From the Chief Administrator

As another school year ends, I wanted to take this opportunity to say thank you for your dedicated work and service. Comments I heard this spring in visits with our staff and local schools made it clear that our collective focus on student learning is making a difference. Congratulations on your many accomplishments and celebrations of progress within the regions and departments! 

While it is rewarding to reflect on the progress made over the past school year, summer also provides a great opportunity to work on our cycle of continuous improvement. Agency leaders will spend time in June and July reviewing multiple data sets we have collected recently such as staff feedback regarding professional development, staff feedback from the culture focus groups and visits with the chief, staff comments from regional and department planning councils, DE and LEA feedback from the accreditation report (when we receive it) and district visits, etc. This data helps us acknowledge our accomplishments, identify challenges and consider potential next steps in our journey to meet established student learning goals and to develop a high reliability organization. 

Whether the summer ahead is typically your busiest time of year or you have some time off, I hope one of your planned activities also includes reading. I plan to read Orphan Train and will also join other Agency Planning Council (APC) members in finishing a book study of Lencioni’s newest book The Advantage: Why Organizational Health Trumps Everything Else In Business. In preparation for a summer seminar, APC members will also read a short monograph on leadership called For the Common Good. 

What activities will your summer include? What will you be reading? Share your ideas on this Google doc. I hope you will share some of your fun adventures and reading recommendations! Happy reading and best wishes for a great summer! 

Take care, 
Paula