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8/6/2019 WodiskaFinalReport

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The Honorable Joan E. Wodiska, Chairman

Submitted June 6, 2011

Falls Church City School Board Work Plan: Final Report

July 1, 2010-June 14, 2011

As Chair of the School Board, I am proud to report that the School Board exceeded goals, and issignificantly ahead of schedule, leaving the school district strong and well-prepared for the future.

In a year of ongoing economic adversity, challenged by aging facilities, declining local revenues, and

the retirement of the Superintendent, the 2010-2011 school year presented the Falls Church City

School Board with unprecedented, complicated, and politically difficult challenges. As the Class of

2011 looks back on their accomplishments, so too does the School Board to determine if we met the

high expectations of our taxpayers, our parents, our staff, our students, and ourselves. The School

Boards to-do list was long, and some have even suggested overly ambitious, but thanks to the

dedication and perseverance of the Board members, school staff, and our amazingly supportive

community, the School Board and the community can look back on 2010-2011 with a sense of

achievement and commitment to the future of public education in the City of Falls Church.

One City Council member may have said it best, This is the hardest working School Board. In deed,

the School Board ended the 2010-2011 school year well-ahead of schedule and achieved several

significant accomplishments for the Citys public schools.

First, from a standpoint of managing our schools, the School Board hired a new Superintendent, Dr.

Toni Jones, passed the FY 2012 budget, and approved a new facilities plan. All three activities are

tremendous achievements in their own right. However, the School Board also invested in our

infrastructure, breaking ground on significant school renovation and expansion projects and competing

for and winning a subsidized construction award to save city residents millions, $60 million to be exactfrom the original placeholder price tag. For the students, the School Board prioritized the expansion of

school breakfast to all school buildings for the first time in the Citys history, and was honored when

our efforts to make school meals healthy and available to all were recognized with a prestigious

national award. The Board also planned for the future, laying the groundwork to offer on-line learning

opportunities by developing a public-private partnership with Milestone Communications to support e-

learning and wireless access in student homes. Finally, taking a lesson from these difficult economic

times, the Board took a first-bold step forward to create a revenue sharing agreement between the

School Board and City Council to stabilize the schools funding for years to come. And, on a personal

note, I am proud to say, the School Board did all this work together as a team after writing, signing, and

subscribing to a first ever School Board Civility Code of Conduct. There is always more to do, but

looking back over the year, the School Board is proud of our accomplishments, vision, hard work,

creativity, and perseverance and honored to serve the people of the City of Falls Church.

Below is the twelve-month progress update on the Falls Church City School Boards 18-Month Work

Plan. Approved unanimously by the School Board on August 24, 2010, the Work Plan guides and sets

the School Boards agenda through December 2011.


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Completed Active Scheduled for the future Administrative & Ongoing

Falls Church City School Board Work PlanFinal Report for 2010-2011 School Year

Item Progress

Superintendent Search

Develop process and timeline to find a new superintendent

Devise process to engage public and gather input

Retain outside services to assist in nationwide search

Interview candidates, narrow the field, and make a final decision.

Determine new evaluation instrument aligned to work plan, strategic plan, along side a new

timeline aligned to new organizational dates and availability of performance data

Clean up, organize, and memorialize school district practice in all applicable policies,

regulations, and handbooks Ensure high-quality school buildings capable for supporting educational goals and meeting growing student

population

Finalize a long-term facilities plan by January 2011

Continue to work with City Council and the Planning Commission to explore cost effective

options to meet growing long-term school facility needs and significantly reform and improve

the CIP process

Evaluate the feasibility, funding instruments, and sites to address school facility needs, in

collaboration with City Council All policies related to facilities are reviewed and revised as necessary

Provide every student with a rigorous, world-class education

Evaluate 2010 student goals; set new goals for 2011 to ensure that every student has at least a

years worth of growth for a year of school; hold district accountable for results; and where

necessary develop improvement plans(Pending

SOL results; Top

Ranked in

Challenge Index)

Finalize and use a data system to track individual students academic progress by January 2011

(and ensure transparency and access of information for parents)


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Use data driven decision making to empower School Board, Superintendent, principals and

staff to provide proactive and timely focused evidence based remediation to support student

learning

Develop e-learning and dual enrollment opportunities for high school students to promote

rigor and relevance by Spring 2011 budget process; first offerings to be widely available to all

students in Summer 2011.

Complete application process, frequently monitor, including quarterly reports to the SB, and

make the necessary adjustments to finalize implementation of PYP by Fall 2011.

Assess value of MYP program for our overall educational objectives, and the options the IBO

will allow FCCPS to engage in to have a successful implementation of the program. Research and evaluate use of existing school time and develop School Board statement to

reflect consensus of the board to extend learning time.

Receive and review report from Director of Special Education and Student Services

Develop a responsible budget to ensure the independence and ongoing excellence in our schools

Devise legislative plan to support budget needs and lessen financial pressures on district

Create a unified City/School Board budget calendar

Sustain our communitys commitment to educational excellence and continue practice to keep

budget cuts away from the classroom and ensure that all classes of employees are treated

fairly, while looking for greater efficiencies and savings with the City

Conduct work in a transparent manner that engages all stakeholders

Continue to foster solid working relationship with City Council and City Staff

Review, evaluate, and refocus investments to support high expectations for staff, students, andensure that struggling students are provided with more time to improve learning Develop a multi-year funding formula to stabilize funding for operations and capital needs and

obtain commitment from City Council for formula

Promote Effective School Board Governance

Create, sign, and embody a Civility Code of Conduct

Ensure that every school board member obtains professional development to build board

capacity and support continuous learning and innovation Consider applying for the NSBA Magna School Board Award and VSBA Board ofExcellenceAwards Agree upon process to evaluate school boards performance on work plan and develop loop

for continuous improvement and learning

Develop, in consultation with community and staff, plan to write a new district wide strategic

plan

Clean up, organize, and memorialize School Board practice in policy and bylaws


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Improve Boards communication with community

Develop and implement communications plan to foster community engagement and

awareness at the grassroots and water cooler level on all matters in this work plan by

September 2010

Promote awareness about the districts successes through districts new website, including but

not limited to IB, students acceptance to college, sports titles, school meal program, and high

school graduation rate

All vacancies on advisory boards and committees are filled

All policies related to communications are reviewed and revised as necessary

Modernize human capital policies to link teacher and administrator evaluations to student performance

Keep apprised of VDOE Panel to develop new teacher and administrator evaluation linked to

student performance.

Receive report on the effectiveness of the current teacher/administrator evaluation instrument

to link teacher and administrator evaluations to student performance, how evaluations reflect

teamwork to support student goals, and how evaluations are used as a tool to support

teacher/administrator and student learning.

As necessary in light of reports, revise policies to support student learning.

*All work plan deadlines were December 31, 2011 unless otherwise noted.

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