District outlines goals District outlines goals (April 16, 2004)

Trustees set sights on planning for future
by Teresa C. Brown

The school district set three goals for itself in the coming months: benchmarking, strategic planning and reviewing a possible alternative high school.

John Casey, superintendent of Pleasanton Unified School District, outlined the goals for board trustees during a recent meeting.

As part of benchmarking, Casey called for "continuous improvement" within the district that included internal and external audits, being open to new ideas and analyzing programs, policies and practices at other schools and districts both state and nationwide.

Through the next month, the district staff will look at what other successful schools are doing, Casey said.

In addition to looking at standardized test scores, Casey said, "We'll also take a look at what schools have good reputations," adding that districts with good reputations will be reviewed as well.

Once the schools have been identified, the staff would follow up with telephone calls and possibly site visits. Casey said he hoped that through the calls and visits, they could incorporate some of what they see and learn as new goals. A full report will be presented to the trustees May 11.

Updating the status of the strategic planning committee that formed last spring, Casey said the group has met almost every month. In addition to collecting data, part of the planning included "futures forecasting," predicting "the possible futures our students might run into after graduating from high school," Casey said.

Reviewing the possibility of an alternative high school was the third goal. "Are we doing the best we can to meet the needs for a maximum number of students?" Casey asked.

The steering committee, made up of Education Services, site principals and a board member, would review data collected from counselors, teachers, administrators and classified employees, parents and graduates.

Casey added that middle and high school student input was also important. "What students think is valuable," he said.

He reported that after the steering committee collected the information, it would turn it over to the ad hoc committee, with a report brought to the board of trustees May 11.

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