The Board of Education Approves a Five-Year Plan for Board Operations that Focuses on Student Achievement and Brings Accountability to the Board’s Work

The Board of Education voted to fundamentally change its focus and operating structure when it formally approved the new Goals & Guardrails initiative at its December 10th action meeting. This five-year plan for the Board focuses intently on student learning and achievement and creates new ways for the public to hold the Board accountable for its work.

“The Board’s vision is to ensure that all of our students receive an education that allows them to thrive, succeed and lead in a global society,” said Board President Joyce Wilkerson. “The Board is committed to making the necessary changes to our work to give students, educators and leaders the tools they need to realize this vision.”

The Board will now dedicate a significant percentage of its time to monitoring specific goals for reading, math, and college and career readiness. In addition, the plan features guardrails, which are the nonnegotiable conditions needed in all schools to achieve these academic goals. The guardrails focus on: welcoming, safe and supportive schools, enriching and well rounded school experiences, partnering with parents and family members, and addressing racist practices.

“This focus on student success, and these Goals & Guardrails, will guide our work as a board going forward,” said President Wilkerson.  “This means that you are going to see a real change in the structure of our Board meetings and in the way that the Board goes about its work. While we will continue to conduct the regular business of the District, we will dedicate a significant amount of time to reviewing progress toward these Goals & Guardrails at public meetings.”

Going forward in the new year, Goals & Guardrails will serve as a framework for the work of the Superintendent and District which will begin to implement plans to reach these goals. At the same time, the Board will begin to monitor progress toward achieving these goals and will perform self evaluations and superintendent evaluations each year to hold itself accountable for this work. “We know that in order for this vision to be successful, we must hold ourselves and the District accountable,” President Wilkerson says.

 

To learn more about Goals & Guardrails, please visit www.philasd.org/schoolboard/goals-and-guardrails