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Superintendent Entry Plan 2024 (English)

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ENTRY PLAN

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SUPERINTENDENT

Dr. Julious Lawson

FOCUS

Building a collaborative

relationship with the Board.

Engaging stakeholders to gain

insight on strengths and

opportunities.

Establishing structures to

provide transparent and

regular communications.

Understanding the district’s

current systems and

opportunities for improvement.

CREATING A FOUNDATION UPON WHICH WE CAN DELIVER

EXCELLENCE WITHOUT EXCEPTION

FOR OUR COMMUNITY, FOR OUR EMPLOYEES AND MOST IMPORTANTLY FOR OUR STUDENTS.

High Expectations

for Student Learning

Student Social and Emotional

Well-Being

Dedicated and High-Quality

Team

Positive Climate and Safe

Environment

Efficient Operations

Engaged and Invested

Community

GOALS

Equity

Integrity

Inclusion

Collaboration

Respect

Innovation

VALUES

A portion of this entry plan work began before the superintendent’s official

start date of July 1st, focusing on key priorities for the district. This work is

ongoing and remains in progress to best serve our students and community.

As Superintendent, I aspire to focus our efforts on creating vibrant learning spaces where

caring and talented adults are engaging all students in rich experiences so they can excel

academically. I will collaborate with stakeholders to create opportunities that build upon

what has already propelled the district thus far. It will take our collective effort and

commitment to reach our goals for the students of Zion Elementary School District 6.

ENTRY PLAN

PRIORITIES & ACTIONS

ACTION STEPS

1.1 Review the structures in place to convene key district and

community leaders around issues of chronic absenteeism,

homelessness, emergency supports, and out-of-school time.

1.2 Assess possibilities to expand summer, after-school, and

co-curricular programming activities in collaboration with

community agencies, and key stakeholders.

1.3 Review how we receive feedback and respond to

feedback from students, staff, parents, and community

members regarding school climate and school safety issues.

1.4 Review and assess our school/district suspension and

expulsion data, with a particular focus on violent offenses

within and around our schools.

1.5 Review individual school climate data.

1.6 Review our approach to student and staff mental

health support and determine whether we are appropriately

investing in coordinated mental health supports and services

for students and staff.

1.7 Assess the investments that have been made to

restorative practices and positive behavior, intervention,

and support programs.

ASSESS STUDENT AND

STAFF WELL BEING

PRIORITY Creating a safe and supportive

environment for students and staff is vital for their

success. To ensure this, I will lead an intentional and

collaborative approach towards creating a safe

environment for adults and students alike. I will

engage key stakeholders to build a safety net for

students and staff to learn and grow.

I am committed to offering our students access to

healthy, meaningful activities that cultivate positive

mindsets. I strongly believe that this approach will

allow our students to realize their full potential,

thus empowering them to become productive

citizens.

ACTION STEPS

2.1 Launch a listening and learning tour to understand the

exact priorities and needs of the district and community.

2.2 Meet with key leaders in consultation with the Board of

Education President and Vice President, Mayor, City Council,

state officials and legislative delegation, faith-based

community, business leaders, and community members.

2.3 Host town hall sessions in-person and via Zoom meetings

with students, parents, teachers, administrators, support staff,

other school-based staff, and district office employees to

understand what is working and what are areas of growth.

2.4 Initiate discussions and communicate with our union

partners to establish a culture of respect and trust.

2.5 Evaluate internal communication protocols, including social

media strategy, to determine how system-wide messages are

understood by board members, principals, instructional staff,

non-instructional staff, and district office staff.

2.6 Schedule Board of Education retreats/work sessions to

review communication protocols, year 1 priorities, and the

superintendent evaluation process.

2.7 Assess the current state of the district’s external

communication and engagement efforts, as well as evaluate

the quality of district and school websites.

PRIORITY To foster a healthy and productive

learning environment, we must begin by actively

listening to one another. As partners in the shared

mission of promoting student success, it's essential

that we work together in an atmosphere of mutual

trust and respect. We need to be mindful of the

hopes and aspirations of our community – from

students and families to staff, township and state

leaders, unions, universities, activists, and business

leaders. Furthermore, we must develop robust

communication frameworks to ensure that we are

communicating effectively with one another, both

internally and externally.

ENGAGE OUR

STAKEHOLDERS

AND BUILD TRUST

ASSESS TEACHING

AND LEARNING

PRIORITY We beleive in “Excellence

Without Exception”. Toward that end,

high-quality teaching and learning that results

in improved academic achievement is our goal.

Unfortunately, the Covid-19 crisis caused

significant disruption to student learning. As a

result, our instructional program requires greater

coherence to provide teachers and schools with

the necessary resources to prioritize educational

excellence. Preparing students for high school

success is a shared responsibility among all

district staff, partners, and volunteers at Zion

Elementary School District 6.

ACTION STEPS

3.1 Develop a process for frequent and structured school

visits to observe and support school improvement efforts.

3.2 Assess the current process of school improvement

planning (including School Improvement Plans) and

ensure that schools have a clear multi-tiered system of

support for students.

3.3 Assess current professional development efforts

to support administrative, instructional, and

non-instructional staff and how the budget emphasizes

an investment in staff development.

3.4 Assess the coherence of the district’s academic

frameworks.

3.5 Focus on areas of academic under-performance and

ensure strategies are in place to address root causes of

student achievement trends.

3.6 Determine how comprehensive and research-based

the current curricula are and to what degree they are

aligned to standards and allow for student

achievement/growth.

3.7 Assess student and staff attendance rates, and other

metrics to support progress toward identified goals.

ASSESS DISTRICT LEADERSHIP

CAPACITY AND ALIGNMENT

PRIORITY It is essential for Zion Elementary

School District 6 to have a high-performing,

collaborative, and results-oriented culture. To

make sure that we operate as a highly effective

team with a professional culture, we will be

intentional about assessing and building the

capacity of our leadership to achieve established

goals. As author Jim Collins states, “We will

ensure that we have the right people on the

bus and in the right seats.” We will not get to

excellence by accident. It will be by design.

ACTION STEPS

4.1 Conduct one-on-one meetings with all direct reports.

4.2 Administer leadership assessment inventories to get

to know executive leadership better.

4.3 Conduct a retreat with senior staff to review the

district’s priorities, most recent achievement data,

review current and anticipated vacancies, and discuss

leadership team structures and practices.

4.4 Review current office structure, alignment, and

capacity to achieve established goals.

4.5 Assess the autonomy and authority of school leaders

(Principals/APs) in the current organizational structure.

PRIORITY To meet the needs

of all students in the Zion

Elementary School District, it

is critical that operations and

finance align with Board policy,

and represent excellence and

transparency. Each department

will be appraised to determine

how they maximize support

and services to schools using a

continuous improvement model.

Additionally, we will assess the

quality of facilities and related

plans.

ACTION STEPS

5.1 Conduct one-on-one meetings with direct reports on operations, human

resources, and budget, including use of ESSR funds and how local, state, and

federal grants are being utilized and evaluated.

5.2 Review the district’s fund balance, financial projections, resource allocation

and budgeting processes; assess how the district’s budget and budget process

are aligned to support student achievement.

5.3 Conduct meetings with the district’s legal team to review any recent/current

legal proceedings or outstanding judgments against the district and to provide

a briefing on state education code with attention to statutes currently impacting

or likely to impact the district.

5.4 Review the assessments of the District’s facilities conditions and actions to

determine alignment with improving student achievement guided by the Goals

and Guardrails and the facilities planning process.

5.5 Review key district financial materials, budget, most recent audit, grants,

and any other reports and audits.

5.6 Review current labor contracts and schedules.

ASSESS DISTRICT OPERATIONS, FACILITIES AND FINANCE

SUPERINTENDENT

Dr. Julious Lawson

2800 29th Street

Zion, IL 60099

jlawson@zion6.org

847.872.5455

EXCELLENCE WITHOUT EXCEPTION

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