DCPS Business Plan for Strategic Reform

MISSION

“To develop inspired learners who excel academically and socially in dynamic schools that instill confidence and generate enthusiasm throughout the District’s many communities and make DC Public Schools the first choice of parents”

DCPS BUSINESS PLAN

Six transformational goals that will enable us to achieve that mission
The 3-phased process that we will use to pursue these goals
Guiding principles for implementing the plan

OUTCOMES

Specific improvements that represent attaining our mission

Improved student academic and social learning
Dynamic schools able to provide an excellent education to all students
Reliable and capable organization focused on each student’s education

SIX TRANSFORMATIONAL GOALS ADDRESS THE DISTRICT’S MANY CHALLENGES AND WILL HELP TO MAKE THIS MISSION A REALITY

	Business plan goals	Rationale
Principals and teachers	Develop, attract, and retain excellent principals and teachers	Our principals and teachers need more competitive compensation packages and better on-going professional development, skill building, evaluation and monitoring
Curricula, programs, and learning environments	Implement first-rate learning environments, rigorous curricula, strong academic programs, and extensive enrichment offerings	We need excellent learning environments that include clear standards supported by textbooks, instructional guides, assessments, and content-related professional development, particularly in early childhood literacy and numeracy; we also need accelerated learning opportunities and strengthened academic and co-curricular programs
Central administration and support	Develop an excellent, service-oriented central administration to support schools	We must dramatically improve our ability to reliably and effectively deliver crucial school-based and central support functions to schools — and we need to do so in a data-driven, fully customer service-oriented manner
Fiscal responsibility	Maximize the dollars used to improve student achievement	To better meet our students’ needs and regain our fiscal credibility, we need to focus our dollars on teaching and learning, eliminate misdirected spending, and aggressively pursue additional funding from varied sources
Parents and community	Enable and energize parent and community involvement	We need to treat parents as both partners and customers; we also need to find productive ways to engage the many community groups that are interested in giving more to our schools
Interagency partnerships	Strengthen partnerships with city agencies	We need to capitalize on stronger and more involved partnerships with city agencies, particularly in the areas of special education, health, family services, early education, recreation, and libraries

EACH PHASE FOCUSES ON SPECIFIC INITIATIVES

Summary of major initiatives

Phase 1 (2001-02): Getting the fundamentals right
System-wide priorities Devise and implement successful principal and teacher recruiting process Design professional development academies for principals and teachers Develop an improved principal evaluation tool Transform 9 low-performing schools into Children First schools Plan the reinvention of high schools of '02-03 implementation Adopt and begin to implement a core curriculum for all grade levels Begin transformation of central administration and institute a performance management system Complete facilities modernization of 3 schools Develop theme and coordinated approach for community involvement (e.g., after school programs) Open expanded co-located health and mental health services with city agencies, beginning in 9 transforming schools Increase collaboration with city recreation and family service departments	Operational improvements Develop plan for state-of-the-art procurement function pilot at 25% of schools Deploy PeopleSoft for HR and finance Establish interagency coordination process Develop performance-based programmatic budget Develop tools to track spending and increase fiscal accountability Certify all uncertified teachers by September 1
Phase 2 (2002-03): Building on our early successes
System-wide priorities Open professional development academy with focus on new curriculum, instructional strategies, classroom management, and school leadership* Implement new principal evaluation tool; begin development teacher tools" Develop special support for new teachers and principals Reinvent all high schools* Implement core curriculum in 30 elementary schools* Develop and implement a comprehensive behavior management program Improve internal special education service levels; open additional DCPS programs Complete building modernization of 6 schools* Work with city early education development centers to integrate curriculum, certify staff	Operational improvements Roll out new procurement function to all schools
Phase 3 (2003-04): Reaching for excellence
System-wide priorities Implement new teacher evaluation tools* Complete curriculum rollout* Implement student assessments based on new curriculum* Complete building modernization of 8 schools* Strengthen non-public partnerships by launching DC satellite facilities and negotiating contracts Improve professional development opportunities for school-based support staff	Operational improvements Change budget to match July 1—June 30 school year Develop improved student information databases

*Continuation from previous phase

OUR GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR THE TRANSFORMATION WILL PRIORITIZE ACCOUNTABILITY, FOCUS, AND COLLABORATION

BUSINESS PLAN

High expectations and accountability

Set high expectations for what our school system and our students can achieve
Assign performance measures and accountable people for each initiative; build clear monitoring systems that focus on results and, after providing support, take decisive action when accountable people do not deliver

Clear focus

Focus on a specific set of reforms for a sustained period of time
Prioritize initiatives that improve teaching and learning
Address problems systematically rather than attempting to fix one component without addressing its causes and dependents

Collaborative mindset

Expand on local DCPS and external best practices
Work in partnership with many communities to reform the system and share accountability for the plan’s success

OUTCOME: SPECIFIC, MEASURABLE IMPROVEMENTS AT THE STUDENT, SCHOOL, AND SYSTEM LEVELS

Anticipated outcomes	Sample measures
Students
Increases in student performance	% of students at or above grade level in reading and math % reading by start of 3rd grade
Improvements in graduation and promotion	% of 9th graders graduating in 4 years Promotion rate at each grade level
Decreases in behavioral problems	Mid-year interschool transfers Office referrals for discipline
Increases in social learning	Attendance rate Participation in extra-curricular activities
Schools
Excellent teacher and principal skills	100% teacher certification and trained on new curricula 100% of principals rated excellent on revised evaluation tool
Clean, safe, supplied learning environment	Teacher satisfaction with safety and facilitates Decrease in safety incidents
High parent and community involvement	90% attendance rate at parent-teacher conferences 100% of schools have 1+ community partnership
Effective use of student data	100% of student records are complete, accurate, and effectively used to analyze individual needs
Efficient use of resources	100% of schools use budgets that meet DCPS standards and effectively further the local school plan
System
Reliable service delivery	90% of procurement orders processed in 24 hours 100% of parental inquires responded to within 48 hours
Service-oriented administration	80% excellent customer service ratings for central administration by local schools
Improved fiscal responsibility	Quarterly public issue of budget including budgeted dollars contrasted with expenditures 100% of schools and departments given monthly budget updates
Increased transparency and accountability	Public display of school and departmental performance report cards
Improved use of data to improve performance	100% of schools given classroom-specific reports on achievement with benchmarked comparisons

DC Public Schools Business Plan for Strategic Reform — Board Summary July 23, 2001

DCPS Business Plan for Strategic Reform

MISSION

DCPS BUSINESS PLAN

OUTCOMES

SIX TRANSFORMATIONAL GOALS ADDRESS THE DISTRICT’S MANY CHALLENGES AND WILL HELP TO MAKE THIS MISSION A REALITY

EACH PHASE FOCUSES ON SPECIFIC INITIATIVES

Summary of major initiatives

Phase 1 (2001-02): Getting the fundamentals right

Phase 2 (2002-03): Building on our early successes

Phase 3 (2003-04): Reaching for excellence

OUR GUIDING PRINCIPLES FOR THE TRANSFORMATION WILL PRIORITIZE ACCOUNTABILITY, FOCUS, AND COLLABORATION

BUSINESS PLAN

High expectations and accountability

Clear focus

Collaborative mindset

OUTCOME: SPECIFIC, MEASURABLE IMPROVEMENTS AT THE STUDENT, SCHOOL, AND SYSTEM LEVELS

Anticipated outcomes

Sample measures

Students

Schools

System

DC Public Schools
Business Plan for Strategic Reform — Board Summary
July 23, 2001