Fayette County Public Schools Superintendent Manny Caulk released his plan for improving the school district last week, along with the results of the multiple independent reviews commissioned by FCPS this year.
“As a leader new to Fayette County, I set out to identify the challenges and opportunities facing our school district by visiting every school and special program, reviewing documents, analyzing data and gathering stakeholder input through surveys, individual meetings, focus groups, and listening sessions,” Caulk said in a release announcing the plan.
The plan incorporates the findings of five reviews commissioned by the Fayette County Board of Education earlier in the school year, including a review of FCPS’s overall organization and structure, an audit of the district’s career and technical education program, and reviews of special needs services, gifted and talented services, and services for those learning English as a second language. The audits gathered input from students, staff, families and community partners, with an estimated 13,000 people lending their voices to the initiative, Caulk’s office reported.
Caulk’s plan for FCPS organizes strategies for improvement around eight “pillars of support”: effective governance and leadership; student success: educational excellence and equity; school management, improvement and innovation; great staff; world-class operations; data, research and accountability; student, family, community engagement and strategic partnerships; and communications and external affairs.
"This work gets at the core of our moral imperative, which is to accelerate students who are reaching proficiency while also challenging our students who are proficient and above to reach global competency," Caulk said. "Our ultimate mission is to ensure that all students graduate prepared to succeed in college, career, and life in a global society."
Caulk said specific strategies within each area will be implemented during the 2016-2017 school year. Some examples of the strategies listed include the hiring of additional teachers to work with students with special needs, gifted and talented students and English language learners; rigorous school reviews to assess school culture, student achievement and achievement gaps; revision of the central office’s financial reporting processes; and a review of the district’s staffing allocations policy for schools to minimize the amount of firing and rehiring required.
“These will help us deliver on our promise that all students receive the best education possible,” Caulk said. “There’s no cherry-picking – you have to be ‘all in.’ Our students deserve that.”
The plan, entitled “Blueprint for Student Success: Achieving Educational Excellence and Equity for All,” is available online for review at www.fcps.net/superplan, along with the results of the independent reviews.