USD 253 Emporia’s Math Action Plan was the center of focus for the board of education during their recent meeting Wednesday evening.
The action plan was developed earlier this year to help ensure all faculty and students are as informed as possible on the district’s adopted math resource. According to Director of Assessment and Accountability Dr. Ryan Karjala, the plan is focused on helping to implement strategies that maximize the tool’s effectiveness across all grade levels at Emporia High School.
In developing the plan, Karjala and other administrators recently met with members of the EHS math department to gain insight into the best strategies to accomplish these goals. During those conversations, staff voiced a desire for two types of professional development in the future: Getting Started, an introduction into the math resources, which is a two-hour online session that lays out the structure of new programs, key resources and recommendations for how best to implement these tools into the curriculum.
The second type of professional development was HMH Professional Learning, an online course and coach for grades K-12, which helps districts to “maximize their investment by aligning learning opportunities with strategic math plans” through various courses.
This was the first official presentation of the plan after a preliminary overview earlier this year, with Karjala noting more updates will be coming as needed, with district administrators planning to continuously review and analyze data to find areas of needed improvement. Following his presentation, Karjala received feedback from members of the board, with some expressing a desire to see improvements in communication between teachers, students and families.
Board member Dr. Jennifer Thomas stated she feels the plan in place is a good one that she believes will provide improvement to the district and increased accountability for teachers. Thomas did note there have been some concerns expressed by district parents in recent years regarding communication, specifically chances for families and students to have a better, more direct line of communication to teachers and administrators in the future.
You can find the layout for the action plan by visiting the board docs section of the district’s website, USD253.org.
During the consent agenda portion of the meeting, where several items can be approved with a single motion, board members approved separate memoranda of understanding for a concurrent enrollment partnership with Flint Hills Technical College and another for a continued partnership with the Emporia Golf Course.
Board members also had their regular board reports and convened an executive session for an early review of Superintendent Dr. David McGehee’s performance in recent months; no action followed the session. The USD 253 Board of Education will reconvene for its next regular meeting on Wednesday, September 10, inside the Mary Herbert Education Center.
