PLANO ISD
ACADEMY VISIONING COMMITTEE MEETING
October 20, 2010
Meeting began at 6:00 p.m.
Executive Director for Student and Family Services Dr. Cathy Galloway called the
meeting to order and gave an overview of the night’s meeting agenda.
Consensus on Mission
Group facilitator Roz Keck brought the “mission writers” together to finish their
collaboration on the mission of the academy. The group worked throughout the meeting
and presented their final version of the academy’s mission:
The mission of (the, a) Plano ISD(___________) academy is to engage 9-12 grade
students in a non-traditional, rigorous, project-based curriculum inspiring collaboration
and creativity to empower them to compete, contribute and connect in the global
community.
The committee discussed the mission of the academy and made a few suggestions shown
in parenthesis above.
Review Findings and Directions
Ms. Keck shared a draft of the consolidated findings and directions from last week.
Topics included: teaching/learning/expectations, technology, time and school size and
counseling and advisories.
She asked the committee to review the information to ensure that their work was captured
accurately and to save any edits or additional information needed about the topics to the
wiki. The draft of the findings and directions can be found in the attached document
entitled “Findings and Directions” (Attachment #1).
Writing Findings and Directions
Ms. Keck asked the committee to begin discussing and brainstorming the questions
outlined below and to begin writing findings and directions in the following areas:
teaching spaces and teacher work spaces, performing and visual arts, career and technical
education, physical education, athletics and intramurals, college and work force
connections, clubs and student activities and school and community. The groups worked
collaboratively and presented their information. Ms. Keck will consolidate the findings
and directions for the committee’s review next week.
Performing and Visual Arts
 If the focus of an academy is not on performing and visual arts, what kinds of
PVA programs should be offered at an academy?
 Should students be allowed to go to an alternative site to participate in performing
and visual arts?
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Career and Technical Education
 If the focus of an academy is not on career and technical education, what kinds of
CTE programs should be offered at an academy?
 Should students be allowed to go to an alternative site to participate in CTE?
Physical Education, Athletics and Intramurals
 Which physical education courses should be offered?
 What kinds of spaces should be provided for these courses?
 Should students be allowed to participate in athletics at an academy? If not should
they be allowed to go to an alternative site to participate in athletics?
 Should intramural programs be offered at an academy? If so, what kinds of
intramurals should be offered or how should the decision be made regarding what
to offer?
College and Work Force Connections
 Should connections be developed between the academy and college and the work
force? If so, what should those connections provide?
 What courses should students be allowed to take for college credit? Should those
classes be taught at the academy or should students travel to another location, or
both?
 What other kind of support should be offered to students to assist them in the
transition from an academy to post secondary learning?
 Should students have mentors and internships outside the school to help with
learning? What are the implications for the school?
Clubs and Student Activities
 What kinds of clubs and student activities should be offered at an academy or how
should the decision be made about what to offer?
School and Community
 What kinds of specific connections to the community would be necessary to
support an academy?
 Beyond their instructional responsibilities, should the school building and its site
provide services for or be accessible to the community?
 Should the school facility be used by the community college or other colleges or
other educational groups during/after normal hours?
Ms. Keck informed the group that fellow committee member Trey Laird will make a
presentation next week regarding facility design. Table discussion will continue on
organization of instructional spaces, teaching spaces and teacher work spaces.
The next committee meeting will be on Wednesday, October 27, 2010, with a light dinner
served from 5:30 – 6:00 p.m. and the meeting held from 6:00 – 8:30 p.m.
Meeting adjourned at 8:05 p.m.
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Attachment #1
PLANO ACADEMY FINDINGS AND DIRECTIONS DRAFT #1 FINDINGS Teaching, Learning and Expectations Project Based Learning engages students in real world learning that is relevant, interesting and motivation DIRECTIONS 
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Holding students accountable to self, peers, and community develops life‐ long learners 
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School Size School size impacts a sense of community and provides diverse opportunities for students 
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Counseling and Advisories Counselors should be proactive advocates who provide 
guidance, balance and direction for students 
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Project based learning (PBL) will be incorporated in all academies to promote collaboration and teamwork with facilitation from teachers Effective implementation of PBL will require significant and on‐going professional development and training for staff members Community involvement and investments will be developed in order to provide real world experiences for students All students will maintain a portfolio of learning for all four years, including a career plan, as a requirement of graduation. Students will be involved in mentoring, internships and service learning as requirements of graduation. Students will become active participants in choosing how they learn and how they display their learning. The ideal range per grade level (9‐12) will be 150‐250 students with the overall school population maxing out at 1000. Academies will begin with 9th and 10th grade students so that the population is large enough to support initial course offerings Students will have opportunities to work in flexible collaborative teams and cohorts to meet the students’ needs at the moment. Priority will be placed on college and career guidance for all students Guidance lessons will be provided to model interpersonal collaboration skills for students Student groups will be organized to teach, model and practice traits needed for the 21st century including, but not limited to: o Cooperation o Collaboration o Diplomacy Peer mentorship provides opportunities for support as well as leadership 
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Counseling and advisory services should be a shared responsibility of all adults on the campus 
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Time Instructional goals should define the management of time 
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Time will be divided into short flexible modules to accommodate the varied aspects of PBL Each individual projects will drive the timeline and the schedule Within each project there will be time blocked out for independent research, group collaboration and facilitator interaction Integrated curriculum will allow students to work toward multiple credits within each project Job shadowing and internships will take place during the school day 
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Technology will allow students to access digital resources regardless of where they are. The system will allow students to use their own technology devices Equipment will be provided for those who do not have their own devices. 
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A thoughtful arrangement of time maximizes learning Technology Technology will be seamlessly integrated into the curriculum and will be used for creative learning, school and global collaboration and cloud based applications. A combination of personally owned and provided equipment will make technology available 24x7. o Responsibility o Older students will serve in the role of peer mentors for younger students providing leadership opportunities for the mentor and support for the mentee Organization of the peer mentor program will be a joint effort between the counseling department and teacher teams. Work place culture and etiquette will be integrated into instruction in the classroom A proactive elective will be offered/required in 9th grade that focuses on the pathway to success Connections to the community will provide opportunities for service learning, job shadowing, mentorships and internships Coaching will be provided for establishing good study skills Structured interventions will be provided to assure student success All adults will model good character traits including, but not limited to: o o o 
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The entire campus will serve as a computer lab; therefore, a computer lab classroom will not be needed. Ample charging solutions and flexible room and furniture arrangement will provide collaborative work areas for the use of technology The library will become a resource media center to support the use of technology. Technology will be used to maximize the space available in the school.