To realize our goal of being a world-classdistrict, we have several years of

“climbing” to complete. This update is theclimb for the 2014/15 school year.

2014/15 Strategic Update for the Community

An update to last year’s Unparalleled Altitude

In 2013/14, Eagle County Schools soughtinput from the community about what itexpected out of its public schools.

The community said it wanted a world-classschool district that prepares students to beinternationally competitive.

Working with a comprehensive range ofdistrict staff members, Superintendent JasonGlass developed and shared a new plan todeliver on those expectations.

Dr. Glass’ globally inspired vision required theBoard of Education and the district to re-evaluate and update its core mission, vision,and values.

For the 2014/15 school year, Eagle CountySchools is excited to share this update to ourStrategic Plan.

Mission: In safe environments, we teach the childrenof Eagle County to have creative and active minds,compassion for others, enthusiasm for lifelonglearning, and the courage to act on their dreams.

Vision: Internationally competitive graduates

Values:• Respecting educators• Engaging students and improving achievement • Equitably preparing a diverse student body • Involving the community• Delivering a challenging curriculum

The updated mission, vision, values, strategies, and tacticscontained herein were approved by the Board of Education

at the September 10, 2014 meeting.

E D U C AL E A R N E R SEducators – Create a professional model ofteaching. Tactic 1: Focus on recruiting teachers fromthe very best colleges and universitiesanywhere in the country, if not the world. Tactic 2: Recruit from our own top-performing high school students, creatinglocal systems with world-class standards ofexcellence to “grow-our-own” talentededucators. Tactic 3: Remain incredibly selective aboutwhom we allow to begin or to remain teachingin our schools. Tactic 4: Compensate, recognize and providesupports for our new and existing teachers sothat we are competitive for new teaching talentwhile retaining our experienced and talentededucators. Our educators should be among thebest compensated in the State of Colorado forus to be competitive.

Learners – Develop a system of customizedlearning.

Tactic 1: At the elementary level: Focus onfoundational elements of literacy andnumeracy by implementing multi-step, fail-safe systems where outcomes are clear, teamsof educators closely monitor student progress,and take student-specific actions at the earliestsigns of struggle (Response to Instruction).

Tactic 2: At the secondary level: Create clearand customized pathways to college or careersthat include abundant opportunities forexperiencing college-level work, earningcollege credits while in high school, and withlocal employers and experts engaging inexperiential opportunities.

Tactic 3: Tailor instruction at all age levelsfor exceptional students, both gifted andspecial education. For gifted students, we mustgo beyond just acceleration and offer deeperopportunities for learning and engagingopportunities for self-study and enrichment.For special education students, we mustprovide adapted instruction, tailored to fittheir needs, and supported to the same highstandards we have for all students.

Tactic 4: Leverage and expand online andblended learning opportunities to create anabundance of learning options for students.

Tactic 5: Shift toward student progressionbased on mastery of learning instead of time-based notions of learning (earning creditsbased on hours of seat time in class). Studentsadvance or receive additional time as theyneed it and have access to an abundance ofexperience-based learning opportunities.

Tactic 6: Consider alternate school calendarstructures and summer supports that canmitigate the “summer slump” (a decline inacademic ability after the summer months),and provide engaging and enriching learningopportunities outside the regular curriculum.

Tactic 7: Convert our natural studentdemographics into an enormous advantage byexpanding multi-lingual opportunities acrossthe district with the goal of every studentgraduating from Eagle County Schools beingable to speak multiple languages.

Tactic 8: Ensure that all English LanguageLearners have a masterful command ofEnglish (i.e., they can read, write, speak, andlisten across all content areas).

Tactic 9: Ensure students have a voice intheir education.

Tactic 10: Achieve demographic balance inschools to ensure high quality, diverse learningenvironments.

Progress UpdateWe redesigned our recruitment strategyand received 200 more highly qualifiedapplicants than the previous year, whichallowed us to bring 79 top qualitycandidates to the district.

We began working with ColoradoMountain College on their Bachelor’s

Progress UpdateWe focused professional learningopportunities on collective understandingand implementation of Response to

Instruction best practices. We expandedthe AVID program to middle school level.

S T A N D A R D S

Adopted 9/10/14

Standards – Align curriculum andpractices to high standards.

Tactic 1: Continue the work of rigorouscurriculum design, establishing ongoingcycles to benchmark and align our curriculumin all content areas against the ColoradoAcademic Standards, internationallybenchmarked standards, and internationallycompetitive systems. A mantra that mustburn in the minds of all educators must be:“alignment, alignment, alignment” inthinking about how instructional workaligns to high standards.

Tactic 2: Continue the work of developingcurricula in all subject areas that are clearlyaligned with the district’s high expectations.Expand the curriculum to include: charactereducation, critical thinking, communication,creativity and collaboration.

Tactic 3: Provide teachers with clear andevidence-based literacy and numeracyresources district-wide that are aligned withour standards.

Tactic 4: Continue the district’s workaround formative assessment (but work tomake this process faster and much moreefficient) and the formative assessmentprocess as an instructional practice. Also,build capacity of district-wide formativeassessments in literacy and numeracy thathave a direct impact on classroominstruction and that are clearly aligned todistrict standards.

Progress UpdateWe added literacy and numeracylessons, resources and tasks, andfocused professional learning onconsistent application of instructionalstrategies to meet kids where theiracademic needs were and providedeither enrichment or support to keepthem above or at grade level.

We evolved the common formativeassessment landscape by creating anassessment item bank on Educator

Central. This provided teachers accessto assessment questions already createdand tied to standards for formativeassessment and served as models for thetypes of questions teachers should beasking students based on the standards.These collaboratively created and scoredteacher-owned formative assessmentsprovided immediate feedback to studentsto impact their learning.

A T O R S

Tactic 5: Support and build upon our existingcareer ladder (career, mentor, and masterteachers) while looking to expand it for moreprofessional options such as year-roundteachers or specialist teacher-leaders thatbring expertise to a key area of student need(data specialists or language-learningspecialists). Tactic 6: Support and value the time of ourexisting professional learning model toempower our front-line educators further. Tactic 7: Support educators withopportunities to enrich their contentknowledge and stay abreast of new andemerging best practices in teaching.Tactic 8: Entrust principals with theresponsibility of instilling the practicesnecessary to achieve the performance goals oftheir schools.

Degree in Elementary Education, withEagle County Schools staff on theplanning committee.

We provided a cost-of-living-adjustmentraise to staff members following yearsof decline or stagnation in pay.

T E C H N O LO G Y WRAP AROUNDThe Special Role of Technology – Adapt practices tointegrate technology into the learning process.

Tactic 1: Develop media-rich schools.

Tactic 2: Provide high-quality, state-of-the-art devices for eachstudent.

Tactic 3: Develop curricula for technology, including acceleratedpathways.

Wraparound Supports – Provide internal and external supportsthat remove barriers to learning.

Internal

Tactic 1: Ensure that buildings and grounds are safe.

Tactic 2: Provide safe and reliable transportation of students.

Tactic 3: Provide healthy and nutritious meals.

Tactic 4: Provide guidance counseling services.

External

Tactic 1: Engage and involve parents and families.

Tactic 2: Engage and leverage community organizations.

Tactic 3: Provide a comprehensive and robust community-widesystem around early childhood.

Progress UpdateWe made a significant push to update antiquated andfailing technology. Libraries began transforming intomedia-rich learning commons. Mobile computer labsgreatly increased the ratio of devices per student, and ourinternet connection received a comprehensive update.

We also organized a comprehensive, and on-going,collaborative effort among the community’s multitude ofnon-profits, governmental agencies, and philanthropies toenhance and align their interoperability effectiveness.

COMMUNICATIONS F I N A N C E S

Adopted 9/10/14

The Special Role of Communications –Relay essentialinformation to foster stakeholder support for the district.

Tactic 1: Foster teacher-to-parent interpersonal communications asthe most common contact method with stakeholders. Schoolscommunicate and connect via open houses, newsletters to parents,active PTA/Os, events to draw parents into schools, and recruitmentof volunteers from individuals and businesses.

Tactic 2: Deliver strategic communications directly to parents andstaff members related to specific departments.

Tactic 3: Engage the larger community of stakeholders withinformation about the district’s progress, successes, and challenges.

Tactic 4: Trigger and support grassroots advocacy efforts aroundstate and national public education issues.

A Fiscally-sound District – Maintain stakeholder trustthrough transparent management of district finances.

Tactic 1: Maintain a community-based finance committee toprovide additional oversight on audit reports.

Tactic 2: Provide clear communications to stakeholders on fiscalmatters.

Tactic 3: Develop and maintain a comprehensive, outcomes-based budgeting strategy, including five-year planning.

Tactic 4: Identify opportunities to continuously strengthen thedistrict’s financial base.

Tactic 5: Evaluate district programs based on a return-on-investment analysis.

Tactic 6: Create and maintain a long-range Facilities Master Planin concert with the academic program.

Progress UpdateIn communications, we hosted the first Insider’s Academyto provide in-depth and transparent insights into districtoperations. We also expanded outreach with social media,our website, and began weekly columns in the Vail Daily.Our community responded on a grassroots basis to contactstate legislators to insist the negative factor be restored.This resulted in $110 million more dollars in state fundingand contributed to a small increase in our budget.

We hired an experienced Chief Financial Officer, passedour annual audits with flying colors, maintained requiredoperating fund balances, and tightened our alignmentbetween expenditures and strategies designed to improvestudent outcomes.

While we continue to make progress across all frontsof our strategic plan, this year we are focusing on:

• Teaching to high standards and expectations• Tailoring instruction to student needs• Empowering frontline educators

Unlike the unproven reforms forced upon us by the state, these are research-based,effective ways to improve student performance. The top-performing systems in theworld focus on these fundamental, albeit politically boring, techniques to stay on top.

We need our community and staff to remain focused with us on what works andavoid the distractions of national- and state-level politics. Together, with localcontrol, we can ensure that our children are prepared and internationallycompetitive.

2014 /15 FOCUS

948 Chambers Avenue, POB 740Eagle, CO 81631970-328-6321

www.eagleschools.net