NEWS
Harmony Hill and Van Schaick School Improvement Plans to be unveiled Nov. 2
Oct. 28, 2011 – The public is encouraged to join members of the Board of Education as they travel to Van Schaick and Harmony Hill schools on Wednesday, November 2 to hear from Building Leadership Teams (BLTs) at each school. The BLTs will unveil plans for school improvement during the 2011-12 school year. The groups will meet at Harmony Hill at 6:30 p.m. and at 8 p.m. at Van Schaick Grade School.
As part of the planning process in the Cohoes City Schools, a district leadership team and teams at each school write improvement plans. These plans help shape decisions about district programs and ensure faculty and staff are constantly working to improve teaching, learning and student outcomes.
The building-level plans are revised yearly by the “building leadership team” at each school. The school teams meet over the summer to discuss goals for their buildings and strategies for meeting those goals. The teams take into account student achievement data and survey results, among other items, when identifying their building's priorities and goals. Once a new plan is written, the entire faculty votes to approve the plan, endorsing it as a map for school improvement.
The administration and Board of Education rely on these as guides for understanding what is important and unique to each building, as well as the district as a whole. District priorities for student learning are a key component to the school budget process.
At Wednesday's Board of Education Workshop, which begins at Harmony Hill School at 6:30 p.m., and then moves to Van Schaick at 8 p.m., the BOE will hear directly from HHS and VSGS staff about their schools' plans. While projected budget numbers for the district and each school will not be available until early spring 2012, the School Improvement Plan presentation is key to understanding the programming and priorities at each of the buildings.
School Improvement Plans for Cohoes Middle School, Cohoes High School and Abram Lansing Elementary will be presented at future Board of Education workshops.
