Community Feedback:
School Board Goals & Guardrails

The Anchorage School Board has completed its Strategic Planning Process to provide specific guidance and direction for the Anchorage School District for the next several years. This process will directly shape the School District’s priorities and actions. At the heart of the Board’s process is the creation of new School Board goals and guardrails, which will guide the District’s priorities and planning moving forward.

Fall 2019, the School Board conducted a series of steering committee meetings, community forums and listening sessions to solicit feedback and provide direction for shaping the District’s priorities. After consolidating the breadth of public input, several priorities clearly emerged:

Read More about the Process

Improving reading proficiency

Improving math proficiency

Students should graduate with essential life skills and be college and/or career ready

Educational opportunities should be equitable for all students in the District

A diverse and highly professional workforce is essential for the success of all students

In response to the community’s clear voice regarding the education of their children, the Anchorage School Board drafted three overarching goals and four guardrails to provide clear direction and focus for the District.

In order to be transparent to the public through the entire process, the Board presented these draft goals for public feedback and encouraged input from students, parents, educators, community organizations and business leaders. The public feedback period ended on Dec. 10, 2020.

Board Goals

Reading Proficiency

Beginning September 2020, the percentage of third grade students proficient in reading on the state summative test (currently PEAKS) will increase from 40% to 80% by May 2026.

Math Proficiency

Beginning September 2020, the percentage of students in grades 3-9 proficient in mathematics on the state summative assessment (currently PEAKS) will increase from 40% to 55% by May 2026.

Life, College, Career Ready

Beginning with the Freshman Class in September 2020, the percentage of high school students Life Ready and College and/or Career Ready will increase from Spring 2021 to Spring 2026.

Learn more about Life, College, Career Ready Here

Board Guardrails

Guardrails are based on the community’s values and are aligned with the vision and goals. A guardrail is an operational action or class of actions, usually strategic not tactical, the Superintendent may not use or allow in pursuit of the District’s student outcome goals.

Superintendent will not leave student groups underrepresented in lottery/application-based programs.

Superintendent will not operate without a diverse or culturally responsive workforce.

Superintendent will not allow unsatisfactory employee performance to go unidentified or unaddressed.

Superintendent will not operate elementary schools without mental health services.

Goal Setting Timeline
2020-21

Student Data Analysis
January 2020

Community Feedback Analysis
January 2020

Community Forum Responses
Fall 2019

Definitions

Goals:

• Goals: Policy statements that are SMART, that are student outcomes focused, and that describe the Board’s top priorities during the timeline for which they are adopted.

• Interim Goals: A measure of progress toward a defined goal that can be expressed as a number or percentage.

• Goal Monitoring: Time invested by the Board in reviewing, discussing and/or accepting/not accepting goal monitoring reports. No fewer than 50% of the minutes spent in Board-authorized public meetings should be invested in goal monitoring or goal setting. Debating and voting on Board items is never a form of goal monitoring.

• SMART: An acronym for “specific, measurable, attainable, results-focused, time-bound.” Goals and interim goals partially accomplish SMART-ness by having a specific measure, population, starting points, ending points, starting dates, and ending dates.

• Student Outcomes: A measure of school system results that are student results rather than adult results; outcomes that are a measure of what students know or are able to do. Student outcomes are distinct from adult outcomes.

• Outputs: The result of a particular set of inputs that is usually knowable in the midst of a cycle and that is a measure of the implementation of the program or strategy.

• Inputs: Resources and activities invested in a particular program or
Guardrails:

• Guardrail: An operational action or class of actions, usually strategic not tactical, the Superintendent may not use or allow in pursuit of the district’s student outcome goals. Guardrails are based on the community’s values and are aligned with the vision and goals.

• Interim Guardrail: A measure of progress toward a defined guardrail that can be expressed as a number or percentage.

• Guardrail Monitoring: Time invested by the Board in reviewing, discussing and/or accepting/not accepting guardrail monitoring reports.

• Guardrail Setting: Time invested by the Board in reviewing, discussing, and/or selecting guardrails.