Journey 2020: A Strategic Plan to College, Career and Citizen-Readiness
Each day in Newport News Public Schools the focus is on one mission: ensuring that all students graduate college, career and citizen-ready.
Strategic Goals
Equitable Approach: Identify and outline equitable practices that close achievement gaps and increase access to rigorous learning experiences.
Strategic Supports:
- Ensure a rigorous curriculum is designed to personalize learning using a variety of research-based instructional strategies (experiential, problem-based, inquiry, project-based, service learning).
- Implement a PK-12 literacy plan.
- Provide multiple opportunities for students to develop and grow through extracurricular activities.
- Support all educators with aligning written-taught-tested curriculum.
- Inform instructional decisions using data that support student success through a tiered system of support.
- Explore multiple academic and career pathways to include increased work-based learning experiences, academic career planning and engagement with business and industry partners.
Equitable Approach: Ensure all students and staff have access to programs and supports to meet their individual needs.
Strategic Supports:
- Foster self-awareness and resilience to assist in the development of a positive self-image.
- Embrace the power of failure and instill a growth mindset.
- Nourish physical, mental and emotional health.
- Implement curriculum activities that teach social, emotional, and behavioral competencies.
- Create and maintain a safe and supportive environment that allows students and staff to thrive where all voices are heard in an unbiased manner.
- Address inequities in student and employee discipline practices.
Equitable Approach: Ensure employee learning promotes culturally responsive practices.
Strategic Supports:
- Provide intentional, job-embedded professional development using research-based strategies to foster student advancement for all learners.
- Invest in staff talent and learning to promote a culture of continuous professional growth.
- Develop and support employees by maintaining an aligned, comprehensive evaluation system that prioritizes feedback and growth.
- Design professional development, that supports the successful integration of blended learning for personalized instruction.
Equitable Approach: Create opportunities that challenge traditional norms and ensure access to a diverse group of professionals in non-traditional roles.
Strategic Supports:
- Increase the number of collaborative relationships with stakeholders that foster authentic learning and cultural experiences.
- Leverage the expertise of partners to create experiential learning opportunities that allow for enhanced career exploration.
- Expand and streamline communication tools to engage schools, families, students, and the community.
- Promote a one-city mindset through civic and social engagement to prosper as a premier community.
Equitable Approach: Ensure the equitable distribution of all resources.
Strategic Supports:
- Implement inclusive budgetary practices that include input and feedback from all stakeholders.
- Recruit, retain and reward employees who are highly effective.
- Develop a comprehensive approach to staff retention that includes differentiated pathways for advancement based on goals and interests.
- Create and implement a plan for 1:1 technology for students.
- Establish processes and procedures for all hiring managers to recruit, hire and promote a diverse workforce that mirrors our student population.
Profile of a Learner
As students in NNPS, we embody our Profile of a Learner and the Virginia Profile of a Graduate (Critical Thinking, Creative Thinking, Collaboration, Communication and Citizenship).
As LEADERS, we are:
- Confident in our actions and abilities.
- Coachable and understanding of how to work with other leaders.
- Team Builders through collaboration.
- Champions of Change.
- Respectful to ourselves, others and the environment.
- Influential members of our community and empower others to champion a cause.
As EMOTIONALLY-INTELLIGENT learners, we are:
- Committed to making choices that lead to life-long success.
- Confident in our intellectual, physical and emotional well-being.
- Resourceful in seeking and accepting support.
- Empathetic to others.
- Focused on honesty, integrity, trust and transparency.
As ACADEMICALLY-PREPARED learners, we are:
- Literate across all areas.
- Appliers of our Knowledge.
- Workforce-Minded with a focus on being college and career ready.
- Accountable for our own success.
- Intrinsically Motivated.
- Digitally Confident.
As RESILIENT learners, we are:
- Responsive to challenges and use them as opportunities to learn and grow.
- Self-Directed and take initiative.
- Persistently learning from failure.
- Adaptive to various environments.
As INNOVATORS, we are:
- Deliberate in our process to solve problems.
- Curious.
- Entrepreneurial.
- Problem-Finders through research and experiential learning.
- Divergent Thinkers who harness the power of technology.
As EQUITY-MINDED learners, we are:
- Inclusive and welcoming to others.
- Ethically-Minded, equity and fair-minded.
- Culturally Aware and embrace differences.
- Responsive to global perspectives for making informed decisions.
- Advocates for equity.
As REFLECTIVE learners, we are:
- Receptive to feedback for growth.
- Self-Aware.
- Goal-Oriented.
- Developers of our own future.