As Madison schools open, district has a new direction in mind

A new strategic framework for the Madison Metropolitan School District that goes into effect this year will mark the beginning of a culture shift, Superintendent Jennifer Cheatham said in the document outlining the plan.

According to the document outlining the framework, MMSD seeks to have consistent instruction across the district, to value mutual accountability over blame and to ensure that all students achieve. In the document, Cheatham said the district will stay focused on this plan and achieving its specific goals and priorities instead of presenting educators with an “ever-changing array of strategies.”

The framework centralizes MMSD schools by laying out goals and strategies that will be carried out both in schools across MMSD as well as priorities for the district office.

“[Madison schools] are all doing their own thing,” said Gloria Ladson-Billings, a professor in the Department of Curriculum and Instruction at UW-Madison. “It’s not a district; it’s like 22 elementary districts, 11 middle school districts and four individual comprehensive high school districts. I think the [focus on] coherent instruction is definitely a strength.”

The plan lists having all students on track to graduate as its number one goal. In 2011-12, Madison’s four-year graduation rate was 74.6 percent. According to data from MMSD, the four-year graduation rate in 2011-12 was 86.7 among white students and 53.1 percent among black students.

“We … talk about the achievement gap as if this is something that just happened,” Ladson-Billings said. “The truth of the matter is this is something that has been happening for a very long time. We have been failing to meet the needs of some of our students systematically.”

Other district goals include giving every student access to a challenging and well-rounded curriculum as well as providing students, families and employees a “customer-service-oriented” school system. The district will measure students’, parents’ and employees’ attitudes with school surveys for each group.

To help guide efforts for improvement, each school will be required to develop a School Improvement Plan that explains its goals and tactics for bettering student learning. Each school’s plan will be communicated to families and community members.

The strategic plan also lays out areas of improvement for MMSD at the district level.

Coherent, consistent instruction across the district ranks as the top priority.

Part of the district’s effort to do this will involve the implementation of the Common Core State Standards a set of benchmarks that states nationwide can choose to adopt. According the MMSD strategic framework document, the CCSS are internationally benchmarked and help prepare students with skills for careers in the 21^st century. 

Although MMSD seeks coherence in instruction across the district, the plan also prioritizes allowing students to create “personalized pathways.” Ways to give students personalized pathways include creating multiple routes to graduation, establishing individualized learning plans for high school students and implementing AVID to provide additional college preparation for certain students.

The district hopes to see greater family engagement and partnerships, according to the strategic framework.

Kris Aman, president of the Parent Faculty Organization at Leopold Elementary School, said community partnerships have benefited her children’s school.

“We are so blessed at Leopold to have many of those partnerships in place, and what it does for our school is amazing,” Aman said. “I wish there was a way other schools could experience that, and I know they all don’t.”

The district also aims to create a “thriving workforce” in MMSD that will increase the quality and diversity of staff in MMSD. This will involve an overhaul of the recruitment and hiring process.

“I think [Cheatham’s] focus on the thriving workforce will be one that’s really welcomed,” Ladson-Billings said.

Noting “mutual accountability” as part of a culture shift, Cheatham also lists accountability as a priority at the district level.

“It’ll be interesting to see how we deal with accountability,” Ladson-Billings said. “The devil’s always in the details when it comes to accountability.”

Accountability will be monitored by reviewing SIP progress as well as the effectiveness of leadership teams in schools and central office departments. Cheatham pointed out in her comment about a culture shift that accountability differs from blaming.

“After many difficult conversations about our schools and their potential, I believe that everyone—staff, parents, community members—is ready and united for change that will get results for our students,” Cheatham said in the document.