Ascension Parish school district begins work on five year plan – The Advocate

GONZALES The Ascension Parish School Board took its first step this week toward creating a strategic plan that will set goals for all areas of the school system over the next five years.

Among the goals: Increasing the district's overall school performance score from 109.3 to 119.3; providing pre-kindergarten now provided based on family income to all 4-year-olds in the district, and working toward good outcomes in future elections on renewals for five property taxes set to expire between 2020 and 2025.

Board members heard from the district's department heads on Tuesday night on everything from choosing the best curricula, to providing more students with individual computer devices and recruiting and keeping good teachers.

The board met as a committee of the whole in a non-voting workshop to look at the first draft of a five-year plan.

"This is truly a huge team effort," Superintendent David Alexander said.

A more finished draft will be presented to school principals in July, Alexander said, with public town hall meetings to be held in the fall.

The board hopes to publish its five-year strategic plan in the spring of 2018.

Edith Walker, director of instructions for middle schools, said a priority is accessing and implementing top quality curriculum, as well as understanding student needs and "ensuring that all students graduate college and career ready."

"We want to have the best curriculum for every student in our district," Walker said.

Students in grades 4th through 12th currently have individual computer devices provided by the school district, but Elizabeth Stafford, director of primary schools, said the district's goal is to "bring it (individual computers) down to kindergarten in five years."

"This year our fifth-graders are taking the state assessment online for the first time," Stafford said.

"It's a very motivational field for them and they really soar with it," she said.

Another instructional goal is to have pre-kindergarten for every 4-year-old in the district, she said.

"All our at-risk seats are filled," said Stafford, referring to the current providing of pre-K based on income.

"Our five-year goal is to have universal pre-K across Ascension Parish, regardless of income," she said.

"It's a lofty goal, but it's an important one," Stafford said.

Follow Ellyn Couvillion on Twitter, @EllynCouvillion.

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Ascension Parish school district begins work on five year plan - The Advocate