Greensburg Salem School District's strategic plan for the next three years includes a renewed focus on preparing students for life after high school.
The state requires districts to devise a new comprehensive plan every three years. The district will send the draft of its plan to the state for final approval by the end of this month.
The plan will take effect by the start of the 2016-17 school year.
“I think our top priority continues to be moving our students to their next step. Whether that be higher education, whether that be a career, whatever comes next,” said Superintendent Eileen Amato.
Some of the goals laid out in the 2016-19 plan are similar to those implemented in 2013, as the district continues to bring itself in line with the new PA Core Standards.
“It's a continuation of what we've already been working on. It's getting teachers to become familiar with the standards, and what they mean, and what they mean for kids,” said Ken Bissell, coordinator of secondary education.
The tough part is measuring whether the curriculum is working. Some skills don't show up well on a standardized test, Bissell said.
New this year is a goal focusing on “career and college readiness.” Curriculum can't be “one size fits all” anymore, Bissell said.
The workforce is changing. Modern workers need to be team players, Amato said. They need to be willing to try something, scrap it if it doesn't work, and start again.
And while state standards are good for consistency, it is equally important to teach teachers how to best impart knowledge to their students.
“The standards determine the topics and the content to be taught, but the instructional practices, that's the delivery of the content,” Amato said.
The plan calls for several strategies to form better instructional practices, such as teacher training and peer review.
Teachers are being trained to help prepare students for life after school, whether that means higher education or immediately entering the workforce.
The district will start tailoring its curriculum to individual students, giving them the skills they need to get ready for college or a career that better suits them.
“We need to really take a close look at our courses and our course requirements,” Bissell said.
This ties in with existing efforts at the district and county-wide levels. Most county school districts, including Greensburg Salem, recently joined the Westmoreland County Workforce Development Forum, which was established to counteract the lack of skilled young workers in the region.
The final goal is focused on helping students with special needs. It focuses on the long-standing practice of fostering the “least restrictive environment” by helping disabled students take the same classes as everyone else whenever possible.
“We're really trying to add some new tools for our teachers, and expand our programs for students within our district,” said Todd McMillen, coordinator of student services.
The district recently begun an emotional support program at Hutchinson Elementary School and Greensburg Salem Middle School to help students with special needs. The Westmoreland Intermediate Unit used to run a similar program for the district, but officials decided they would rather have an in-house program.
The district will continue to develop other programs and services, and improve its existing offerings, to better help students without them having to leave the building, McMillan said.
A team of 20 people, including teachers, administrators, parents and community members, have worked together during the last three months to develop the 109-page comprehensive plan.
The draft can be read online at greensburgsalem.org/Page/4560
Jacob Tierney is a staff writer for Trib Total Media. He can be reached at 724- 836-6646 or jtierney@tribweb.com.
