After visiting 54 schools and meeting with numerous student, teacher, staff and community groups in his first six months on the job, Superintendent Dr. Aaron Spence has a good idea of what key stakeholders want from our schools. His newly released Charting the Course for Every Student, Every Day: Dr. Aaron Spence’s Post-Entry Plan Report to the Community, details the insights he gained since joining VBCPS and identifies work priorities for the division under five key leverage points. These leverage points are:

• High Quality Teaching and Learning –All VBCPS students will have access to a high-performing school and will graduate with the skills needed for career or college.
• Talent Management – VBCPS will recruit, select, orient, deploy, develop and retain top talent in order to build strong relationships with students, parents and community members and to increase student achievement.
• Student-Centered Culture – VBCPS will provide every student the opportunity to engage with his/her world in ways that ignite curiosity and passion.
• Culture of Respect – VBCPS will maintain an educational environment where students want to come learn, staff are eager to support students and parents want to send their children.
• Community Engagement – VBCPS will continue its work with parents, businesses and community leaders to collaborate and improve the lives of Virginia Beach students.

“I continue to be inspired by the heartwarming work of our teachers, leaders, students and parents in VBCPS. I believe strongly that we have a commitment to provide all students with the necessary skills to thrive as future-ready learners, workers and citizens,” Spence said in his report. “We must focus on building relationships, on loving our students, and on doing everything in our power to make them successful. I am excited about that work ahead of us, as I know we have the right team in place all across the division to make this happen.”

You can read the full post-entry plan by visiting Spence’s blog, Charting the Course. Also be sure to follow Dr. Spence on Twitter @BeachSupe for his reflections and photos from his school visits.