2015 STRATEGIC PLAN

The key is not to anticipate the future, but to CREATE THE FUTURE. INTRODUCTION Creating the future takes vision, imagination, and a commitment to turning dreams into reality. These qualities epitomize Kannapolis City Schools and are the inspiration for this 5-year strategic plan. The exciting vision outlined in this plan was developed by innovative leaders—both within KCS and from our community—who shared their creativity and produced a roadmap that will lead to even greater success for Kannapolis City Schools. Thanks to their foresight, KCS will harness the amazing opportunities available in our community and create a future that transforms how education is delivered to our children. We are indebted to these leaders for sharing their talent, experience, and bold imagination. Community Stakeholders: Deb Carter (Cabarrus Regional Chamber of Commerce) John Cox (Cabarrus Regional Chamber of Commerce) Pam Dubois (Cabarrus County Government) Rev. Donald Gray (Mt. Sinai Baptist Church) Gina Gonzalez Hofert (Cabarrus County Health Alliance) Ed Hosack (Cooperative Christian Ministry) MaryRuth Luther (KCS Parent) Martha Macon (Kannapolis Realtor) Melody McGinnis (Rowan Cabarrus Community College, ESL) Bob Misenheimer (City of Kannapolis Mayor) Jeanie Moore (Rowan Cabarrus Community College) James Oblinger (North Carolina Research Campus, NCSU) Penny Perkins-Veazie (North Carolina Research Campus, KCS Parent) Lynne Safrit (North Carolina Research Campus, KCS Parent) Ben Warren (City of Kannapolis Planner) Kannapolis City Schools: Daryle Adams (Teacher) Todd Adams (Board of Education) Nancy Barger (Administrative Assistant) Ellen Boyd (Community Relations) Chip Buckwell (Principal) Jo Anne Byerly (Superintendent) Donna Combs (Health/Family Services) Will Crabtree (Business Operations) Ron Deaton (Student Services) Debbie DePompa (Teacher) Claudia Fensley (Family Advocate/Spanish Interpreter)

Kevin Garay (Principal) Nancy Gilmore (Pre-school Education Coordinator) Kim Harn (Human Resources) Wes Honeycutt (Student) Janet Jenkins (Student Assessment) Rob Knuschke (Principal) Charles Mitchell (Board of Education) Debra Morris (Assistant Superintendent) Melia Neale (Principal) Dominique Phifer (Student) Danita Rickard (Board of Education) Ashley Roach (Teacher) Anne Treanor (Child Nutrition) Bonnie West (Exceptional Children) Patty Williams (Title I) Pat Woods (ESL & Career Technical Education)

The outstanding work of these leaders has produced five strategic goals that will guide KCS over the next five years. These strategic goals, and the entire 2015 STRATEGIC PLAN, are summarized in the chart on the following page. The chart illustrates how our centerpiece goal is raising Kannapolis City Schools’ graduation rate and academic achievement and that our four remaining goals support that critical objective. The chart also demonstrates how our five strategic goals align with each other, with our vision and mission, and with the State Board of Education’s five strategic goals. Most importantly, however, the chart illustrates how partnerships, imagination, and creative ways of connecting community resources will be the foundation of Kannapolis City Schools’ success over the next five years.

NC Public Schools will

Internal Implementation Committee

External Implementation Committee

Produce globally competitive students Be healthy & responsible st Be led by 21 Century professionals Guide innovation in NC public schools st Be governed & supported by 21 Century systems

Partnerships, imagination, & creative ways of connecting community resources

DEVELOPING THE PLAN: More than forty people, representing every KCS stakeholder group, helped develop this 2015 STRATEGIC PLAN. Participants included parents, students, teachers, administrators, school board members, elected officials, City and County leaders, North Carolina Research Campus leaders, Chamber representatives, realtors, faith leaders, African American and Latino representatives, and College and University leaders. All of them gathered between January 2010 and April 2010 to provide their input and expertise to Kannapolis City Schools. The group began by analyzing data from Kannapolis City Schools and comparing the district’s performance to the state average and to other school systems. The Strategic Planning Committee examined data for the following categories: • Academics • Demographics • Financial/Facilities • Personnel • Dropouts/Suspensions In order to involve our stakeholders more fully and give them a better grasp of the data, we divided them into five small groups, with each group focusing on one of the information areas listed above. KCS facilitators were assigned to each group, and they helped stakeholders understand the data. After each group analyzed its information, members conducted a SWOT analysis and identified the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats presented by their data. Each group then determined the five most pressing issues facing Kannapolis City Schools. The Strategic Planning Committee compiled all the issues from every group and prioritized them to determine the five most critical issues facing KCS: 1. Funding / Alternative Funding Sources 2. Employing the BEST/RIGHT teachers & providing appropriate Professional Development 3. Increasing student achievement; closing the gap; increasing graduation rate 4. Providing more services for LEP/EC/At-risk students 5. Providing for Alternative School / Programs The Strategic Planning Committee then used these five issues to develop the strategic goals that will guide KCS over the next five years:

KANNAPOLIS CITY SCHOOLS STRATEGIC GOALS 2010-2015: •

By 2015, KCS will achieve a graduation rate of at least 80% and will have 90% or more of our students proficient in all subjects.

•

KCS will ensure appropriate funding to educate 21st Century learners.

•

KCS will continue to attract, employ, and retain highly qualified and informed staff who are motivated to affect long-term achievement.

•

KCS will provide adequate services for LEP/EC/At-risk students so they can meet or exceed state expectations.

•

KCS will establish a comprehensive alternative program within the existing academic environment that will allow students to graduate with 21st Century skills.

ACHIEVING OUR GOALS: The Strategic Planning Committee identified preliminary strategies to help KCS achieve our five strategic goals, and they are outlined below. KCS will use these suggested strategies not only to help reach our goals but also to inspire additional approaches as we work toward transforming this plan into reality. The strategies for each goal represent a starting point for achieving academic and overall success in the next five years. Strategic Goal I: By 2015, KCS will achieve a graduation rate of at least 80% and will have 90% or more of our students proficient in all subjects. Strategies for achieving Goal I: •

Answer the following questions:  What will it take to achieve a 90% achievement rate and an 80% graduation rate?  What types of training will our teachers need in order to make this goal a reality?  What are we asking teachers to do? Are those activities relevant to reaching our strategic goals?  What do we need to eliminate in order to achieve this goal?  What resources do we need to provide to teachers?

•

Evaluate school systems with demographics similar to KCS that have already reached these goals.

•

Schedule our instructional day to ensure that every minute is devoted to giving students ample opportunity to grow.

•

Maximize the use of new strategies and discard outdated ones (self-reflection).

•

Utilize the tool of teachers teaching teachers.

•

Optimize the technology that is available in KCS and enable our children to become engaged learners.

•

Remove barriers that prevent students from taking risks that lead to discovery learning and that enable their growth.

 Finding ways to eliminate bullying  Students talking more about their learning experiences and taking ownership of their learning •

Schools must identify students who have “fallen off the tracks” and develop a plan for getting them back on track. They must provide constant support and encouragement to ensure that they graduate.

•

Ensure parent involvement from the very beginning and keep parents involved in every aspect of the child’s learning experience.

Strategic Goal II: Ensure appropriate funding to educate 21st Century learners. Strategies for achieving Goal II: • • • • • •

Maximize funds from state, local, and federal governments. Seek alternative funding solutions and sources (City School District Tax, grants). Seek legislative authority to create new revenue streams (City School District Tax, sales tax, etc.) Business community partnerships Engineering Construction/Technology partnerships Advocate and communicate funding needs to state, local, and federal officials.

Strategic Goal III: KCS will continue to attract, employ, and retain highly qualified and informed staff who are motivated to affect long-term achievement. Strategies for achieving Goal III: • • • •

• • •

Continue to foster a comprehensive and effective mentoring program at all levels. Provide significant collaborative planning time for staff. Provide access to the latest researched based resources. Increase collaboration with colleges/universities, other school systems, and the North Carolina Research Campus. o Harness the resources of the Kenan Fellows Program, the NCSU Science House, and the grants available through the National Science Foundation, the National Institutes of Health, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Continue to align professional development with continuous improvement plans and the state’s strategic goals. Continue to foster the close relationship between instructional staff and leadership. Continue to recognize and reward teacher leaders.

Strategic Goal IV: KCS will provide adequate services for LEP / EC / At-Risk Students so that they can exceed State expectations. Strategies for achieving Goal IV: • • • • • • •

Develop a long-range staff development plan for teachers. Consider a central Resource/Help Center for ESL families (consider partnering with the Cabarrus Health Alliance or the Kannapolis Newcomers Commission). Consider restructuring the EC program at the high school level to include a split schedule with inclusion and resource. Partner with the community college to provide alternative classes for at-risk students and consider using the City Bus Service as a transportation resource. Develop a “bridge” program similar to the one used by Rowan Cabarrus Community College for At-Risk students. Offer conversational Spanish to KCS staff to help them communicate with their LEP students and use RCCC as a community partner. Hire more bi-lingual staff.

Strategic Goal V: Establish a comprehensive alternative program within the existing academic environment that will allow all students to graduate with 21st Century skills. Strategies for achieving Goal V: • • • • • •

Provide individualized education plans for students (identify talent, career planning, goals etc.); Create parental partnerships and involvement through mentoring; Meet all social, mental, emotional, and academic needs of students Develop community partnerships and internships; (Job Shadowing) Determine a process for students to re-enter the regular school environment, and Design an effective means of instructional delivery.

IMPLEMENTATION: The goals and strategies outlined by the KCS Strategic Planning Committee will serve as a compass to guide Kannapolis City Schools over the next five years. However, reaching our ultimate destination will require something more like a GPS, which determines the most direct roads to success and can adapt to detours along the way. Our GPS over the next five years will be two implementation committees that will direct KCS toward reaching our strategic goals. One will be an internal implementation committee, and the other will be an external implementation committee. Each will have separate responsibilities, but they will work together to make sure KCS stays on track for achieving success. Both implementation committees will serve in advisory capacities to the

Superintendent and Board of Education. They will not have the authority to make policy or to change procedures within KCS. However, each committee’s work will lead to recommendations that the Superintendent and Board can use to help KCS achieve its strategic goals. The internal implementation committee will focus on stakeholders and operations within KCS and will make sure our people and processes are aligned to meet our goals. The external implementation committee will be charged with finding ways to harness our community’s unique resources to make sure our strategic goals become a reality. Having these implementation committees in place will allow our KCS STRATEGIC PLAN to become dynamic instead of static. The committees will constantly scan our internal and external environments to find the best routes for achieving success. If roadblocks develop along the way, they will respond immediately to keep us on course for reaching our goals.

INTERNAL IMPLEMENTATION COMMITTEE: The internal implementation committee will be led by the Assistant Superintendent of Kannapolis City Schools and the KCS Director of Student Assessment. It will consist of students, staff, parents, and administrators from all levels of KCS and will concentrate on achieving the academic components of this strategic plan (Goals 1, 3, 4, 5). The internal implementation committee will examine Kannapolis City Schools’ operations, resources, and personnel in light of our 2015 strategic goals, and its mission will be to identify the best ways for KCS to achieve these goals. As highlighted by the Strategic Planning Committee’s preliminary strategies, it will be critical for the internal implementation committee to identify not only what needs to be added to KCS in order to achieve our goals but also to determine what is no longer working in KCS and thereby draining our system of the ability to achieve maximum success. The internal implementation committee will seek all possibilities for achieving our five strategic goals and should not feel constrained by the availability of resources when it determines what is best for our students and staff. It should remain focused on the ultimate goal of transforming our vision into reality. The responsibility for identifying the resources to achieve our goals will fall to the External Implementation Committee.

EXTERNAL IMPLEMENTATION COMMITTEE: The External Implementation Committee will be led by the KCS Director of Community Relations, the KCS Director of Business Operations, and the Executive Director of Cooperative Christian Ministry (a member of the Strategic Planning Committee). The committee will include multiple community stakeholders as members, and it will be focused on making sure KCS has the resources necessary to achieve its strategic goals by 2015. As part of developing preliminary strategies for achieving the goals in this plan, the Strategic Planning Committee identified several community resources that could benefit KCS. For example, grants from the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture provide millions of dollars each year for scientific research. Applications for these grants often must include a K-12 education component in order to win approval. Therefore, collaboration between Kannapolis City Schools and the North Carolina Research Campus in writing these grants could help ensure significantly more money for research at the NCRC as well as additional funding for academic and professional development resources for Kannapolis City Schools. These additional resources could be vital in achieving many of the strategic goals outlined in this KCS strategic plan. Other resources available

through the NCRC include the Kenan Fellows Program and the NCSU Science House, which offer opportunities for academic enrichment for students and professional development for staff. Partnerships with the NCRC can make sure our students and staff have access to these valuable resources. The Strategic Planning Committee also suggested that KCS students and staff might benefit from alternative ways of delivering services in our community. For example, the committee pointed out that services are sometimes available in our community, but they are not always accessible to those who need them most. Having key school and community stakeholders represented on the external implementation committee will allow them to collaborate in designing more efficient ways of delivering school and community services to our children and families.

TIMETABLES & EVALUATION: Achieving the goals of this 2015 STRATEGIC PLAN will require the internal and external implementation committees to begin work immediately. The first step will be for the committee chairs to identify and recruit their members during the summer of 2010. Both committees should be ready to have their first meetings and begin their work by the beginning of the 2010-2011 school year. While each implementation committee will work independently, the chairs of the committees will meet monthly to ensure coordination and cooperation toward achieving the goals of this strategic plan. The chairpersons of the implementation committees will be in constant contact with the Superintendent regarding their progress, and they will give updates each month to KCS principals and central office administrators. In addition, the committee chairs will report their progress to the Kannapolis City Schools Board of Education every six months beginning in January of 2011. This will keep the board of education and public informed about Kannapolis City Schools’ progress toward reaching its goals. It also will give the board of education and public an opportunity to provide input into Kannapolis City Schools’ ongoing efforts to achieve the goals outlined in this strategic plan. KCS will monitor progress toward achieving our goals by using the North Carolina State Report Card. The state releases the report card each year, and the document shows progress in all areas of performance for every school and district in North Carolina. Analyzing the report card will allow KCS not only to monitor its own performance but also to see whether it is improving in relation to the state and other school districts. Both implementation committees will provide ongoing evaluations to the KCS Board of Education as part of its semi-annual reports in January and July.

CONCLUSION: The creative and talented leaders who developed this 2015 STRATEGIC PLAN have put Kannapolis City Schools on a clear road to success. The road will take Kannapolis City Schools farther than we have ever been before and will allow us to become a leader in North Carolina education. The road not only connects our schools and community but also provides a bridge to the future. It is an appropriate highway for our innovative community, which is defining the potential of our new millennium. In essence, this 2015 STRATEGIC PLAN not only is charting the road to success for Kannapolis City Schools but also CREATING THE FUTURE for our students and community. What an exciting pathway it is. Let the journey begin!