1. Plymouth Public Schools
Strategic Plan Update

2. Goal 1: “The Whole Child”
Objective 1.1: Enhance student social and emotional growth, health and welfare, and demonstration of civic responsibility

3. Subcommittee Work So Far:
Took inventory of district initiatives and programs related to “The Whole Child” (limited list due to small number of and experiences of subcommittee members)
Discussed “wish list” (How could PPS have the greatest impact on students? What would this look like?)
Discussed consistency across district regarding what is currently in place

4. What Needs To Be Done:
Inventory what we are doing as a district (eliminate redundancy; improve consistency)
Improve communication district-wide (what programs, practices are effective; who is doing what?)
Increase emphasis on Health and Wellness (curriculum, PE, after-school programs; setting as a priority)
Identify external (human service) resources available to PPS students and families (“new” PYDC)

5. Goal 2: Increase Family and Community Engagement
Objective 2.1: Strengthen family participation in schools and in student learning and development.
Objective 2.2: Enhance communication between school and home, as well as with the community at large.

6. Key Message
It is the view of the Plymouth Public Schools that educating children takes effort and support from all stakeholders. Students, parents, teachers, administrators, support personnel, and the greater community need to be in constant communication to maximize collaboration.

7. How Do We Communicate? School Newsletters Parent Surveys Friday Notes
All-Call Automated Messages
District websites
Parent Conferences
Local Paper
Accessibility of School Staff
New Website
EDTV

8. Engaging the Community
PTA
Open Houses
Information Nights
College Fair
Tech Expo
Concerts
Art Exhibits
Career Days
Community Service Learning
Sporting Events
EDTV
Honors Breakfasts

9. Moving Forward Expanding the use of Aspen
Plymouth Voyager: Quarterly Magazine
Parent Fun Nights
Use of EDTV
PTA collaboration
Feedback from parents
Hosting parent involvement workshops

10. GOAL 3: Enhance Academic Achievement Of All Students
Student Achievement
Four-year graduation rates and post-secondary statistics
Performance on national, state, and local assessments
Special Education student performance
Best practices (curriculum & instruction)
Using student data to drive instruction
Professional Development
Service Learning

11. Internal Communication: Within School Stakeholders
Department and Faculty Meetings
Embedded Professional Development
In-services
Administrative Meetings (PCD, CCC, etc.)
Collaborative Planning Time
Data Teams/Literacy Teams
Newsletters (departmental, memos, s)
Instructional Videos

12. External Communication: Parents, Students, And The Community
District’s Website (upgrading 7/12)
Friday Notes
Parent Information Nights/Celebrations
Classroom Websites/Teacher Newsletters
School Monthly Newsletters
Open Houses
PTA Newsletters/ Websites
EDTV
Aspen

13. Analyzing and Communicating Student Achievement Data
Analyzing Data
District Data Team
Building Data Teams
Use of Aspen/TestWiz
Parent Conferences
School/Department/Grade Level Meetings
Child Study Teams
Communicating to Parents
Report Cards
Progress Reports
Parent Conferences
Parent Portal

14. Professional Development
Inservice (8 two-hour sessions a year)
Faculty, Department, Grade-level meetings
Job-embedded opportunities (workshops, demonstration lessons, modeling, etc.)
Graduate courses/In-district offerings (PAC)
School-based action teams (literacy, data)
Self-directed study groups

15. Recommendations Continued use of PCD time to focus on academic goals
District messages to staff that report progress toward academic achievement goals
Increased use of technology to share ideas and demonstrate strategies
Continue to utilize tools (TestWiz, Aspen, etc.) to analyze data and make recommendations to improve teaching and learning
Expand ways in which academic progress and performance is reported and explained to parents

16. Objective 3.1:
Expand student access and exposure to current technology and real world applications.

17. Student Access And Exposure
Where we are currently:
Access through labs, carts, classroom stations
Access to online file sharing (Google Docs, Edmodo), Aspen, presentation and office programs, online databases, online text
High school technology courses
What we need to continue progress:
Allow more mobile devices into the schools for educational use
Continue to evolve and update software, online textbooks
Middle school technology courses that integrate technology in all areas

18. Educators Where we are currently: What we need to continue progress:
Our educators are increasingly more receptive to using technology
Teachers are comfortable with a selection of software
What we need to continue progress:
Survey staff on what support they need to progress
Continue professional development
Continue to upgrade hardware and software

19. Tech Support
Continue to support educators in the classroom with technology integration
Model uses of new hardware and software
Continue to upgrade the wireless networks to support the integration of mobile devices

20. Communicating With Families
Provide parents with technology overview of software and hardware used by students while in school
Family Technology Nights for students to showcase their work and provide parents with software support
Key Message: Technology and technology literacy are 21st Century skills that must be integrated into curriculum and instruction

21. Community Awareness
Communicate our goal and promote technology usage through the newspaper, website and EDTV
Create short public service announcements showing students using technology
Invite the community into the schools for technology showcases during the evening
Key Message: Technology integration in our schools is a necessity, not a luxury