Broken Arrow Public Schools

100% Literacy• Engagement• GraduationPLUSNew Superintendent Transition Plan

Broken Arrow Public Schools is steeped in tradition and is known for excellence in quality education, fine arts, athletics, and more recently: innovative educational practices. In order to continue the momentum in these areas, it is imperative that the district’s Leadership Team and Board of Education have specific strategies on how we will meet this challenge.

The following report provides a framework of my activities from my first 30 days and the resulting action plans that will be executed through the 2017-2018 school year and beyond.

During my first 30 days as Superintendent, I have had the pleasure of visiting with many departments, organizations and city leaders to get a solid understand-ing of the areas in which we are excelling, as well as the areas in which we have opportunities to grow:

School DivisionsInstruction and School Site Administration

Transportation

Maintenance and Warehouse

Technology

Finance

Construction Services and Operations

Student, Parent and Teacher Groups:

Broken Arrow Parent-Teacher Association (BAPTA)

Broken Arrow Education Association (BAEA)

High School Student Leadership Advisory

Elementary, Middle and High School Teacher Advisory

Community & City OrganizationsCity of Broken Arrow

Broken Arrow Chamber of Commerce

Broken Arrow Civitans

City Fire and Police departments

Educational Partners:

Tulsa Technology Center

Tulsa Community College

Northeastern State University - Broken Arrow

State Organizations:Oklahoma State School Boards Association (OSSBA)

Cooperative Council for Oklahoma School Administration (CCOSA)

Oklahoma State Department of Education (OSDE)

AcademicsEmployee Recruitment & RetentionBoard, Community & City Partnerships

Future planning & growthStrategic Plan 2.0Visible/Engaged with Families & the Community

Summary of the takeaways from these conversations:

AcademicsWhile we have a tradition of strong academics and many innovative program-ming options, there is a distinct desire to increase the rigor and opportuni-ties for our students to receive the highest level of academics possible. Within these conversations, the need for cutting edge opportunities in science and technology surfaced most often. Elementary parents and teachers appreciate the renewed focus on academic success and are looking forward to improving advancement opportunities for students who excel in elementary and middle school. In addition, the students, parents and teachers expressed excitement about the possibility of increasing opportuni-ties for college credit, internships and industry certification concurrently in high school.

Academic Action Plan:

Using the gifted parent advisory group and high school configuration study visioning committees, create a PK-12 advanced academics articulation plan to serve our students that excel in one or more academic areas, including those in technical and trade fields.

Employee Recruitment & RetentionOur employees are very proud to be part of our team, and we have dedicated staff who truly want to serve our students – from our maintenance depart-ment to the classroom teacher. That being said, the reality of life is that we must make sure that we are providing wages and benefits that both attract and retain excellent employees. Concerns about comparable wages, benefits of continuing education and health care costs were most prevalent.

Employee Recruitment & Retention Action Plan:

Review all employee compensation and compare compensation in local mar-kets. Additionally, review all employee benefits to determine usage verses cost benefit. Finally, examine other ways that we can provide more afford-able, quality health care to all of our employees.

Board, Community & City PartnershipsThe last seven years have seen a significant improvement in the relationship between the City of Broken Arrow, the Chamber of Commerce, various civic organizations and Broken Arrow Public Schools. The feedback from orga-nizations in our city indicates, however, that there is much work to be done in building more meaningful relationships between these organizations and our students.

Partnerships Action Plan:

Meet with City, Chamber and civic groups to create a multi-year plan with specific avenues of bringing schools into our community and the community into our schools. Out of these meetings, we will plan ongoing reviews of these partnerships to determine how effective they are and adjust as needed.

Plan and implement a summer board planning retreat in which we review current data and the status of our current goals and Strategic Plan 2.0. Part of this process will include identifying Key Performance Indicators through which we will measure progress on goals.

Continue to foster and grow community partnerships through superinten-dent, board and leadership team networking with civic and city leaders.

Future planning & growth Although I have only lived in Broken Arrow for seven years, I was raised in this area and know that the conversation in Broken Arrow has surrounded growth for many years. Currently, we are set to complete the first phase of a study on this growth and the effects that growth will have on our high school configuration. Although we are still unsure of how this study will conclude, we have determined that current growth patterns indicate that our district continues to grow at an average of 2.2 percent each year. In a district of more than 19,000 students, this means we will add at least 380 students each year. Although this growth is spread out, we are experiencing more growth at the high school in the past two years than ever before. We have received feedback from our community that indicates a desire to split into one or more high school campuses, as well as a desire to stay as one high school; yet parents of younger students overwhelmingly want a smaller learning environment for their children.

Future Planning & Growth Action Plan:

As the district continues to grow, it is critical to have a plan for the future, and an important part of that planning is the configuration of the high school. In July 2015, BAPS commissioned a high school configuration study to research and plan for the future configuration of BAHS. The study was divided into four phases: preparation (July 2015 – December 2015), planning (January 2016 – March 2016), research (April 2016 – December 2016) and the recommendation (January 2017 – May 2017).

In October of 2015, the BAPS Board of Education hired a demographer and Dr. Ken Helvey, a third party facilitator, to help guide the Steering Com-mittee through the various phases of the study and evaluate the research presented. To ensure that all community stakeholders had a voice in this process, a steering committee comprised of parents, district staff, students and members of the community was appointed and approved by the Board of Education in November 2015.

For the majority of 2016, the Steering Committee spent several months ana-lyzing data from working groups, data from the demographer’s growth pro-jections, and feedback from community forums and surveys held in October. The ultimate goal of the Steering Committee is to determine a configuration model that will maximize student achievement and engagement given the available facilities, financial resources and human capital.

The Steering Committee evaluated the findings and brought a preliminary recommendation to the community for their feedback in late March. Feed-back on the preliminary recommendation was collected through an online feedback form, as well as through two community forums held in early April.

The High School Configuration Study Steering Committee was expected to make a recommendation on the future framework of Broken Arrow High School in May.

However, district leadership and the Steering Committee decided to pend the recommendation until more answers about academic programming and extra-curricular activities could be answered. The process that has been in place had us approaching this decision from the wrong direction. This deci-sion cannot be about buildings – it must be about our students and what the community has told us they want: strong academic programming, smaller learning communities and more opportunities for students to connect with their learning in relevant ways. Many of the questions the community posed cannot be answered until a Visioning Task Force can work together to deter-mine those details. Before we have any more conversations about buildings, we need to determine the programming options inside of those buildings, and to help answer these questions, we have assembled a 30-member Visioning Task Force through an application process that was open to the public.

In order to ensure that the task force was comprised of diverse and qualified individuals, the district selection committee looked for candidates who had experience in curriculum and program development, who exemplified inno-vative instructional design in a classroom setting, as well as had experience in fostering community partnerships. The 30 individuals were notified at the end of May that they were selected to be part of the task force, and visioning work will begin this summer.

Tentatively, the task force will attend nine monthly meetings in addition to conducting various research studies and focus groups. This process is anticipated to last through May of 2018. After the Visioning Task Force has determined how to provide the best programming options for students, they will reconvene with the Steering Committee to present their findings and together, the Visioning Task Force and Steering Committee will provide a final recommendation and roadmap to the Board of Education in the summer of 2018.

Strategic Plan 2.0The Board of Education, school leaders and community members recently completed the district’s Strategic Plan 2.0 to carry us through the next three school years, culminating in 2020. We are very excited about this plan, as it aligns with our mantra of 100 percent Literacy, Engagement and Graduation.

Strategic Plan 2.0 Action Plan:

Upon Board approval, our Leadership Team worked with their respective divisions to assign action leaders to the specific results articulated in each objective and corresponding strategy. Action leaders will form teams to articulate SMART (specific, measurably, attainable, relevant, time-bound) goals and create action steps to reach those goals. Leadership Team has set a deadline for teams to submit their SMART goals by July 14.

After those goals have been approved by Leadership Team, they will be shared with site administration to incorporate into the site’s yearly goals. Leveraging the Strategic Plan to guide our site goals will enable us to align our mantra with our practice – which is our purpose. It is my plan as Super-intendent to align all measurable goals, from the classroom teacher to the Leadership Team, to the goals in the Strategic Plan 2.0. This ensures that every corner of our district is working toward the same goals and moving the needle in the direction we intend.

In addition, I would like to engage in a Superintendent/Board evaluation process each quarter that is formative and reflective, allowing us to work together to evaluate measurable Key Performance Indicators that track how we are progressing toward our goals. The following is a tentative schedule for the ongoing evaluation:

September 2017

» Instructional Technology

» Human Resources

December 2017

» Academic Achievement

» Engagement

March 2018

» District Development and Configuration

June 2018

» Instructional Technology

» Finance

Visible/Engaged with Families & the CommunityBuilding and maintaining productive partnerships and connectedness with students, staff, parents and the community is critical. As Superintendent, I will continue to be visible in the community and to seek out and provide opportunities for the community to get to know and engage with me. During my first six months as Superintendent, this has been accomplished by attend-ing student sporting and fine arts events, academic events such as the college signing and Advanced Placement Banquet, and more. I have also provided the community with opportunities through public forums to provide input and be part of the decision-making process as it relates to the high school reconfiguration. Additionally, our communications division manages an open thread in the district’s social media accounts in which community members are able to make inquiries and, if appropriate, get a timely response on behalf of the district.

Engagement & Visibility Action Plan:

During the last few months of school, I began a social media campaign called #ConnectEDwithDrD. This campaign includes weekly trips to various school sites where I engage with teachers and kids in the classroom. My visits are shared with staff, parents, the local community and statewide community through #OklaEd on the district’s many social media channels. The focus of these visits is centered on three main areas:

» Teaching and Learning – this is an instructional focus that captures best-practices and instructional strategies that our amazing teachers are using in their classrooms

» Teacher and Student Connectedness – this focuses on unique ways that teachers are connecting with their students and ensuring a solid relation-ship of mutual respect that fosters learning

» Literacy – Engagement – GraduationPLUS – this focuses on efforts in literacy, engagement, and graduation; essentially, what are teaching doing to make sure they are intentional about teaching to the mantra and helping students achieve

A segment of these weekly visits is shared on the district’s social media channels each Friday. Since this campaign began, our social media engage-ment has increased. More people are reacting to our content in very positive ways by liking/loving these posts and most importantly, by sharing these posts with others to show how wonderful our teachers are at engaging our students. Once a month, I recap these visits in a video blog that is distributed through Arrowpoint, our district eNewsletter.

It was during my site visits each Friday that we soon discovered how valuable our teachers’ various instructional approaches could be to other teach-ers; whether at Broken Arrow, a neighboring district or across the coun-try. We decided to showcase our teachers and best-practices by circulating #BAsTeachableMoments through social media as well. During these short segments, I visit one-on-one with various teachers to learn about specific strategies and activities they are using in the classroom to truly impact 100 percent literacy, engagement and graduation. It is so exciting and rewarding to see our community (and beyond) engage with and appreciate our teachers in such positive ways. I will continue these efforts next school year as well.

It is an exciting time to be in Broken Arrow, and I am so thankful for this opportunity to lead our team toward future excellence.