SAU 67 Strategic Plan 2016-2021

W e live in a dynamic world. When creating a strategic plan to guide the educational experience for our students it is important that we build a case for change. It is also important that we provide guidance or a rudder to accomplish that change. Central to what we do in SAU 67 is understanding that in order to build better communities, we must care for each indiv

3 TABLE OF CONTENTS .............................................................. ................................................................... 5 Ed 306 ........................................................................................11 Technology ...............................................................................13 Curriculum Expectations ..................... THE CASE FOR CHANGE The World Of Work Neuroscience of Learning Soft Skills Panorama Survey Data SBAC Results—BSD Concurrent Enrollment Data Internet Engines Data STRATEGIC PLAN Competency Based Education

A Case For Change SAU 67 Brick School House C 1909 Bow NH Photo Courtesy of the Bow Heritage Commission

Our community visions and embraces pathways for our students that finds them moving smoothly from kindergarten through elementary, middle, and high school on to post-secondary preparation and certification for entry into viable careers and then transition successfully into the adult world of work. (p. iv Creating Pathways to Prosperity). This vision requires us to think about how to The case for change: “future proof,” learning. Currently there is a focus on trying to comprehend just what the future will look like and trying to, “future proof,” learning. 1 What knowledge skills and dispositions will be essential in the future? Nationally educational institutions are defining students who possess the knowledge, skills and dispositions needed in the futu

The world of work: A high school diploma has a significant impact on students’ future economic success. Increasingly though, as jobs become more complex, we see that ad- ditional training or schooling is needed beyond a high school diploma. Nation- al data from 2012 showed an all-time low employment rate for high school graduates who did not enter some type of post-secondary

data from 2013, the job market share fell to ten percent for those with a high school diploma or GED. Why this shift? The tasks required of workers, in today’s job market, have become more complex. David Autor and Brendan Price of MIT have tracked worker tasks in the U.S. Economy for forty- nine years. Their research finds that a common set of skills required for employment has emerged in every job, regardless of educational background. These common skills are non-ro

world of work there will be transient skills that will migrate to different jobs easily and there will be standing of what the world of work will look like in the future helps us to understand trends for the about the impact of the economy bust in 2008 on this number, all researchers agree that our child- quire that we help develop learning pathways for our children that transcend the evolving world of ren will change careers and jobs in their lifetime, more than prior generations. This will be driven world of work in the 21 st century. It helps us understand that the changing world of work will re- from the time the cohort was 18 until the time they turned 48. During that time they found that by the changing world of work and the creating of jobs that don’t yet exist. In this ever changing How many jobs in a lifetime? The Bureau of Labor Statistics has tracked younger baby boomers work. These trends in the world of work are foundational to the crafting of our strategic plan. this group, had on average, 11.8 jobs during that time period. While there is some discussion This data, training, complexity of skills needed in the job market, transient skills and an under- new skills and new knowledge to learn.

Traditionally, the vision for transition from high school to college has been a four-year college. As crease college debt. What starts to emerge are different pathways to education and training after the job market changes that traditional track has expanded with more options. The rising cost of college has also complicated that traditional transition and provided new opportunities to de- The educational pathway extends beyond the high school diploma:  Concurrent Enrollment Pathway (Dual Enrollment): Across the coun- try these types of programs offer college credit courses in high school. This provides students with the opportunity to test the college curriculum “waters.” It also pro- vides students with college tran- scripted courses which they can seek to transfer to college programs they a high school.

ing the overall time and cost spent in college.  2 and 2 Program Pathway: These programs provide two years at the associate degree level (community college) that results in a degree and the opportunity for employment, or provides a linked pathway for another two years to obtain a Bachelor’s degree. This can amount to a substantial savings to a typical four-year degree. Certificate Program Pathway that leads to pathways f

he state education law is called, The Minimum Standards for Public School Approval, often re- ferred to as ED 306. One of the largest paradigm shifts in ED 306 is the requirement for competency based education. New Hampshire is a leader in this paradigm shift. Competency based education is im- pacting all educational institutions T and is international in its scope. Competency based education shifts the focus from letter and number grades to requiring schools to report out what students know and are able to do. It separates the reporting of academic skills from behaviors. This shift aligns with the increased complexity we see happening in careers. The ma

“real life experiences,” and “hands on or project based learning,” to reflect this change. that every student has access to the curriculum. Competency based education necessi- teaching to a focus on learning and a shift from delivering the curriculum to ensuring knowledge requires the learner to consume knowledge and then use critical thinking skills to produce connections and novel ideas. We use the terms, “problem solvers,” their ability to memorize is assessed. A shift to learners becoming producers of out of intervention as needed. There reer ready starts early. A system that all students. Students migrate in and strives to make sure that all students are college and career ready must in- clude intervention opportunities for is a purposeful shift from a focus on The journey to being college and ca- tates intervention strategies.

T echnology provides opportunities to learn and work in different ways and with more flexibility. Education needs to explore ways in which it can transform ed- ucational practices and the learning experience. The mindset of being lifelong learners depends heavily on technology. Opportunities for learning outside the classroom walls have increased dramatically. Thi

N euroscience of Learning: We now know that the brain is much more plastic than we thought. Throughout life, as we learn, our brain constantly rewires itself and makes new connections. This knowledge has changed the way we think about learn- ing. We have shifted from a fixed mindset to a growth mindset. A fixed mindset im- plies that a student’s learning potential

S oft skills are sometimes referred to as dispositions. In order to fully realize be- ing college and career ready, students must also develop good communication skills, creative thinking, problem solving and visualization skills. Responsibility, self-esteem, collaboration and being able to build relationships are valued per- sonal qualities. 3,4,5 School plays a c

Assessment of Organization

Photo: Sam Dixon use nationally normed data, which compares our program to a larger pool of national programs, and local data to help us better understand our program. We have sought input from students, families and faculty. In this section you as of focus. We seek out and gram. Holistic accountability program’s strengths and are- countability approach to as- plete understanding of our sources to get a more com- is a process of using many SAU 67 uses a holistic ac- sess our educational pro- sets of data from many will find our data.

ness tool to provide feedback for reflection and cal Superintendents are supporting the work of action to ensure that our program is moving in “future ready.” SAU 67 participates in this pro- Department of Education, state leaders and lo- and forward thinking. We consult research on trends in the types of educational background necessary to work in those careers . The U.S. educational programs to ensure that they are gram and has used the Digital Learning Readi- “Future Ready Schools.” This movement pro- Teaching to Touch the future: Working to en- vides tools for school districts to assess their century is an important part of our planning toolboxes for working and living in the 21st trends in careers and emerging careers and sure that our students have well packed the right direction.

veys help us to better understand the perceptions of our provement. The surveys also allow us to look at specific In the 2015-2016 school year we started to collect data vey category that you see listed is the composite score from stakeholders using Panorama Surveys. These sur- categories into specifics to help us identify areas of im- students, families and faculty in many areas. Each sur- across stakeholder groups. This baseline data will be for the category. Internally we can break down these categories like school climate and sense of belonging the foundation of our future work.



in a portfolio of data that is much broader. This data set finds that the children in the Bow School District, on average outperform the average for the State of New Hampshire and the other states listed. This is good news for our community. The program we have estab- lished and continue to keep current is providing our stu- dents help us understand where our program falls in the larger Nationally Normed Data (SBAC): This data is used to community. In the 2014-2015 school year the mandated state as- sessment was the Smarter Balanced Assessment Con- sortium (SBAC). While there is no central data pool of results, data can be pulled from individual state sites for review. The SBAC data for several states, including New Hampshire, have been provided as well as the Bow School District Results. The states includ

Nationally Normed Data(SBAC): This data is used to help us understand where our pro- is good news for our com- munity. The program we have established and continue to keep current is providing our students with an excellent education. There is always room for improvement and our program is constant- ly being reviewed and improved. The third and fourth grade data was not in line with what we were seeing in other data sets for gram falls in the larger community. In the 2014-2015 school year the mandated state assessment was the Smarter Bal- anced Assessment Consortium (SBAC). While there is no central data pool of results data can be pulled from individual state sites for review. The SBAC data for several states, including New Hampshire, have been provided as well as the Dunbarton School District Dunbarton:

fessors, which allows our students to sit in Bow High School courses and get both credit for a high school diploma and college credit. through this program. Twenty-one percent of the students attending BHS in 2015-2016 enrolled in a concurrent enrollment class. In the past this has allowed students to test the “college waters,” while at the same time earning college credits that they can take with These courses use a college approved curriculum and materials. Students who wish to explore this option pay a small fee and those credits. It is important that these types of programs have the college transcript option. Many of our faculty are adjunct college pro- 179 college seats in our concurrent enrollment program. That amounted to 607 college credits which were earned by our students who cannot afford the fee can participate in a state program that waives that fee. In the 2015-2016 school year 122 students filled Concurrent Enrollment: Concurrent enrollment is a program that allows students at Bow High School to earn transcripted college them.

high school graduation. The national average is 47%. We recognize that life circumstances and the cost of higher piece of data is of those who attended their first year of college how many went back for a second year. For SAU been successful past the awarding of a diploma and graduation. We have started to track our students after they 67 we have six years of data that show approximately 95% of our students who enter college and then return for Persistence through college: If a program is to be “futures” ready then it must include data that its program has graduate. Currently we have data starting with the Bow High School Class of 2008. Persistence through college a second year. Based on the data we have from our 2008 and 2009 graduating classes we find of all those that graduated approximately 75% of the graduating class have been awarded college degrees, six years after their has a lot of different effectors that play a roll. It is not enough to get that acceptance letter. The more telling education play a role in being able to complete a degree.

site. Dunbarton ranking is based on website that uses publicly available limited information, which the site parents and students who visit the different purposes. Niche.com is a data that consists of, but is not lim- ardized test scores and reviews by Our public data is used for a lot of ited to, budget, population, stand- states. Source: Niche.com

Smartclass.com bases their review on publically available data that consists of, but not limited to, demographics, state and national tests, student to teacher ratio, other dis- trict information and location. Scale is 1-10. Smartclass Source: http://public-schools.startclass.com/ In the world of the internet there are many engines that take data and create reports. This is true for school districts and towns. The two engines presented here and many more engines used by prospective future community members create an “Internet Brand.” The brand

P L A N S T R A T E G I C

based curriculum focuses on what was taught. The standards act as a check list and the their learning progression. The learning progression happens within a unit of study and what they have learned and creating knowledge will be reported. Students will receive dent to understand where they are in the learning progression and what comes next in identifying a learning progression. A student’s progress from identifying and memoriz- meeting those competencies. In a competency-based system the focus shifts to what complexity of skills reflected in the job market. We are in the process of transitioning from a standards-based curriculum to a competency-based curriculum. A standards- ing, to classifying, describing, and solving, ending with the goal of the student taking Competency-based Education: Competency-based education reflects the change in focus is on teaching. A competency-based education identifies skills and knowledge feedback on where they are in the learning progression. This process allows the stu- was learned. What will change as a result of this shift? The first major shift will be sets that students need to master and reports out on a student’s progress towards across the grades.

activities will be used and categorizing those activities to align with our SAU 67 Master Rubric Develop a learning progression for each competency. This entails identifying what learning Develop competency statements for each curriculum taught and at each grade level. (Mother of all Rubrics). Develop performance tasks for each competency statement. Develop a rubric to assess competency. The goal is for the rubric to assess meeting the com- Develop a competency reporting system that is tailored to stakeholders. We envision this re- porting system to be a “dashboard,” which may be different for the student, parent and edu- cator. This     petency.   

ture. This strategic plan also provides information on our readiness for digital learning. The shift to a focus on learning brings with it a need for being able to personalize learn- with technology. It provides learning experiences that require students to tackle com- plex tasks. It also calls for students to start to learn how to personalize their learning. strategic plan provides information on skillsets that are needed for careers of the fu- A 21st Century Education: In addition to academic content knowledge and skills this emerge is what a 21st century education looks like. A 21st century education is rich ing more. As we look at skills, digital learning and personalization, what begins to  Incorporate Universal Design for Learning (UDL) into pedagogy. Designing learning using UDL philosophy allows for students to personalize their education and provides tools for life long learning. Continue our exploration of technological tools that provide students with feedback  and that provides learning pathways that are tailore

mon. They continually seek innovation. In order to accomplish this they research and practice. Currently we use nationally normed data, local data and stakeholder percep- tion surveys to assess our educational program. We also look at our program through Holistic Accountability: High performing education programs have two things in com- pilot emerging best practices. They also use many data sources to help inform their the lens of internet data engines.  Continue to track and respond to our current data. Explore other system wide data sources.  Make data more user friendly through visualization, accessibility, and make it interop-  erable. Currently our data is found in silos and is not interoperable. At each grade level identify what data we will use to monitor student learning. 

SAU 67 A Case For Change Pages Corner School c. 1907 Dunbarton Photo Courtesy of the Dunbarton Historical Society