Long-range needs assessment enables the school district to analyze assessment data, get feedback from the community about its expectations of students and determines how well students are meeting student learning goals. The board shall conduct ongoing and in-depth needs assessment, soliciting information from business, labor, industry, higher education and community members, regarding their expectations for adequate student preparation as responsible citizens and successful wage earners.
In conjunction with the in-depth needs assessment of the school district, the board shall authorize the appointment of a committee, representing administrators, employees, parents, students and community members, to make recommendations and assist the board in determining the priorities of the school district in addition to the basic skills areas of the education program.
The Bennett School District will provide opportunities for local feedback on a continuous basis. Reporting to parents and community members will be done in the following manner:
- Parent/teacher conferences are held once each semester
- The Superintendent’s School Improvement Committee, consisting of parents, community members, students, teachers, and administrators, meet once each year for the purpose of reporting student achievement data and developing annual district goals relative to school improvement.
- Superintendent’s Annual Report is made available to the community.
It shall be the responsibility of the superintendent to ensure the school district community is informed of students’ progress on state and locally determined indicators. The superintendent shall report annually to the board about the means used to keep the community informed.
As a result of the board and committee’s work, the board shall determine major educational needs and rank them in priority order, develop long-range goals and plans to meet the needs; establish and implement short-range and intermediate-range plans to meet the goals and to attain the desired levels of student performance; evaluate progress toward meeting the goals and maintain a record of progress under the plan that includes report of student performance and results of school improvement projects; and annually report the school district’s progress made under the plan to the committee, community and Iowa Department of Education.
School districts also need to develop a process for long-range needs assessment. The process needs to include three items
- Provisions for collecting, analyzing and reporting information derived from local, state and national sources.
- Provisions for reviewing information acquired on the following:
-state indicators and other locally determined indicators
-locally established student learning goals
-specific data collection required by state and federal programs
- Provisions for collecting and analyzing assessment data on the following:
-state indicators
-locally determined indicators
-locally established student learning goals
Approved: 8-14-00
Reviewed: 7-10-23
Revised: 8-14-17
