Schools
Winchester High School to Focus on the Future
The plan focuses on how the high school can improve areas of weakness.
In January 2010, the Winchester School Committee elected to develop strategy in order help map out the district’s goals over the next few years.
The goal of this project, Focus on the Future, was to highlight the strengths of Winchester High School, while also pinpointing areas that needed improvement, according to Superintendent William McAlduff.
“This gets us moving in the right direction. So we know where we need to be in the next three to five years,” said School Committee member, Michael Schindelman.
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“We recognized that in a rapidly changing world, the school needed to change greatly to rise to the challenge of providing a top quality education for all our students and the skills and knowledge to succeed in the new global society,” said Winchester High School Principal, Thomas Gwin.
Here are some positives highlighted by Focus on the Future:
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- Outstanding Teachers
- Highly Motivated Students
- Supportive Parents
- Increasing MCAS and SAT Scores
- Increasing number of AP courses and number of students taking AP classes
- Innovative curriculum program
Below are some suggested areas of improvement:
- Facilities/Technology
- More Unified School Culture
- Consistent Academic Expectations
- Improved Support Services
- Increased consistency in the application of policies and practices
- Quality of instruction
Here is the district’s action plan to deal with those areas that need improvement:
Short-Term Goal Long-Term Goal Expectations and Communication Clearly define and communicate school-wide expectations regarding the purpose, quality and quantity of student homework. Use semi-annual online surveys of parents, students, and faculty to monitor progress toward WHS goals and assess evolving needs and concerns of the WHS school community. School Culture Institute a WHS Honor Code. Pursue the establishment of the administrative position of Dean of Student Activities to provide more unified support for all students. Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment Establish WHS standards for faculty staff hiring. Embed common planning time for teachers into the regular schedule. Technology Establish a formal process to share effective, technology- rich, lesson plans within and between departments. Establish and maintain an ongoing plan to ensure a robust and reliable infrastructure to support WHS technology needs. Facilities Develop a prioritized maintenance plan and update it annually to address cleanliness, safety, air quality and the appearance of the existing building. Meet the needs of increased enrollment at WHS before the building project is complete.
“We need to make the changes to ensure that we’re moving forward,” said School Committee member, Sarah Swiger. “We have to make sure that the future doesn’t catch up with us.”
You can read the all about the plan by clicking here.
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