A recent comment was posted on the blog mentioning the fact that Dr. Beasley and DCSS administrators have asked for stakeholder's input on a survey regarding the SACS. Dr. Beasley sent out the request via the following email:
The AdvancEd/SACS District Reaccreditation Committee is seeking input from you, school staff, in order to align your perceptions of the district's implementation of the seven AdvancEd standards with the perceptions of district staff. Please respond to the 65 item survey by midnight on Sunday, April 3. We value your input as we engage in the continuous improvement process and as we move towards excellence in teaching and learning.
https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/SACSAdvancEDSurvey
This survey is really important. It asks detailed questions regarding the 7 Standards outlined by AdvancED/SACS.
They are:
Standard 1 - VISION & PURPOSE
The system establishes and communicates a shared purpose and direction for improving the performance of students and the effectiveness of the system.
Standard 2 - GOVERNANCE & LEADERSHIP
The system provides governance and leadership that promote student performance and system effectiveness.
Standard 3 - TEACHING & LEARNING
The system provides research-based curriculum and instructional methods that facilitate achievement for all students.
Standard 4 - DOCUMENTING & USING RESULTS
The system enacts a comprehensive assessment system that monitors and documents performance and uses these results to improve student performance and system effectiveness.
Standard 5: RESOURCES & SUPPORT SYSTEMS
The system has the resources and services necessary to support its vision and purpose and to ensure achievement for all students.
Standard 6 - STAKEHOLDER COMMUNICATIONS & RELATIONSHIPS
The system fosters effective communications and relationships with and among its stakeholders.
Standard 7 - COMMITMENT TO CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
The system establishes, implements, and monitors a continuous process of improvement that focuses on student performance.
Teachers, you may have only stumbled upon it by accident, as it was buried in the "Newsflash" emails, which we're told often go unread, as they are usually only relevant to a few people.
However, this is a very important survey and there are a lot of teachers who read the blog who may have missed the email from Beasley about the survey. It is a fairly lengthy survey but does ask many of the essential questions and references stakeholder communication often. Many of us are not teachers, but we are stakeholders. Many of these questions are highly relevant to our needs as parents and community members. So feel free to send in your opinions. We need to get as many folks as possible to complete this survey!
I don't know who told you that no one reads newsflash but I read every **** one of them.
ReplyDeleteThanks, I hadn't seen this. Putting it in a News Flash was deliberate. Some people don't read them. The school day is hectic and if there is an urgency to take an action,it is funneled through the school's administrators.
ReplyDeleteFYI - I was curious if input from the community would be sought - this is reply I received from Dr. Beasley:
ReplyDelete"Thank you for your inquiry. We have planned to request student, parent,and community input in May 2011."
Dr. Beasley
The people who do not read them are not good employees. The lat five were on contracts, certification, summer school applications, writing test scores, and the winners of the technology fair. I teach and stay after school to sponsor clubs but I find the time in a hectic but satifying day to read them because I want to be in the loop. You are probably also complain about lack of communication. What you really mean is I don't care to read them.
ReplyDeletegot a little heated and missed the s on last and satisfying-transparent is posting a bunch of first class news flashes and expecting reasonable people to know by the title which one to read.
ReplyDeleteRegardless of "why" this survey may have been missed, I felt it was important enough to post the link here. These 7 SACS Standards are vital - they are inspiring and should be the guide for the school system to do better. I am really hopeful that school system leaders take these standards into the fiber of the vision for the future. Please don't get off on a tangent about who noticed an email or who didn't - please study these standards and make them part of how we provide an education every day to nearly 100,000 children.
ReplyDeleteCere--thanks for posting this. While we don't want to "bash" DCSS, many feel that an honest evaluation of the state of the system wasn't provided. So here is our chance to share our views.
ReplyDeleteTake the time, folks--it may be worth it!
Anon 4:19
ReplyDeleteThere are more errors in your post than the two "s's" you dropped. With all due respect: for parents to take educators seriously, we must take care to punctuate! To capitalize! "You are probably also complain..." is not grammatically correct and undermines completely your assertion about "good employees." We should seek to be impeccable teachers, not to be "good employees." What does it mean to be a "good employee" in a school system run by corrupt leaders? Students first!
Anon 4:19....I am a paraprofessional at a middle school. I work with students in resource classes AND regular co-taught classes. I do not have my own workstation. I do not have access to computers all day. I am WORKING with my students to make sure they learn what they need for their grade level. I missed this survey mostly because I don't have time to do more than check my email and answer the emails relating to my students.
ReplyDeleteEmployees who don't closely read News Flashes cannot be categorized as 'not good employees' no more than employees who stay after school for any reason can automatically be deemed 'good employees.' While many employees work diligently to support students by putting in long hours, there are some who simply need additional time because they are not well organized, and still others who do so out of a self-serving desire to be seen and set apart from their peers. Being a good employee in any environment is a multi-faceted effort. When the district wants to ensure a high level of participation, they employ more than one method of notification and distribution. They do not rely on the 'good' employees reading each email or News Flash in detail. Reading News Flash and staying late makes no one superior.
ReplyDelete8:35--Very nicely stated. I couldn't agree with you more. The previous two posters made great comments as well.
ReplyDeleteBut as Cere pointed out--let's get back to the matter at hand. Have you taken the survey? It's important, folks!
I don't care to be a "good employee" of a poorly run organization. I would like to be a good teacher in a system that supports and appreciates my efforts.
Let's take it on faith that SACS will actually see the results and each do our part to offer them an honest assessment.