After more than 18 months with three “key phases,” and input from dozens of administrators, teachers, staff, parents, students and community members, Batavia City School District is ready to launch its five-year strategic plan.
Such a plan isn’t required by New York State, but is a recommended “best practice” for any school district, said Dr. Molly Corey, director of curriculum and instruction.
“Our intention is to bring parents, community members, students, and staff together to plan and prioritize student success in every classroom,” Corey said in a press release Monday. “We’re still evaluating and discovering the depths of learning loss our students experienced due to the pandemic. A Strategic Plan like this will be a beacon grounding us during uncertain times, and it will allow us to comprehensively think, discuss, and prioritize the needs of our students.”
A main portion of the report, referred to by staff as “a curriculum and instructional roadmap” for reaching each student’s goals, involves a family component, which undoubtedly is a valuable piece. That part of the plan is to ensure “Our families will: make education a priority in the household, support the school in promoting a good work ethic and personal responsibility, as well as encouraging health and wellness and provide the necessary time, space, and supplies at home for homework and studies to be completed.”
The Batavian asked Superintendent Jason Smith how the district plans to get families on board with the wellness aspect, given their busy lives, technology and such easy access to fast meals and sedentary lifestyles. Smith said that promoting health and wellness has become even more important post-COVID.
“And we learned that loud and clear coming out of this pandemic,” he said. “We have Social Emotional Learning teams at each school that promote health and wellness among both our students and staff. Good nutrition and exercise are reinforced in our Phys Ed and health curriculum, and is a key part of the New York State learning standards.”
He also emphasized that family engagement will continue to be “an integral part of our mission at BCSD.” Therefore, two-way communication between schools and families is critical, he said.
“We encourage our families to reach out to us with comments, suggestions, and questions as we implement this plan,” Smith said. “Additionally, each school partners with our parent groups, and just this year we have added a parent representative component to our newly formed shared-decision making teams at each school. We will also consider tools such as surveys and other feedback mechanisms.”
Even before COVID — about 26 years prior, to be exact — Smith said that he focused his teaching on individual ownership in one’s own behavior and contributions.
“Since I first began teaching in 1994, teaching students personal responsibility and work ethic has been a core mission of schools,” he said. “While it may be explicitly taught at times, teachers, coaches, and advisors continually reinforce this important message through high expectations and accountability, coupled with support and guidance.”
That’s how he expects to reach families, and therefore equip students to fulfill plan goals to: contribute to creating a safe and respectful environment; put forth their best effort; and be independent learners and competent problem-solvers who seek help when needed.
Four components of the plan include:
- A safe and orderly school environment
- A collaborative culture
- Clear and accessible curriculum
- Effective teaching in every classroom
There are benchmarks for every objective, such as planning for communication across all district groups, developing a schedule for progress checks, and creating an efficacy report by asking “how are buildings in the district doing?”
The Board of Education has approved the plan, which will begin to unfold this fall. While BCSD developed this plan to cover a five-year period from 2022-2027, school staff will continue to review and refine it to “achieve success for years to come.”
Even though Smith began in January at the tail end of the planning process, he has enjoyed the catch-up process of all that has been done, he said.
“I’ve been thrilled at the work Dr. Corey and all of our stakeholders have done in preparing this guide,” he said. “It shows a solid understanding of our students’ diverse needs and will certainly set every child up for success going forward.”
Newly elected Board President John Marucci concurred, adding that Corey and her team “have been well ahead of the curve” by initiating the strategic plan in 2019.
“The Board of Education has been actively discussing learning loss with the administration since the height of the pandemic,” Marucci said. “We’re confident that they’re addressing the concerns that parents have expressed and will continue to evaluate their systems going forward to ensure BCSD continues to strive for academic excellence in every grade and every classroom.”
The complete Strategic Plan, which runs from 2022 to 2027, can be found on the Batavia City School District website here.
