STRATEGIC DESIGN TEAM VOTES TO ADDRESS NINE SPECIFIC RESULTS

Collaboration and clarification were key elements during the Strategic Design Committee's meeting on March 1. It was fitting that this dedicated group of parents, employees, students and community members would meet during Texas Public Schools Week, a week that recognizes the importance of involvement in public education.

North East ISD's Transforming the Future initiative was first launched in September 2013. The process has kept momentum as it continues its mission to build a revised educational foundation for the betterment of our students. With eight goals and 36 specific results developed by the Strategic Design Committee, a group of dedicated administrators, or Implementation Managers, addressed nine of the specific results last year and for the 2015-2016 school year eleven specific results are being addressed.

With the initiative approaching three years since its launch in September 2013, the Strategic Design Team focused on providing feedback on all of the remaining 16 Specific Results. At the end of the all-day meeting, the team voted to address nine of the Specific Results in the 2016-2017 school year (listed below).

The meeting featured an introduction by Dr. Brian G. Gottardy, Superintendent of Schools, and interactive sessions led by facilitators Deb Caldwell, Director of Government Relations and Grant Administration; Oteka Gibson, Director of Leadership Development and Safe and Drug-Free Schools; Dorian Jones, Research Analyst, Accountability and Planning; and Patti Castellano, Senior Director of School Improvement. In addition to Tom Johnson, Senior Director of Technology Services, Caldwell, Gibson, Jones and Castellano make up the Core Team.

Near the conclusion of the meeting, the Strategic Design Team completed letters to the Implementation Managers. The letters gave members the opportunity to share their vision for each of the Specific Results. The Implementation Manager will make it part of their mission to keep these suggestion in mind as they create action steps to address the nine Specific Results.

• Schedule interactive time for students to explore future course pathways and/or career endeavors.
• Create a district staffing plan to maximize human resources in areas of greatest need.
• Utilize project-based learning to integrate real world experiences in grades K-12 classrooms.
• Coordinate distance learning experiences intended to bring "the world" into the classroom.
• Utilize community members as resources for ongoing cultural awareness opportunities in classrooms.
• Establish and promote distance learning opportunities to communicate and share cultural and academic experiences.
• Provide avenues for the accessibility of additional devices through district funding, student purchases, partnerships, and/or grants in an attempt to reach a 1:1 student device ratio.
• Offer service learning opportunities aligned with the scope and sequence for each subject area.
• Implement supportive programs specific to campus needs to address the emotional and physical wellbeing of students and staff.