ACSD Strategic Action Plan 2023-2027

Special Education Programming
Evaluate special education programming to identify strengths and areas of growth.

Ongoing Professional Development 
Provide professional development that effectively engages and advances diversity, equity, and inclusion with shared stakeholders (e.g., administrators, faculty, staff, and students): 

• Establish a common language of DEI terms 
• Develop an understanding of how identity informs our world views and how one teaches, learns, engages and relates 
• Develop an awareness of culturally-responsive teaching, the Culturally Responsive-Sustaining Education (CR-S) Framework, and the CR-S self assessment tool 
• Restorative Practices PD for administrators to turnkey to the DEI team.
• Include the aforementioned training as part of new employee onboarding
  • Examine beginning and mid-year training options 

Ongoing Professional Development
Professional development for all faculty on hosting courageous conversations in classrooms:

• Establishing norms for these conversations
• Create structure and protocols for responding to sociopolitical/local events

Fostering High Expectations and Rigorous Instruction
Collect disaggregated data (enrollment, attendance, discipline, interventions, counseling, etc) to determine student representation in Regents courses, Regents with Support, Enrichment/Honors, Academic Intervention Services, Advanced Placement Courses, etc.

Student Growth
Facilitate and support social emotional learning, development, and growth throughout the PreK-12 learning experience. 

Fostering High Expectations and Rigorous Instruction
Explore summer learning options beyond remediation (advanced courses, study skills, etc).

Pathway to Graduation
Ensure that students have access to rigorous curriculum and various opportunities at all grade levels leading to multiple pathways for graduation, advanced diploma designation, and post secondary readiness.

Welcoming and Affirming Environment
Increase opportunities for students to learn from diverse community members and partners throughout the school year so that students can find themselves represented, valued, and affirmed.

Extended Learning
Identify and implement academic opportunities that support, enrich, and transcend the traditional classroom.

Curriculum Development
With a diversity, equity and inclusivity focus, develop a plan to review, analyze, and evaluate curricular areas and programs in coordination with ACSD Curriculum Committees to ensure implementation of best instructional practices:

• Identify an auditing tool
• Develop a plan to systematically audit curricular areas
  • Ensuring multiple perspectives 
  • Creating opportunities for student voice
  • Utilizing multiple forms of assessment
• Equitable grading practices

Ongoing Professional Development
Redesign the Culturally Responsive Professional Development for all employees:

• Plan for sustainability
• Ensure the course has actionable steps embedded 

Fostering High Expectations and Rigorous Instruction
Redesign elementary enrichment programming with a diversity, equity and inclusion lens.

Student-Teacher Relationship
Develop an internal process in each building that enhances communication regarding a student’s social/emotional needs. 

Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion
Assemble a district level committee to create a Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Action Plan.

Student-Teacher Relationship
Develop building-based behavioral support teams to ensure a safe and supportive learning environment for all students (e.g., explore restorative practices).

Extra-Curricular Opportunities
Audit existing extra-curricular activities (e.g., student participation, access to transportation, demographics, time extracurriculars are offered, activity type, student voice in creating clubs) and explore opportunities for restructuring and/or expanding. 

Welcoming and Affirming Environment

• Identify and administer a District-Wide Climate Survey to gather information from students, faculty, staff, and parents/guardians 
• Analyze District-Wide Climate Survey Data to identify strengths, areas of development, and solutions/interventions for areas of need

Welcoming and Affirming Environment
Provide a safe space for all students, including reasonable accommodations for students of faith. 

Welcoming and Affirming Environment
Identify a walkthrough tool to assess the physical environment of each school building to determine if the physical environment represents our student body and if the building is aesthetically pleasing/welcoming.

Extra-Curricular Opportunities
Develop a systemic method of communication to recruit and retain students for extracurricular opportunities (e.g., shared live calendar or document, weekly/monthly digital newsletter, periodic face-to-face recruitment).

Welcoming and Affirming Environment
Implement solutions identified from the 2024-25 District-Wide Climate Survey to address areas of development .

Restorative Practices
Develop a common understanding of restorative practices in relation to current disciplinary practices. 

Student Voices
Establish a student-led forum that creates spaces to discuss student life matters relevant to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

Student-Teacher Relationship
Implement positive and proactive research-based classroom management techniques that are aligned district wide (Pre K-12).

Character Education
Assemble building level Character Education Committees, that include staff and students, to:

• Audit and analyze the current Character Education programs at each building
• Create or adopt an ACSD Character Education Program that: 
  • uses a DEI lens, 
  • best fits the needs of each building, 
  • and aligns with the district PreK-12 programing.

Restorative Practices
Audit current disciplinary practices in relation to restorative practices.

Career Exploration and Readiness
Identify, implement, and create awareness of work-based learning, internships, alternative pathways to graduation, and other experiences based on students’ interests and needs.

Service to Community
Implement service opportunities to meet the needs of the community.

Community and Education
Community Education Programming:

• Create a tracking system to enhance the appeal of future events to our diverse community 
  • Including data collection of events, locations, attendance, conflicts, barriers and motivations to attend
  • Consider grouping events to increase attendance
• Revisit Summer Scholars programming-intentionally focusing on a social-emotional learning
• Increase community education offerings for both students and adults 

Community
Use the virtual backpack as the single source for sharing community events and activities for easy access for families

• Categorize the offerings in the virtual backpack to better organize events and activities for easier access  
• Enhance marketing of virtual backpack (multiple access points, social media, quick links, etc.)

Wellness
Review and revise the Wellness Fair

• Expand definition/experience to include mental health, nutrition, social media safety and art 
• Consider centralized location (Middle School or High School) for access
• Redesign to have a multicultural focus
• Create a database to track attendance at the event and at each exhibit. Use this data to inform future events

Welcoming and Affirming Environment
Avoid conflicts when scheduling events (e.g., major holidays, other district events).

Welcoming and Affirming Environment
Explore ways to create a more cohesive relationship across elementary buildings for students (e.g., crossover events) to start making connections prior to middle school.

Welcoming and Affirming Environment
Policy and Document Audit:

• Review policies, website, public communication, and all district documents through a diversity, equity, and inclusion lens (parent/child references, gender neutral language)

School as the Hub of the Community
Create a plan of recruitment, support, and retention of highly effective diversified staff:

• Develop and implement a diversity, equity, and inclusion and anti-bias training program for people who serve on hiring committees
• Conduct an audit of hiring practices 
  • Update district hiring practices with rubrics to mitigate bias

School as the Hub of the Community
Consider creating/identifying a community liaison position.

Welcoming and Affirming Environment
Enhance visuals within the school buildings to celebrate Amherst’s student body - visibly enhance the multicultural and multilingual ecology. 

School as the Hub of the Community
Create and promote opportunities for the school community to gather and connect within ACSD to foster a sense of belonging. For example, intentionally promote alumni returning to events (e.g., concerts, pancake breakfast, international festivals, athletics, etc.)

Welcoming and Affirming Environment
Ensure that every student has a trusted adult to connect with. 

• Staff activities to connect students and staff outside of the classroom

Community and  Education
Enhance external partnerships for learning (e.g., businesses, government officials, other community assets, including ACSD graduates), and retirees.

Wellness
Update a Wellness Plan with a diversity, equity, and inclusion lens that supports the physical, nutritional, mental, and emotional well-being of students, faculty, staff, and members of the school community.