Colleagues,
We have taken a first step toward providing more equity among our schools and students, rather than forcing a one-size-fits-all approach. Our schools and students have unique needs requiring appropriate resources and supports to better align with those needs.
For the 2018-19 school year, we are allocating funds to schools based on student enrollment numbers and according to financial weights for gifted, low-performing and high-mobility students. This will help to ensure a more equitable distribution of our limited resources, so our schools and students can receive the assistance they deserve.
In addition, for 2018-2019, we are giving a cohort of six schools school-based decision-making autonomy regarding how most of those dollars are spent. I believe that you, as individual school communities, have a better idea what your students need and should be able to make those decisions. However, we recognize that extensive training and District-level support will be necessary first, so we’re taking it very slowly. Again, the school-based decision-making will only take place at a few schools, and expansion for all schools will be part of a more long-term plan.
You can visit
www.back2students.com
to learn more. On the web page, our cohort principals and teachers will blog their experiences regarding the process and how it helps them redefine the spending priorities in their school buildings. It’s our hope that their new level of empowerment and autonomy will become a model for all schools and lead to increased academic achievement.
Thanks for your continued hard work and collaboration, as we all work to find new and innovative ways to support each student’s individual academic needs.
-DH
