By Natasha L. Adams, Superintendent
In West Clermont, we are dedicated to doing what it takes to ensure success for our students academically, socially, and emotionally. Studies show that both intellectual intelligence and emotional intelligence are important for student success not only in school but throughout our student’s careers and life.
What we do to help students realize academic, social, and emotional success matters tremendously. That is why we are making it a priority to engage students, parents, staff, and community in the improvement process, which will help identify and guide the type of support our schools need in order to support students throughout their time at West Clermont. It is essentially a roadmap.
In order to provide a roadmap that is embraced and understood by all, we are currently in the process of creating a WCSD Strategic Plan that will incorporate a wealth of information from all district stakeholders. Some key elements so far include:
- What do our graduates need to be successful in learning and life?
- Focus groups attended by over 150 people including students, parents, staff, and the community
- District administrators participated in the Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, & Threats analysis and the Organizational Capacity Analysis
- Participation from our over 30 business leaders with our Financial Health Update
Common Themes we have heard include:
Elementary
- Teachers are friendly and approachable.
- Students are in a safe and respectful environment
Middle School
- Teachers are in tune, help students feel welcomed, are friendly and supportive
- Wide variety of extracurricular and electives
High School
- Teachers are caring, welcoming, supportive and approachable
- School spirit and pride is on the rise; sports are fun
Some priorities for change:
- Higher academic standards
- Improved engagement with students and parents
- Need for high expectations that are clear and consistent for all
- Importance of continued relationship and partnership development with community
Our work with the community has been ongoing and it will continue throughout the summer. In fact, this summer, the strategic planning team, a group of a diverse community and district leaders, will continue to review data, synthesize information, and begin to create a draft roadmap that will be reviewed by stakeholders and presented to the Board of Education by September.
Additionally, we will schedule a series of listening & learning sessions that will take place in the summer and early fall. It is our desire to continue to listen across all levels of the organization and to our external partners, with the focus of sharing our story and continuously seeking ways to improve service to students, families, and the community.
