Executive Summary

Goals and Action Steps

Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment

Year 1
2010-11 Goal #1: Align curriculum, instruction, and assessment cycles to provide PreK-12 students access and support that enhances individual student learning so that high outcomes are attained and all students are prepared to flourish in a global society.

Action Step 1.1: Align curriculum, instruction, and assessment.
Action Step 1.2: Integrate classroom, district, and state assessments.
Action Step 1.3: Research instructional strategies for student engagement.
Action Step 1.4: Increase student access to technology.

Year 2
2011-12 Goal #2: Align curriculum, instruction, and assessment cycles to provide PreK-12 students access and support that enhances individual student learning so that high outcomes are attained and all students are prepared to flourish in a global society.

Action Step 2.1: Incorporate aligned curriculum, instruction, and assessment in classrooms.
Action Step 2.2: Use classroom, district, and state assessments to implement tiered instruction.
Action Step 2.3: Provide professional development in culturally relevant differentiated curriculum.
Action Step 2.4: Increase use of technology.
Action Step 2.5: Increase opportunities in world languages.

Equity and Advocacy

Year 1
2010-11 Goal #1: Increase student achievement and close the achievement gap through equity audits and data analysis.

Action Step 1.1: Conduct equity audits.

2010-11 Goal #2: Increase student achievement and close achievement gaps through districtwide culturally relevant professional development.

Action Step 2.1: Offer professional development on culturally relevant pedagogy.
Action Step 2.2: Integrate cultural relevancy in all other professional development.
Action Step 2.3: Build capacity in school equity teams at their sites.

2010-11 Goal #3: Increase student achievement and close the achievement gap through advocacy and support to students.

Action Step 3.1: Align student advocacy programs and identify gaps in services.
Action Step 3.2: Focus on community outreach and parent involvement.
Action Step 3.3: Develop and administer a culture and climate survey for all schools.

Year 2
2011-12 Goal #4: Increase student achievement and close the achievement gap through districtwide cultural responsiveness.

Action Step 4.1: Implement culturally responsive pedagogy in curriculum and instruction.
Action Step 4.2: Address culture and climate in the schools.
Action Step 4.3: Re-administer culture and climate survey in all schools.

Early Childhood

Year 1
2010-11 Goal #1: Increase the quality of current services to families of children, prenatal to age 5, by aligning the Early Childhood Pre-Kindergarten program with the Parents as Teachers (PAT) program.

Action Step 1.1: Increase number of PAT certified educators.
Action Step 1.2: Integrate Pre-K Utah state core guidelines with PAT Born to Learn® curriculum.
Action Step 1.3: Provide successful transition to kindergarten.
Action Step 1.4: Hold Pre-K/PAT family group meetings.
Action Step 1.5: Increase parent participation in planning meetings.

Year 2
2011-12 Goal #2: Increase the number of families served through the Early Childhood Programs: Parents as Teachers (prenatal to age 5), Pre-Kindergarten for three- and four-year-olds, and kindergarten readiness classes.

Action Step 2.1: Seek funding resources to provide health benefits.
Action Step 2.2: Increase outreach to underserved populations.
Action Step 2.3: Integrate cultural relevancy into professional development training.

School Choice

Year 1
2010-11 Goal #1: Attract and retain students in Salt Lake City School District through multiple methods of advertising and marketing to increase community awareness, knowledge, and participation in school choice opportunities within the district.

Action Step 1.1: Assist each school in developing a marketing plan.
Action Step 1.2: Update the district's and each school's Internet home pages.
Action Step 1.3: Refine the school choice catalog.
Action Step 1.4: Inform underrepresented groups about options.
Action Step 1.5: Continuously update a variety of faith-based groups, social service agencies, and businesses.
Action Step 1.6: Publicize SLCSD choice options in a variety of ways.

2010-11 Goal #2: Attract and retain students in Salt Lake City School District through distributing choice options geographically throughout the district.

Action Step 2.1: Maintain successful existing programs.
Action Step 2.2: Expand programs across all geographic areas.
Action Step 2.3: Mirror district demographics in optional programs.
Action Step 2.4: Identify resources for transportation to increase access.

2010-11 Goal #3: Attract and retain students in Salt Lake City School District through expanding and replicating successful choice programs.

Action Step 3.1: Expand existing successful programs into adjacent grade levels.

Year 2
2011-12 Goal #4: Assess our efforts to attract and retain students in Salt Lake City School District by increasing community awareness, knowledge, and participation in school choice opportunities within the district.

Action Step 4.1: Evaluate family needs and desires for school choice.
Action Step 4.2: Evaluate the geographic distribution of programs.
Action Step 4.3: Determine new options based on evaluations.

Family and School Collaboration

Year 1
2010-11 Goal #1: Increase school focus, develop plans, and monitor school efforts to improve family collaboration.

Action Step 1.1: Hire a district level Family and School Collaboration Specialist.
Action Step 1.2: Revise the School Improvement Plan template to incorporate family and school collaboration.
Action Step 1.3: Update and maintain school Web pages.

Year 2
2011-12 Goal #2: Every school ensures that the family of each student receives narrative (spoken or written) communication from the school at least once per month that shares information about student progress or educational activities and provides opportunities for families to give feedback or express needs.

Action Step 2.1: Prepare and provide a communication idea book.
Action Step 2.2: Increase the availability of technology tools to create two-way communication.

Internal Communications and External Relations

Year 1
2010-11 Goal #1: Provide the necessary resources and assistance to schools and district departments to enable a multifaceted approach to communication.

Action Step 1.1: Determine the current state of communications.
Action Step 1.2: Design, develop, and implement a communication plan for multiple audiences.
Action Step 1.3: Develop current, informative, accurate, and formatted school Web sites.
Action Step 1.4: Explore effectiveness of social media such as e-mail, "Twitter," "Facebook," and “Google/Yahoo Groups.”
Action Step 1.5: Retain capacity to provide weekly or monthly newsletters in print.

2010-11 Goal #2: Provide the necessary resources, training, and assistance to schools and district departments to develop the skills for fund development and cultivation of new partners.

Action Step 2.1: Increase school and department capacity to convey compelling stories.
Action Step 2.2: Cultivate new community partners and relationships.

Year 2
2011-12 Goal #3: In collaboration with Information Systems, design a strategy to improve communication between the district and its schools and employees by establishing and implementing a districtwide intranet.

Action Step 3.1: Design a district intranet for internal access and use only.