School board to review annual goals

Members of the Lawrence school board will consider setting a course — on paper — for their work during the coming year.

Monday night, members are scheduled to review and approve their formal list of goals for the 2011-12 school year.

The goals fall into three categories:

  • Excellence, which calls for “raising the achievement of all students.”
  • Equity, which advocates a push for “closing the achievement gap,” so students who are minorities, English-language learners, or working through special lesson plans move closer — in terms of assessment scores and other measures — to the performance of the overall student body.
  • Engagement, a category designed to develop “a learning community of school, family and community partnerships,” including an emphasis on “communication, decision making and collaboration with the community.”

District administrators would use the goals to guide their work during the year, and board members would use the list to track which administrators are responsible and what tasks are being pursued.

Board members suggested goals during a meeting in August, then reviewed a preliminary list that has since been refined into the current document.

Among other items on the agenda for Monday’s meeting, which begins at 7 p.m. at district headquarters, 110 McDonald Drive:

  • Buy curriculum, for $1.9 million, from K12 Inc. for students in kindergarten through eighth grade at the Lawrence Virtual School.
  • Buy Math Expressions materials, for $150,127, from Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, for use for students in kindergarten through fifth grade. The board also will consider purchasing math intervention resources “for enrichment and remediation” for $45,488, from ETA/EA/Learning Resources.
  • Hire Chaney Inc., for $106,250, to replace 11 rooftop heating and cooling units for district headquarters.
  • Hear two “overview” reports: one regarding board policies, and another involving professional development.