Summer
months in the school district are quite busy for the administrative
team. With over 3,300 students, 400 staff members, a total annual budget
approaching $50 million, and an immeasurable number of special
programs, policies, laws, and mandates to manage, there are many
important responsibilities to keep the administrative team, executive
assistants, and some year-round clerical staff members working hard for
the school district throughout the year.
Currently,
our school district’s administrative team in Menomonie includes five
elementary school principals, two middle school principals, three high
school principals (including the athletic director), six directors
(business, technology, pupil services, buildings and grounds, food
service, and community education/pool/fieldhouse), and one district
administrator. Since the director of human resources position was
eliminated as part of this year’s budget cuts, the responsibilities for
that position are now being shared by other administrators and executive
assistants.
In
addition to managing summer programs and completing many mandated
reports, principals and other school district administrators across the
state are busy overseeing summer maintenance projects, hiring new staff
members, working on the budget, updating policies and procedures, and
setting goals for the new school year. In Menomonie, we have also taken
time during our summer administrative meetings to review the shared
vision for our school district and identify ways that our school
district can better meet the expectations set forth by our school
community.
The
shared vision that was previously set by the school board, with
consideration of input from community, encompasses six main areas of
what we intend to create in the School District of the Menomonie Area:
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Strong partnerships with students, families, and the community in order to increase trust and shared responsibility.
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The alignment of district fiscal resources with established priorities.
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A
high quality, well-rounded educational experience for all students that
is rigorous, culturally relevant, healthful, and engaging.
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ALL students performing at or above grade level in all academic areas.
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Graduates prepared for college, career, and life in the 21st century.
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Systems that will provide a diverse staff of competent, dedicated, caring professionals.
This
summer, the school district’s leadership team has taken time to
celebrate achievements, identify areas where improvement is needed, and
develop plans for future growth and success. While we can be proud of
many wonderful accomplishments that our school district has enjoyed in
alignment with this vision, there are other areas where more work is
needed.
The
district’s leadership team appreciates the value of accentuating
partnerships and continuing to move forward in collaborative fashion in
order to maximize success. This fall we will be asking the community and
staff to be involved in this process as we update our school district’s
strategic plan and advise the school board for how our district can
continue to align our limited resources with the expectations of our
school community. A schedule of these strategic planning committee
meetings will be shared in a future edition of this School Crossing
column.
Should
school stakeholders have any questions, concerns, or suggestions for
how our schools can best achieve our shared vision, I invite you to
visit the Administrative Service Center on Pine Avenue or contact me at
715-232-1642. More information about our schools can be found on the
school district website (www.sdmaonline.com) and on Twitter (www.twitter.com/sdmaonline).