Continuous Improvement

Continuous improvement continues to be a focus of the school board, administration and building improvement teams.  Our overall, broad district goal is to:

“Improve student academics and behavior…with a focus on Whole Child, Whole School, Whole Community”

Underneath this broad, overarching goal, exists the smaller goals (or strategies) of: Culture/Climate, Curriculum and Instruction, and Social Emotional Learning (Mental Health).  There are several activities and initiatives in place district wide that support our goals and strategies.  And, all of these efforts point back to our overall goal to improve academics and behavior.  The District Continuous Improvement flowchart does a good job of laying this out in an easier to follow manner.  You can find this flowchart on our website, under the “District Continuous Improvement” link.

We kicked the school year off in August with our new PBIS initiative (Positive Behavior Interventions and Supports) and our 1SC motto!   PBIS is a new initiative that falls under our Culture and Climate goal.   I encourage you to ask any Sand Creek student or staff about 1SC!  You will often hear the following phrase “Is that showing 1SC?” among both students and staff.  It has become a sort of “if you know it, you know it” phrase within Aggie land.  We even saw the 1SC motto incorporated into the holiday classroom door and Christmas staff card competitions this year!

An important part of continuous improvement is to monitor and evaluate by collecting useful data.  We continue to collect data in various forms, including NWEA assessments, Culture and Climate Surveys, discipline and referral tracking and attendance.  We are purposefully scheduling time to look at data in order to determine the effectiveness of our continuous improvement plan.

Part of the recent data collected was from the fall Culture and Climate Surveys.  Our district continuous improvement team has begun to dig into these results.  Posted under the District Continuous Improvement link (on the main page of the website), is the summary report that highlights the results of the survey, focusing on “What we are doing well” and “What needs improvement”.   These surveys gave us some great feedback, even if some of it was disappointing.

It’s disappointing and sad to me that parents think that we do not acknowledge or appreciate those students that excel and do well.  Furthermore, that we as a staff do not communicate very well with families.

It is even sadder to me that students recognize and admit that students DO NOT treat students well.  These areas will be a focus of our staff and improvement meetings over the next few months.

Another area identified as needing improvement, on all surveys, was communication.  We can ALWAYS do better in that area.  One change we have already made, as a result of this feedback, is with our Sunday night announcements (now known as the AGGIE ALERT!) which is now coming to you in the form of email and/or text alerts.  Please contact Brooke Smith in the Administrative Office if you are NOT receiving these.  This is a crucial communication source for all parents, staff and students. The link to the Aggie Alert, as well as This Week in Aggie Athletics, can be found on the homepage of the school website.

Looking Ahead…

As you know, the bond issue on the November 7th ballot was not approved.  Although disappointed, your voice has been heard.  Safety and a complete educational program that continues to improve remains my focus.  The board of education’s building committee met, and I held my "Hour with the Superintendent" event following the election.  I received good feedback from those in attendance.  I will be holding another "Hour with the Superintendent" event in the February/March timeframe, and plan to hold this one during evening hours to hopefully make it available to more that want to attend.  I also plan to send out a follow-up survey to district residents to gather additional feedback.

Continuous improvement will continue to be a focus of mine; it is important to me, important to the administration, and important to the board.  Remember, our district goals won’t be achieved overnight – it takes a continuous and consistent effort from ALL of us.  It takes a Team – Students, Parents, Staff and Community.  It takes all of us.

Go Aggies!