1.     Literacy Goal  

This goal will focus on improving language arts skills building-wide. Decades of educational research point to students who can “crack the code” to reading and read at, or above, grade level by grade 3 dramatically improving their ability to access content across all curricula. The following action steps will be taken in pursuit of language arts achievement across all content areas and grade-levels:

• Make a sustainable shift in our underlying expertise regarding literacy instruction. Literacy will become job number one, after safety.

• Shift literacy instruction being perceived as exclusively the job of ELA and Reading teachers to be important across all content areas and grade levels.

• PHCS, in partnership with Colton-Pierrepont, will adopt the KEYS TO LITERACY training. More than a literacy program, KEYS TO LITERACY teaches educators the research based  components or “keys” to any successful literacy program.

• After 3 years, the PHCS staff should be discerning consumers and expert enough to discern proven strategies from those that have not been shown to be successful, regardless of the reading program.

• PHCS and CPCS will pull together a literacy leadership team, including administrators, as the first trainees on how to successfully role out KEYS TO LITERACY training.

• Teachers will participate in professional learning opportunities that will enhance student achievement in the area of written language and support the rollout of Next Generation ELA standards.

2.    High Performance Work Systems: Staff Empowerment/Climate & Culture

Making a cultural shift to where staff have more buy-in through shared objectives, collaboration, open communication, and leadership. When individuals are provided with meaningful roles in setting collective expectations, as well as having a voice in the decision-making process, it improves their investment in the outcomes. PHCS’s goal is not to have staff feel that they are carrying out directives that are done unto them but, rather, being brought in to the decision-making process with agency to make improvements.

PHCS recognizes that a significant amount of learning takes place between staff members and, to this end, will encourage “cross pollination” opportunities for new and veteran staff alike to observe each other’s classrooms and the instructional spaces of educators in other school districts with meaningful follow-up discussions.

PHCS recognizes the power of staff committees and teams to improve understanding/communication, increase investment in outcomes, increase trust, increase efficiency, and increase engagement. Some examples of PHCS committees/teams include:

• The Building Team

• The Mentoring Team

• The Panther Paws Community Outreach Committee

• The Technology Committee

• The Wellness Committee

Definition: “A high-performance work team is a group of highly skilled people working in cross-functional areas and who focus on achieving a common business goal. The team is aligned with and committed to shared values and vision and works towards a common objective. This highly effective team is innovative in problem-solving and is known for displaying a high level of communication and collaboration, delivering consistent and superior results.”

3.   Technology Integration Goal

PHCS recognizes that technology is constantly changing. The District will foster a culture of continuous learning among student and staff to address skill gaps. PHCS will strive to provide teachers with instructional technology and develop their capacity for using instructional technology to improve instructional effectiveness, student engagement, tracking student progress, and assessing student achievement. The District will support this goal by:

•  Increasing opportunities for instructional technology coaching (double from 2020-2021)

• Asking the District Technology Committee to provide guidance as teachers leverage technology to provide opportunities for students to learn and practice 21st Century Skills such as collaboration, creativity, problem solving, and communication.

• Using technology to improve school safety.

• Using technology to better communicate with school stakeholders.

• Using technology to streamline human resources and business office processes by moving toward a paperless system. 

Supporting Research/Resources:

Portner, H., & Collins, W. E. (2014). Leader of Leaders: The Handbook for Principals on the Cultivation, Support, and Impact of Teacher-Leaders. Pearson Higher Ed.

Schmoker, M. (2016). Leading with Focus: Evaluating the Essentials for School and District Improvement. Alexandria, VA: ASCD

Simplilearn (2017). Retrieved from https://www.simplilearn.com/ building-high-performing-teams-article#thedefinitionofahighperformingteam