The Board and
Student Achievement
Marcia Herring
Director of Board Development and Search Services
Area Membership Meeting 2012
2012 Area Membership
Board Development
The
Association is cognizant of the differing levels of governance amongst our
members; however, due to the demand for accountability related to student achievement,
boards must work collaboratively with administration to continuously monitor, assess,
and be responsive to district wide student performance data.
School districts that make great gains in achievement use data relentlessly as an
accountability and decision-making tool. School boards are pivotal in identifying and
monitoring meaningful measures of accountability and in ensuring that the district staff
has the supports to use data well.
“Using data as a tool for accountability and improvement is a common theme in studies of
districts that are making significant gains in achievement.”
Breakout Session Takeaway
I.
How does LB 870 change the work of the Board?
Understanding how LB 870 is changing the landscape for the local board and the need for the boards
increased awareness of district student achievement
II.
Nebraska State Accountability
III.
The Board’s Starting Point – Requesting, Discussing, and Responding
to District Data
Establish or grow the board’s shared role with administrators in the assessment of student
achievement data, progress, and goals to support instruction and achievement.
LEGISLATIVE BILL 870
Approved by the Governor April 6, 2012.
Introduced by Adams, 24.
FOR AN ACT relating to schools; to amend section 79-828, Reissue Revised Statutes of
Nebraska, and sections 79-575 and 79-760.05, Revised Statutes Supplement, 2011; to
provide duties for the State Board of Education and the State Department of
Education; to provide for an accountability system to measure school performance
pursuant to the Quality Education Accountability Act; to change provisions for
tracking and reporting on individual student achievement and for evaluation of
probationary certificated employees; to provide for establishment of career
academies; to eliminate requirements for a prior assessment and reporting system
and a joint plan for a learning community; to harmonize provisions; to repeal the
original sections; and to outright repeal section 79-760, Reissue Revised Statutes of
Nebraska, and section 79-760.04, Revised Statutes Supplement, 2011.
Be it enacted by the people of the State of Nebraska,
Section 1. Section 79-757, Revised Statutes Supplement, 2011, is amended to read:
79-757 Sections 79-757 to 79-762 and section 2 of this act shall be known and may be
cited as the Quality Education Accountability Act.
Sec. 2. On or before August 1, 2012, the State Board of Education shall establish
an accountability system to be used to measure the performance of individual public
schools and school districts. The accountability system shall combine multiple
measures, including, but not limited to, graduation rates, student growth and student
improvement on the assessment instruments provided in section 79-760.03, and other
indicators of the performance of public schools and school districts as established by
the board. The measures selected by the board for the accountability system may be
combined into a school performance score and district performance score.
The board may establish levels of performance for the indicators used in the
accountability system in order to classify the performance of public schools and
school districts beginning with school year 2013-14. The State Department of
Education shall annually report any performance levels established by the board
regarding the performance of individual public schools and school districts as part of
the statewide assessment and reporting system.
Sec. 3. Section 79-760.05. Revised Statutes Supplement, 2011, is amended to read:
79-760.05 (1) The State Board of Education shall implement a statewide system for
tracking individual student achievement, using the student identifier system of the
State Department of Education, that can be aggregated to track student progress by
demographic characteristics, including, but not limited to, race, poverty, high
mobility, attendance, and limited English proficiency, on
available measures of
student achievement which include, but need not be limited to, national assessment
instruments, and state assessment instruments, and the indicators used in the
accountability system required pursuant to section 2 of this act. Such a system shall
be designed so as to aggregate student data by available educational input
characteristics, which may include class size, teacher education, teacher experience,
special education, early childhood programs, federal programs, and other targeted
education programs. School districts shall provide the department with individual
student achievement data from assessment instruments required pursuant to section 79760.03 in order to implement the statewide system.
(2) The department shall annually analyze and report on student achievement
for the state, each school district, each public school, and each learning community
aggregated by the demographic characteristics described in subsection (1) of this
section. The department shall report the findings to the Governor, the Legislature,
school districts, educational service units, and each learning community.
Such
analysis shall include aggregated data that would indicate differences in achievement
due to available educational input characteristics described in subsection (1) of this
section. Such analysis shall include indicators of progress toward state achievement
goals for students in poverty, limited English proficient students, and highly mobile
students.
Section 4. (1) Any school district, with the approval of the State Department of
Education, may establish and operate a career academy. The purpose of a career
academy is to provide students with a career-based educational curriculum. A school
district may partner with another school district, and educational service unit, a
learning community, a postsecondary educational institution, or a private entity in the
establishment and operation of a career academy.
(2) A career academy established pursuant to subsection (1) of this section shall:
a) Recruit students who seek a career-based curriculum, which curriculum shall
be based on criteria determined by the department;
b) Recruit and hire instructors based on their expertise in career-based education;
and
c) Provide a rigorous academic curriculum with a transition component to
prepare students for the workforce, including, but not limited to, internships, job
training, and skills training.
(3) In addition to funding from the establishing school district or any of the
district’s partners, a career academy may also receive private donations for operating
expenses.
(4) The department shall define standards and criteria for a) the establishment,
evaluation, and continuing approval of career academics, b) career-based curriculum
utilized by career academics, c) the necessary data elements and collection of data
pertaining to career academies, including, but not limited to, the number of students
enrolled in a career academy and their grade levels, and d) the establishment of
advisory boards consisting of business and education representatives to provide
guidance and direction for the operation of career academies.
(5) The State Board of Education may adopt and promulgate rules and
regulations to carry out this section.
Sec. 5. Section 79-828, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, is amended to read:
79-828 (1) The contract of a probationary certificated employee shall be
deemed renewed and remain in full force and effect unless amended or not renewed
in accordance with sections 79-824 to 79-842.
(2) The purpose of the probationary period is to allow the employer an
opportunity to evaluate, assess, and assist the employee’s professional skills and
work performance prior to the employee obtaining permanent status.
All probationary certificated employees employed by Class I, II, III, and VI
school districts any class of school district shall, during each year of probationary
employment, be evaluated at least once each semester, unless the probationary
certificated employee is a superintendent, in accordance with the procedures
outlined below:
The probationary certificated employee shall be observed and evaluation shall
be based upon actual classroom observations for an entire instructional period. If
deficiencies are noted in the work performance of any probationary certificated
employee, the evaluator shall provide the teacher or administrator probationary
certificated employee at the time of the observation with a list of deficiencies, and
list of suggestions for improvement and assistance in overcoming the deficiencies.
The evaluator shall also provide the probationary certificated employee with, and
follow up evaluations and assistance when deficiencies remain.
If the probationary certificated employee is a superintendent, he or she shall be
evaluated twice during the first year of employment and at least once annually
thereafter.
Any certificated employee employed prior to September 1, 1982, by the school
board of any Class I, II, III, or VI school district shall serve the probationary period
required by law prior to such date and shall not be subject to any extension of
probation.
(3) If the school board or the superintendent or superintendent’s designee
determines that it is appropriate to consider whether the contract of a probationary
certificated employee or the superintendent should be amended or not renewed for the
next school year, such certificated employee shall be given written notice that the school
board will consider the amendment or nonrenewal of such certificated employee’s
contract for the ensuing school year. Upon request of the certificated employee, notice
shall be provided which shall contain the written reasons for such proposed
amendment or nonrenewal and shall be sufficiently specific so as to provide such
employee the opportunity to prepare a response and the reasons set forth in the notice
shall be employment related.
(4) The school board may elect to amend or not renew the contract of a
probationary certificated employee for any reason it deems sufficient if such
nonrenewal is not for constitutionally impermissible reasons, and such nonrenewal
shall be in accordance with sections 79-824 to 79-842. Amendment or nonrenewal for
reason of reduction in force shall be subject to sections 79-824 to 79-842 and 79-846 to 79849.
(5) Within seven calendar days after receipt of the notice, the probationary
certificated employee may make a written request to the secretary of the school board or
to the superintendent or superintendent’s designee for a hearing before the school
board.
(6) Prior to scheduling of action or a hearing on the matter, if requested, the
notice of possible amendment or nonrenewal and the reasons supporting possible
amendment or nonrenewal shall be considered a confidential employment matter as
provided in sections 79-539, 79-8, 109, and 84-1410 and shall not be released to the
public or any news media.
(7) At any time prior to the holding of a hearing or prior to final determination
by the school board to amend or not renew the contract involved, the probationary
certificated employee may submit a letter of resignation for the ensuing year, which
resignation shall be accepted by the school board.
(8) The probationary certificated employee shall be afforded a hearing, which
shall not be required to meet the requirements of a formal due process hearing as set
forth in section 79-832 but shall be subject to section 79-834.
Sec. 6. Original section 79-828, Reissue Revised Statutes of Nebraska, and
sections 79-757 and 79-760.05, Revised Statutes Supplement, 2011, are repealed.
Sec. 7. The following sections are outright repealed: Section 79-760, Reissue
Revised Statues of Nebraska, and section 79-760.04, Revised Statutes Supplement, 2011.
Nebraska State Accountability
NeSA: Nebraska State Accountability
Purpose: The NeSA tests measure how well students meet the Nebraska Standards. The
Nebraska Standards define what students should know and be able to do.
 NeSA tests are developed by Nebraska educators in the subjects of reading,
mathematics, science, and writing
 NeSA tests are administered both in paper/pencil versions and online
 NeSA tests are scored by an out of state company (Data Recognition Core) and
are not based on bell curve
 NeSA test results provide public accountability and are reported each fall in the
State of the Schools report
 NeSA test results are used for both state and federal accountability reports
 NeSA-R tests students in grades 3-8, and 11 in reading
 NeSA-M tests students in grades 3-8, and 11 in mathematics
 NeSA-S tests students in grades 5, 8, and 11 in science
 NeSA-W tests students in grades 4, 8, and 11 in writing
 NeSA-AA (alternate assessment) tests students with the most significant
disabilities and whose Individual Educational Plan requires the alternative test –
this is less than 1% of the student population in Nebraska
 NeSA writing tests are administered in January/February
 NeSA reading, mathematics, and science tests are administered in a six-week
window beginning in late March and ending in early May
 NeSA tests are scheduled to be administered in two-sessions with a scheduled
break
 NeSA writing (grades 8 and 11) tests are scheduled for one session
NeSA sample tests are available at:
www.education.ne.gov/Assessment /index.htm
NeSA scoring information:
www.education.ne.gov/Assessment/NeSA_Scoring.htm
Nebraska Standards are available at:
www.education.ne.gov/AcademicStandards/index.htm
Nebraska State Accountability
Criterion-Referenced and Classroom-based Assessments
Description
a) Teacher-developed
b) Measures state approved standards
c) Measures student performance on
standards
d) Measures local curriculum
e) Reflects classroom instruction
f) Not based on bell-curve
g) All students can achieve the standards
Purpose
 To see how students perform on
standards taught in local curriculum
 To review and adjust classroom
instruction
 To inform possible areas for school
improvement
 To measure a student’s performance on
the state standards
 To compare a district’s performance to
overall state-wide performance
Norm-Referenced Test (NRT)
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Developed by testing company
Measures student performance in comparison to other student performance
Measures only 30% of state standards
Measures only parts of local curriculum and instruction
Based on the bell-curve
Test design sorts students into performance categories – high, medium, and low
Demographic Data
Purpose: To provide information about student characteristics that impact learning and to
provide additional information to support student performance.
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Receive special education services
English Language Learner
Qualifying for free/reduced meals
Moving in and out of a district (mobility rate)
Gender
Ethnicity
Attendance rate
Drop-out rate
Graduation rate
Courses taken
Preschool
Nebraska State Accountability
National Tests
Purpose: To provide a standardized look at student performance across the nation and to
serve as a validation measure.
 National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP)
 ACT and SAT
Perceptual Data
Purpose: To provide information about what people believe to be true.
 Climate surveys
 Teacher perceptions
 Student perceptions
 Community perceptions
 Graduate surveys
Program/Cross/Sectional Data
 Measures the effectiveness of programs over multiple years
 Focuses the same grade level over multiple years, not the same students
 Displayed on the State of Schools Report
 ILCD – Improving Learning for Children with Disabilities
 Example: Graph Data of Grade 4 Reading from 2008 through 2011
2008-09 (75%)
2009-10 (82%)
2010-11 (80%)
Cohort Data
 Represents a monitoring of one group of students over time
 Example: Reading Scores for a group of students by grade level from 2008 through 2011
Grade 4 – 2008-09 (75%)
Grade 5 – 2009-10 (78%)
Grade 6 – 2010-11 (83%)
Nebraska Student and Staff Record System (NSSRS)
Purpose: Nebraska Department of Education's primary method of data collection from public
school districts.
Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP)
Purpose: As a condition of receiving federal funds under No Child Left Behind (NCLB), all
states are required to define a process for identifying groups of students, schools, districts,
and the State as being in need of improvement. This requirement is called adequate yearly
progress or AYP. It is an annual status check of identified data elements to determine
whether or not building and districts are meeting State AYP progress goals.
How is AYP determined? To determine if a group of students, a school, district or the State
has made AYP under NCLB, the following is applied:
a) The performance of all students and groups of students, who have been enrolled
in a district for full academic year, must equal or exceed the State goal in Reading
and Math, and
b) At least 95% of all students must participate in the assessments, and
c) The school and district must meet or demonstrate progress toward meeting a
State goal for one other indicator for elementary and middle schools (NeSAWriting, formerly referred to as the statewide writing assessments) and a State
goal for a graduation rate at the high school.
Note: Although AYP status is checked on an annual basis, a school must not meet the
State goals for AYP in the same subject area and grade span for two consecutive years in
order to be considered as being in need of improvement. A district must not meet the
State goals for AYP in the same subject for two consecutive years in all grade levels
present in the district to be considered as being in need of improvement. The subject
area includes both the student performance and the participation rate.
AYP Guidance and Information may be viewed at:
www.education.ne.gov/Assessment/pdfs/AYP_Guidance_2011_12_Revised_3_9_2012.pdf
Nebraska School Improvement Framework
www.education.ne.gov/APAC/Documents/School-Improvement/NEFrameworks.pdf
Nebraska Department of Education - District Report Cards
http://reportcard.education.ne.gov/20092010/District/DistrictSearch.aspx?optSearch=5&DistrictI
D=&CountyID=
Persistently Lowest Achieving Schools (PLAS)
Nebraska accepted the State Fiscal Stabilization Funds of the America Recovery and
Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to provide additional aid to the school districts, the state agreed to
four school reform assurances. One of these assurances requires the state to identify lowperforming schools known as Persistently Lowest-Achieving Schools (PLAS).
PLAS is yet another way of looking at school performance to identify specific schools for
assistance. PLAS does not replace the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) of No Child Left
Behind. All schools identified as being in need of improvement under AYP are now also
considered PLAS. High schools with graduation rates below 75 percent over a period of three
years are considered PLAS. Secondary schools that are eligible for Title I funds but not served
that are the lowest ranked among all the schools in the state are also considered PLAS.
Schools identified as PLAS will have the option of applying for a School Improvement Grant
that is funded with new money from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (AARA)
and Title I funds. To award these funds, the state must divide the PLAS schools into levels or
Tiers.
The Board and Student Achievement
Learning from the Lighthouse Research: The School Board’s Role in Student Achievement
In 2000, the Iowa Association of School Boards was charged with the role of defining
the school board’s role in student achievement. That charge was moved both by the
requests from school board members who cared about improving results for students,
and by the critics of school boards who questioned whether a board could make a
difference – and in some cases, whether school boards were detrimental to education
today.
The focus was: Are school boards in high-achieving districts different from those in
low-achieving districts? And, if so, how? “The study became one of the first and only
studies that made a credible, research-based connection between the work of the school
board and levels of student achievement.” As a result of Lighthouse Study #1 (19982000) and Lighthouse Study #2 (2002-2007) we know that:
Board members in high-achieving districts often referred to student needs – as
shown through data about students and groups of students – as the focus for decisionmaking. Board members could talk about data on the dropout rate, test scores and
student needs. They talked about receiving information on a routine basis, such as
monthly reports.
Board members in low-achieving districts referred to data used in decisions based on
anecdotes and personal experiences. Data on student achievement was received as a
report to the board, but rarely linked to a decision. The board members talked very
generally about the test scores and relied on the interpretation made by the
superintendent.
School board/superintendent teams that commit to improving achievement create
pressure on the school system and staff. There is moral pressure – that improvement is
the right thing to do for students and, there is technical pressure in the form of
increased measurement, increased scrutiny, and increased accountability.
pressure is a positive, as it is necessary to cause change.
That
The Role of the Board and Improved Student Learning
Based on the Iowa Lighthouse Research
The Lighthouse Research studies frame five main leadership roles of the board in
improving student learning, along with key action of the board within those
roles.
I.
Set clear expectations
 Believe more is possible and communicate high expectations
 Understand the greatest student learning needs – the most
important content area to improve first
 Establish a clear and narrow focus for improvement – clarify
improvement goals and specific targets
 Focus on student learning and teaching – improving teaching as the
key strategy for improving learning
II.
Create conditions for success
 Demonstrate commitment to the improvement focus through board
actions and decisions
 Support quality professional development
 Support and connect with district wide leadership
 Develop and nurture board/superintendent team leadership
 Align all parts of the system around the learning needs of students
(curriculum, instruction, assessment; goals, actions, resource
allocation; etc.)
 Stay the course
III.
Hold the system accountable to the expectations
 Use data extensively
 Determine what you will accept as evidence of progress/success
 Monitor progress regularly
 Apply pressure for accountability
IV.
Build collective will
 Create awareness of the need
 Create urgency around the moral purpose of improvement
 Instill hope that it is possible to change
 Connect with the community
V.
Learn together as a board team
 Establish board learning time
 Learn together
 Talk to each other – extensive board conversations
 Develop a willingness and readiness to lead and allow others to
lead
 Build commitment to the focus through shared information and
discussion
 Engage in deliberative policy development – lead through your
policies
Committing to High Expectations for All
“The American education system has been in the thrall of a myth for more than 30 years. The myth
says that student achievement has much more to do with a child’s background than with the quality
of instruction he or she receives. It says that urban and rural schools face insurmountable obstacles
caused by poverty and racism. It says that ‘disadvantaged’ children might learn some basic skills, but
that their home lives are just too deprive to allow them to attain the same levels of learning as their
affluent suburban peers. The myth is powerful. It is pervasive. And it is wrong.”
– The Education Trust
Assessing Data to Ensure Accountability
Using data for accountability and improvement is a stretch for many districts. There may
be too little data about how students are doing, or the data are not widely known or
understood by teachers, parents, and the community. Alternatively, when too much data
is released, people are overwhelmed and confused about what it means and what is most
important.
Another issue: confronting performance data makes people uncomfortable. Mike
Schmoker frames it this way in his book, Results: The Key to Continuous School Improvement:
“Why do we avoid data? The reason is fear – of data’s capacity to reveal strength and
weaknesses, failure and success. Education seems to maintain a tacit bargain among
constituents at every level not to gather or use information that will reveal where we need
to do better, where we need to make changes. Data almost always points to action – they
are the enemy of comfortable routines. By ignoring data, we promote inaction and
inefficiency.”
Assessing data for accountability is critical: Schmoker reminds us that “[D]ata can become
a force for improvement by energizing those closest to their work. Most of all, data
promotes the flow of pertinent information and emerging expertise that is the lifeblood of
optimism and improvement…If leadership provided the encouragement and opportunity
for practitioners to begin gathering and examining collective student results, we would
make real strides toward understanding our strengths and weaknesses.”
Examining the Board’s Effective Supporting Role
The board’s governance role is to provide a quality education to ensure all students learn. To meet
the governance role, the board must sustain an effective working relationship with administration,
in order to make informed decisions to support improved instruction and learning district wide.
This pivotal culture exists when the board requests and receives:
1. How the district is measuring student performance and what data is collected and
analyzed by administrators and staff?
2. How the data measures the achievement and performance of all students
including subgroups of students in the district?
3. What the administration and staff learned from the data?
4. How the district data i s used to identify achievement gaps, and modify and
improve classroom instruction?
5. How the board and administration will use the data to make informed policy
and planning decisions regarding school improvement, appropriately design
district goals and define staff professional development plans to support improved
student achievement.
6. How the student achievement data is connected to staff professional development?
7. How the board addresses student achievement at regular board meetings?
8. What data reports will administration provide the board that summarize trends
revealed by the data?
9. What comparative data on your district, district subgroups, and state averages will
administration provide to the board?
10. How is the district measuring student progress by examining data using a growth
model or year-to-year trends so that individual and group progress can be
measured, analyzed, and summarized for board discussion.
The School Board and Student Achievement
Where are we now?
School Boards in high-achieving districts are significantly different in their knowledge and
beliefs from school boards in low-achieving districts. In high-achieving districts, school board
members are knowledgeable about improvement goals, curriculum, instruction, assessment, and
staff development.
They are able to clearly describe the purposes and processes of school
improvement initiatives and identify the board’s role in supporting those initiatives.
The following assessment will aid in determining the level of your board’s current role
in relation to the district’s student achievement success and areas of improvement.
I.
Shared Leadership
A focus on student learning through a shared and clear vision, high
expectations, and dynamic leadership at all levels.
 Board members are knowledgeable about the learning conditions in the schools,
alternatives for improving education, and the needs of students. Board
members can mention specific initiatives that are underway and can explain the
initiative and identify specific ways that the board contributed to the initiative.
 Boards members can describe a clear direction and focus on specific goals
related to improving student achievement. Board members can describe the
work of staff around the goals in clear, specific terms.
 Board members can describe what is happening in classrooms and with
instruction.
 Board members express their focus on finding ways to reach all children. “We
cannot just let them fall through the cracks.”
 Board members have high expectations for all students.
II.
Continuous Improvement
A continuous focus on improving education with high levels of involvement and
shared decision-making.
 Board members feel an internal desire to improve. We talk about the importance
of improving education for the sake of students.
 Board members consistently express their belief that all children can learn and
can give specific examples of ways that learning has improved as a result of
initiatives in the district. Poverty, lack of parental involvement, and other factors
are described as challenges to be overcome, not as excuses.
 Board members expect to see improvements in student achievement quickly
as a result of initiatives.
III.
Ability to Create and Sustain Initiatives
An understanding of how to organize the people and the school environment to start
and to sustain an improvement effort.
 Board members can describe specific ways board actions and goals are
communicated to staff, such as a post-board meetings for teachers and
administrators.
 Board members participate in goal-setting exercises in which the board and
superintendent learn together and solve problems together.
 Board members can describe structures that exist to support connections and
communications within the district. For example, board members can describe
teacher teams/committees and how they relate to school improvement initiatives.
 Board members evidence of regularly learning together as a board. The board
studies an issue together before making a decision.
IV.
Supportive Work Environment for Staff
A supportive work environment and culture that enables staff to succeed in their
roles.
 Board members express a high level of confidence in staff. Make frequent
positive comments about staff and can give specific examples of how staff
members model a commitment, how staff members are improving, and how staff
members are working to help students learn.
 Board members can identify specific examples of the way the board shows its
appreciation for staff, such as recognition at board meetings.
 Board members express their belief that changes can happen with existing
people, including students, staff, and community.
V.
Staff Development
Regular school wide staff development that is focused on instruction and learning.
 Board members can describe staff development activities in the district and can
describe the link between teacher training and board or district goals for
students.
 Board members describe a belief in the importance of staff development activities
focused on student needs.
VI.
Support for School Sites through Data and Information
Utilize data and information relative to student needs to ensure informed decisionmaking and modifications as necessary to meet the needs of the district and building
level.
 Board members receive information from many sources including, but not
limited to the superintendent, curriculum director, principals, teachers, along
with sources outside of the district, such as information about exemplary
programs and practices. Information is received by all board members and
shared at the board table.
 Board members often refer to student needs – as shown through data about
students and groups of students – as the focus for decision-making. Board
members mention data on the dropout rate, test scores, and student needs. We
talk about receiving information on a routine basis, such as monthly reports.
 Board members can usually be very clear about the decision-making process in
terms of study, learning, reading, listening, receiving data, questioning,
discussing, and then deciding and evaluating.
VII.
Community Engagement
A close connection between the school district, parents, and community members.
 Board members identify how are connecting with and listening to the
community. Board members express pride in their community and in their
efforts to be involved and connected with the school district.
 Board members can name specific ways the district is involving parents and
community members and all indicate a desire for more involvement.
This material is adapted from the Iowa Association of School Boards Lighthouse Study: School
Boards and Student Achievement.
Policy: Academic Achievement
Note: While Nebraska school districts are not required by law to adopt a policy addressing Academic
Achievement, the Nebraska Association of School Boards supports policy language addressing “best
practice” and the commitment of the board. However, we do also encourage the board to consult with the
school attorney to determine appropriate language to meet the needs of the district.
Academic Achievement
It is the responsibility of the Board of Education to focus its attention and energy on the
quality of education provided in the district and on the achievement of students. The
board will work in cooperation administration to set academic priorities to ensure the
best use of funds to support student achievement.
The Board’s goal is to improve student achievement by setting clear academic
expectations for students aligned with the adopted Nebraska Standards.
It is the
Board’s belief that all students can learn given appropriate time and instruction.
All students are expected to meet or exceed the district’s academic standards before
they transition from level to level and before they are eligible to graduate, or complete
the requirements and goals as listed in their Individualize Education Program (IEP),
which may include modified academic standards.
The board expects each student to study and learn to the best of his/her ability, and each
staff member to help in developing and maintaining a climate that encourages and
supports academic achievement and high standards of behavior. The Nebraska State
Standards are to be a included in classroom curriculum and instruction as appropriate.
To fulfill district academic achievement, students will be provided challenging
curriculum and instruction. Student learning and performance will be continuously
monitored against Nebraska State Standards.
Works Cited
Gaining Traction, Gaining Ground: How Some High Schools Accelerate Learning for
Struggling Students, The Education Trust, November 2005. Available online at:
www2.edtrust.org/NR/rdonlyres/6226B581-83C3-4447-9CE731C5694B9EF6/0/GainingTractionGainingGround.pdf.
Iowa Association of School Boards. Leadership for Student Learning. Des Moines, IA:
2007. Print.
Results: The Key to Continuous School Improvement, by Mike Schmoker, Association
for Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2nd edition, 1999.