprehensive partnership initiative.

V. We will develop infrastructure to support robust technology integration across the organization and all curricula.

Specific results:

A. Implement and support 21st Century technologies to enrich the curriculum, support administrative functions and improve communication.
B. Implement and support 21st Century technologies to enrich the support administrative functions.
C. Implement and support 21st Century technologies to improve communication.
D. Provide adequate technology infrastructure that will support individual student and professional portfolios, personalized education plans and career/college readiness initiatives.
E. Ensure access to all technology resources by increasing operational network capacity, LAN/WAN bandwidth, Internet capacity and wireless access throughout the district.
F. Allocate budgetary resources and implement operational procedures to increase access to technology for staff, students and parents.
G. Incorporate “Green” IT initiatives when implementing and upgrading all technology.

VI. We will infuse instruction with environmental stewardship and integrate sound environmental practices into facility design, construction, and operation.

Specific results:

A. Establish an environmental and earth science strand to our professional development plan.
B. Create performance indicators in the Hays-Scope to address environmental stewardship and outdoor learning.
C. Develop individual student and campus recognition programs for an eco-friendly culture.
D. Display “green” logo with tagline throughout Hays CISD facilities to promote environmentally-friendly actions.
E. Create an eco-friendly culture in Hays CISD through sound environmental practices.
F. Use the district’s standardized direct digital controls to build a system that will support the viewing of all HVAC systems, lighting, and electricity usage.