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From YouTube: Cabell Connection: State of the Schools
Description
Superintendent Ryan Saxe provides the community with an update on the progress of his initial "Superintendent's Transition Plan". The comprehensive plan included multiple opportunities for input from the district's many stakeholders. That input, along with district assessment data and several other indicators of success, are being used to develop a Strategic Plan which will help the district better prepare students to be college and career ready.
A
Hello,
I'm
Ryan,
Sachs
superintendent
of
Capitol,
County
Schools,
it's
hard
to
believe,
but
the
end
of
the
school
year
is
quickly
approaching.
It's
amazing
to
think
we
are
close
to
graduating
nearly
1,200
high
school
seniors,
ensuring
all
of
our
13,000
students
graduate
and
our
globally
competitive.
It's
why
we
exists
as
I
reflect
upon
my
first
year
as
your
superintendent
I
would
be
remiss
if
I
didn't
say
just
how
very
proud
I
am
to
be
in
my
home,
County
leading
one
of
the
best
school
districts
in
our
state.
A
The
last
10
months
have
shown
me
that
our
school
district
is
providing
a
high
quality
education
for
our
students
and
our
community
truly
Cabell.
County
Schools
is
dedicated
to
the
success
of
all
students.
I
firmly
believe
that
our
district's
future
is
highly
dependent
on
building
strong
partnerships.
We
need
to
continue
to
engage
both
our
internal
and
our
external
stakeholders
as
often
as
possible.
Together,
we
must
work
to
define
a
strong
direction
for
the
future.
I
would
like
to
take
this
opportunity
to
thank
our
Board
of
Education
members
for
their
time.
A
Energy
and
dedication
to
ensuring
capital,
County
Schools
is
headed
in
the
right
direction.
During
this
year
of
transition,
the
board
has
afforded
me
the
opportunity
to
develop
a
strong
leadership
team,
including
three
expert
assistant,
superintendents,
a
diligent
treasurer
and
a
top-notch
group
of
talented
cabinet
members,
each
representing
a
major
function
of
the
district.
These
skilled
leaders
are
assisting
me
in
developing
a
five-year
blueprint
or
a
strategic
plan
for
the
district.
This
strategic
plan
incorporates
the
goals
from
my
original
transition
plan.
A
These
goals
are
achievement
and
growth,
governance
and
trusts,
communication
and
engagement
and
finally,
organizational
excellence.
I
know
that
the
people
of
Cabell
County
are
our
greatest
resource
to
ensure
I
fully
address
each
of
these
goals
in
planning.
Our
district's
future
I
have
invited
open
and
honest
communication
with
our
stakeholders
through
multiple
approaches.
A
First
I
personally
hosted
listen
and
learn
sessions
in
all
four
quadrants
of
our
County
I
truly
enjoy
talking
with
many
of
you
in
person,
hearing
about
your
dreams
for
your
children
and
taking
note
of
your
expectations
for
improvement
to
develop
an
understanding
of
our
organizational
effectiveness
and
potential
communication.
Breakdowns
I
conducted
meetings
with
many
members
of
staff,
including
principals
teachers
and
service
personnel.
A
Additionally,
I
have
been
working
on
a
constant
basis
with
our
instructional
staff
to
analyze
the
district's
student
achievement,
data
identifying
strengths
and
weaknesses
we
distributed
to
major
stakeholder
surveys,
the
superintendent
stakeholder
survey
and
the
technology
and
learning
survey
from
the
superintendent
stakeholder
survey
alone.
We
received
more
than
1,700
responses,
which
is
phenomenal
students,
parents,
staff
and
community
members
shared
their
perceptions
of
the
district's
strengths
and
weaknesses.
A
wide
range
of
topics
were
covered,
including
curriculum
instruction,
classroom
resources,
district
operations,
teacher
recruitment,
foodservice
finance
class
size,
school
boundaries,
professional
development
staff,
engagement
and
communication.
A
In
addition
to
these,
more
formal
means
of
communication,
I
have
also
been
gathering
input
from
daily
personal
conversations
in
the
field.
I
have
invited
those
I
meet
to
engage
in
open,
honest
and
meaningful
conversations.
Now,
let's
dig
a
little
deeper
into
each
of
my
four
major
goals,
so
that
I
can
highlight
some
of
my
findings
and
outline
some
steps.
Moving
forward.
A
Achievement
and
growth,
visiting
schools
and
classrooms
is
one
of
my
greatest
joys
truly
is
where
I
love
to
be.
In
my
visits
around
our
district,
one
thing
is
amazingly
clear:
our
teachers
are
dedicated
to
the
success
of
our
students,
teachers
and
classroom
aids
worked
tirelessly.
Ensuring
students
have
the
resources
and
learning
opportunities
they
need
to
be
successful.
Our
school
administrators
are
dedicated
to
supporting
teachers
in
a
meaningful
way.
Our
students
are
respectful
and
courteous
and
are
highly
motivated
to
do
their
very
best.
A
Of
course,
our
research
shows
us
that
there
are
areas
where
we
do
need
to
improve
in
reviewing
student
achievement.
Data
mathematics
continues
to
be
a
deficiency
not
just
in
capital
County,
but
across
the
state.
Improving
mathematic
proficiency
for
all
students
must
be
a
major
focus
moving
forward.
In
addition,
we
must
ensure
all
students
are
able
to
read
on
grade
level
by
the
third
grade.
According
to
a
national
study,
students
who
don't
read
proficiently
by
3rd
grade
are
4
times
more
likely
than
proficient
readers
to
leave
high
school
without
a
diploma.
A
We
must
also
make
literacy
a
top
priority.
Our
high
schools
have
been
working
diligently
to
improve
graduation
rates.
However,
there
is
much
to
be
done
to
ensure
all
students
are
graduating.
College
and
career-ready
I
am
challenging
our
high
school
principals
to
break
the
ninety
percent
graduation
rate
threshold
within
two
years
and
to
reach
95
percent
within
the
next
five
years.
We
can
do
it,
we
must
do
it.
The
results
of
the
superintendent
stakeholder
survey
we
conducted
early
on
have
also
been
very
enlightening.
A
The
survey
found
that
more
than
60
percent
of
stakeholders
agree
that
Capital
County
schools
prepare
students
for
life
after
high
school.
However,
only
63%
of
students
agree
that
we
prepare
students
for
successful
careers
and
only
63%
agree
that
we
prepare
students
for
success
in
college,
while
students
generally
feel
like
they
belong
at
school,
and
many
told
us
that
there's
a
teacher
or
adult
at
school
who
cares
about
them?
Fewer
students
indicate
that
their
teachers
make
lessons
interest
or
that
they
have
a
lot
of
chances
to
use
what
they
learn
in
the
real
world.
A
As
a
result,
I
am
calling
on
our
secondary
school
administrators
in
cooperation
with
district
leaders
to
develop
more
or
expanded
career
in
technical
courses
and
programs
within
the
next
five
years.
We
hope
to
have
more
advanced
career
options
and
certification
programs
for
female
students
and
to
be
able
to
expand
our
adult
education
course
offerings.
In
addition,
I
believe
we
need
to
provide
additional
professional
development
for
all
teachers
and
administrators
that
encourages
real-world
application,
of
course,
material
for
students.
A
These
observations,
coupled
with
discussions
from
teachers,
administrators
and
instructional
experts,
also
indicate
a
need
for
additional
content
area
professional
development.
Over
the
course
of
the
past
several
years,
significant
changes
have
been
made
to
the
West
Virginia
teaching
standards.
Ensuring
our
teachers
have
access
to
grade-level
content
and
instructional
strategies
is
paramount,
as
superintendent
I
believe
we
must
do
everything
in
our
power
to
equip
every
student
with
critical
21st
century
skills
that
they
will
need
to
be
globally
effective.
Every
Capitol
County
school
must
have
an
equitable
and
effective
digital
learning.
A
Environment
I
have
directed
our
director
of
technology
to
develop
a
comprehensive
five-year
technology
plan
that
will
put
the
appropriate
technology
tools
into
the
hands
of
our
students
and
our
teachers.
Through
this
plan,
we
can
enhance
instructional
delivery
by
equipping
educators
and
students
with
technology
that
personalizes
instruction
and
places
a
greater
emphasis
on
critical
thinking
and
analytical
skills,
governance
and
trusts
when
addressing
governance
and
trusts.
My
primary
goal
was
to
establish
and
continue
a
productive
and
trusting
working
relationship
with
our
Board
of
Education
members.
A
We
are
indeed
making
great
progress
through
consistent
communication,
clarification
of
board
member
goals
and
transparency
in
all
interactions.
Capital
County
Schools
has
a
board
that
is
truly
engaged
and
values
the
needs
of
our
students.
They
have
demonstrated
a
strong
commitment
to
improving
the
school
district
and
to
focus
on
students
firsts
one.
Fantastic
example
is
their
dedication
to
providing
a
universal
free
meal
program
for
all
the
district's
students.
A
Communication
and
engagement
as
superintendent,
I,
highly
value,
open
and
honest
communication,
as
discussed
previously
I,
have
asked
all
stakeholders
to
provide
information,
feedback
and
perspectives
on
the
school
district
through
several
different
approaches,
including
our
listen
and
learn
sessions.
At
these
listen
and
learn
sessions.
We
were
often
told
what
we
didn't
like
to
hear,
but
we
really
needed
to
hear
and
that's
ok,
we
learned
we
need
to
prioritize
efforts
to
remove
bullying
from
our
schools.
As
a
result,
I
am
pleased
to
announce.
We
have
launched
a
bullying
and
harassment
reporting
app
called
stop
it
stop.
A
It
is
a
digital
reporting
tool
designed
to
deter
and
mitigate
bullying
and
cyber
abuse
consisting
of
a
mobile
app
students
and
parents
will
have
free
access
to
the
stop
at
mobile
app,
which
has
two
simple
but
powerful
features.
The
report
feature
can
be
used
by
students
to
report
incidents
to
school
contacts
anonymously.
The
get
help
feature
can
be
used
to
engage
in
anonymous
two-way
communication
with
school
contacts
like
administrators
or
counselors,
both
the
report
and
they
get
help
feature
empower
students
to
stand
up
for
themselves
and
for
one
another.
A
Students
have
the
power
to
assist
in
putting
an
end
to
the
harmful
and
inappropriate
behavior.
They
see
online
through
social
media
and
other
means
they
can
use,
stop
it
to
reach
out
for
help
if
they
or
a
Pierre
are
facing
a
personal
crisis
or
experiencing
bullying
abuse
or
are
otherwise
in
need
of
assistance.
Our
goal
with
stop
it
is
to
create
a
safer,
kinder
school
community,
both
online
and
offline.
A
In
our
discussions,
we
have
also
realized
that
we
need
to
put
an
even
greater
focus
on
school
safety
districts
across
the
country
and
in
our
own
state
of
West.
Virginia
have
school
days
interrupted
because
of
threats
to
help
ensure
Cavill
County
Schools
is
as
safe
as
we
can
possibly
make
it.
I
have
established
a
school
district
safety
committee,
headed
by
assistant,
superintendent,
Tim
Hardesty.
The
committee
will
examine
current
safety
measures
at
all
of
our
facilities
and
identify
areas
where
improvement
is
needed.
A
These
measures
include
our
Alice
intruder,
evasion,
plans
and
the
more
familiar
fire
tornado
and
chemical
disaster
drills.
This
committee
will
be
working
to
strengthen
our
existing
emergency
response
plan.
I
have
asked
the
committee
to
collaborate
with
the
first
responder
members
of
the
tri-state
homeland
security
committee
to
test
our
plan
and
suggest
improvements
that
are
needed.
I
am
also
charging
our
safety
director
Tim
Stewart,
to
conduct
a
safety
audit
of
all
our
facilities
to
identify
possible
improvements
to
our
buildings
and
grounds
our
procedures
and
services
provided
by
contract
school
security
personnel,
organizational
excellence.
A
My
fourth
goal
is
to
improve
the
delivery
of
our
services
so
that
students
receive
the
most
benefit.
With
that
in
mind,
I
have
realigned
the
organization
of
our
district
central
office
by
streamlining
services
and
eliminating
duplication.
A
greater
focus
can
be
placed
on
the
district's
challenges
and
opportunities
such
as
improving
mathematics
or
allowing
students
to
participate
in
more
Career
and
Technical
Education
classes.
All
told
this
reorganization
will
save
our
school
district,
nearly
seven
hundred
thousand
dollars
annually,
while
delivering
more
focused
support
services
to
our
schools.
A
I
hope
you
have
found
the
information
in
this
state
of
the
school's
address
informative
and
maybe
even
a
little
bit
enlightening.
As
stated
before,
it
is
my
goal
to
build
partnerships
with
our
many
stakeholders
through
open
and
honest
communication.
If
you
see
me
in
your
school
or
out
and
about
in
the
community,
please
feel
free
to
say
hello,
I
enjoy
hearing
your
success
stories
and
value
your
input
on
how
we,
as
a
district,
can
do
the
best
job
possible
for
our
children
from
the
boardroom
to
the
classroom.