September 1, 2018
Karen Friedman, Associate Director of Education
Schools and Program
Dear Karen,
The Board of Trustees and the Senior Team have worked collaboratively with our community to renew our Strategic Plan. As a leadership team, we have aligned the Director’s Annual Plan and Board Improvement Plan to meet the priorities and goals outlined by trustees. Additionally, we have successfully put into routine practice the Minister’s Directions. In short, our leadership team is poised to align our efforts and work, to collaborate with precision and diligence to ensure positive outcomes are met for students, families and staff.
As the Associate Director, Schools and Program, you play a central role in the management of conflict resolution that focuses on the best interests of students; support superintendent learning; and monitor system and school improvement planning. You develop the instructional core of our professional learning as identified within the Board Improvement Plan; oversee the implementation of our math and modern learning strategies and support students within alternative learning environments.
To enhance our alignment of purpose, I am asking that you work on the following specific priorities during the 2018-2019 school year that complement your role as Associate Director of Education, Schools and Program.
- Support the development, training and implementation of the Board Community Interaction Management Tool (Resolve) to ensure responsive and comprehensive resolution to issues raised by stakeholders.
- Act as champion for issues under your direction and provide timely and responsive support to stakeholders focused on resolution.
- Align professional learning needs of superintendents of schools to enable them to serve their schools to a high degree of service and competence.
- Strengthen a collaborative approach among superintendents of schools in order to identify promising practice, innovation and evidence-based learning for the school improvement planning process.
- Lead collaboration among centrally assigned superintendents to ensure there is careful planning of GSN and EPO dollars that maximizes resources and targets spending to its potential. Share this planning with the senior team to deepen understanding of the budgeting process.
- Lead collaboration among centrally assigned superintendents to define the instructional core of our professional learning and actions related to the DAP and BIPSA to maximize positive outcomes for students.
- Lead the review of data related to the DAP at all senior team meetings to enable our discussions to focus on creating conditions for school and system improvement. Pay particular attention to the impact of pilots to inform decision making.
- Lead the discussions and decision making surrounding differentiating resources to meet the needs of underserved and underperforming students identified by data.
- Analyze student achievement data including data related to student expulsions, suspensions, mediations and exclusions.
- Collaborate with the Coordinating Superintendent of Indigenous Education and Equity to analyze student achievement data and to develop and pilot interventions intended to improve outcomes for underserved and underperforming students in alignment with our Indigenous Education and Equity Strategy.
- Co-lead with Associate Director of Education, Schools and Operations the re-visioning of the International Education Services Student Program.
- Co-Lead with Associate Director of Education, Schools and Operations, a collaborative team to make recommendations in regards to safety responses for opioid overdoses.
- Strengthen a collaborative approach for Senior Team through Collaborative Compact Work.
- Support the PEAC committee including the By-Law review and Member Selection processes. Support the committee in their advisory work.
- Embed evidence gathering and monitoring in all elements of your practice.
I ask you to consider the above priorities and develop an implementation plan that includes timelines, outcomes and performance indicators. In our weekly meetings, I will ask that you provide updates to progress as appropriate.
Thank you for your leadership Karen and I look forward to working alongside you in the 2018-2019 academic school year.
Sincerely,
Louise Sirisko
Director of Education
York Region District School Board