New initiatives for the 2013-14 school year

During this summer’s Administrator’s Conference at Tallwood High School, interim superintendent Dr. Sheila Magula gave administrators an idea of what to expect for the upcoming school year.

In her remarks, Magula referenced the concerns teachers and other staff had voiced about the number of new initiatives they have had to deal with in recent years.

Because of that input school system leadership approached planning for the new school year differently.

“To start off, all departments came together to discuss what updates or new initiatives may be coming from them for this school year,” Magula said. “Then, we hit the delete key and culled down that work agenda to include only what is required by virtue of state or federal mandate; what ultimately will end up simplifying the professional lives of our school personnel; or what will absolutely benefit students…Our goals from central administration: no more surprises; identified priorities and more clarity in our communications.”

The final product of this work is the New and Ongoing Initiatives matrix. This document outlines the programs and initiatives planned for the year, what school level will be affected and which initiatives are mandated by the Virginia Department of Education.

For example, in the 2013-14 school year, teachers can expect:

Participation in the TalentEd teacher evaluation process (a VDOE mandate)
Participation in the high school hybrid schedule
Emergency First Aid, CPR and use of automated external defibrillators for licensure and renewal (VDOE mandate)

You can view it here or access it on the Department of Planning, Innovation and Accountability’s SharePoint site.