LAWRENCE PUBLIC SCHOOLS
2003-2004 STRATEGIC PLAN UPDATE
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In 1999, the Lawrence Board of Education invited 100 community members to participate in a Futures Planning Conference. Participants represented students, teachers, educational support staff, school administrators, parents, business and university leaders, retired citizens, and community activists. The purpose of the event was to outline goals for the future of the Lawrence Public Schools and its students. The resulting six goals now serve as focal points for the district's strategic planning efforts.

Lawrence Public Schools will:

• Be student-centered environments that ensure all students learn academic and life skills to reach their maximum potentials.
• Recruit, develop and retain only high quality staff to educate and support all students and demonstrate the staff’s value to our community.
• Be comprehensive centers for accessible community service.
• Expand and integrate the use of technology into all phases of the educational process.
• Evaluate existing resources and identify additional educational support.
• Implement effective collaboration and teamwork and continuously involve our community in setting, refining and implementing goals and initiatives.

As a venue for implementing these goals, the district contracted with Phi Delta Kappa to conduct a Curriculum Management Audit for the Improvement of Lawrence Public Schools. Recommendations from the June, 1999, audit are integrated throughout the strategic plan.

During the summer of 2001, three retreats were held to build consensus among the teachers, parents, school board, educational staff, administrators, and community members on priorities for the 2001-2002 school year. Teams did an extensive analysis of 2000-2001 accomplishments and developed an action plan to focus on increasing achievement for all students. The resulting June 5, 2002, Strategic Plan has been archived.

• The 2003-2004 Strategic Plan will continue to focus on improving student achievement. This updated action plan is the outcome of discussions and consensus building during 2002-2003 district professional development activities. Highlights included:
• June 6 and 7 - Raising the Standards for All, administrative retreat
• August 7 - Joint board and district level administrative retreat
• November 4- Effective Practices for Standards Based Teacher Observations-administrators
• June 16 & 17 –Professional Learning Communities-board, administrators, building level teams - DuFour
• Professional development activities for 2003-2004 will include:
• Follow-up work started at the summer DuFour Conference
• September 12- Confronting Mediocre Teaching-administrators - Dr. James Warnock
• April 22- Learning for All – Whatever it Takes – Dr. Larry Lezotte

EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMMING

Assessment:

1. Understand the process of assessment and develop a purpose statement
2. Embed local assessments as part of the district’s instructional program in both content and administration and use data as a tool to drive instruction and provide accountability for teaching and learning

Curriculum and Instruction:

1. Provide a district curriculum that is clearly defined, relevant, and aligned with local, state and national standards.
2. Provide a curriculum that is understood by all stakeholders
3. Provide a district curriculum that is consistently delivered
4. Implement a standards-based report card for elementary grades
5. Review early childhood services
6. Review early intervention and support in reading

Technology:

1. Integrate technology into the curriculum
2. Increase technical support
3. Increase professional development
4. Provide adequate funding for technology

Planning and Program Improvement:

1. Provide direction and support for continuous improvement
2. Build capacity of staff to provide quality professional development
3. Provide additional extended learning opportunities

Student Services:

1. Complete study and develop district planning for gifted education
2. Improve problem solving processes and individualized student program planning
3. Develop instructional improvement model that focuses on job embedded training for special educators
4. Support the district’s focus on increasing student achievement for students with disabilities

HUMAN RESOURCES

1. Recruit, develop, and retain high quality staff, and to ensure compliance with No Child Left Behind (NCLB)
2. Establish procedures for recruiting and retaining highly qualified para-educators in compliance with NCLB
3. Review efficiency of hiring process and procedures and implement best practices
4. Provide quality training and strong teacher support to ensure best instructional practices
5. Implement Classification Study (Classified Staff)
6. Update and maintain the automated Substitute System