WVUSD: 2016/2017 Year-End Results
Curriculum Councils were developed in various secondary subject areas. In addition to
providing curriculum and instruction support and oversight, as well as cross-school articulation,
the councils provided teachers and other school site leaders with an opportunity to further
develop as instructional leaders.
Similarly, hundreds of WVUSD employees and parents participated on our Local Control and
Accountability Plan (LCAP) working teams. This process developed leadership skills, such as
budgetary expertise and goal-setting, for all participants.
The Leadership Development Seminar increased by an additional 40 members throughout the
2016-17 school year. Participants included teachers, classified employees, and administrators.
The seminar, once again, was highlighted by a weeklong culminating experience in the
Gettysburg area. Participants spent two days on the Gettysburg Battlefield and in the town of
Gettysburg, one day at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, and one day in
Washington, D.C. visiting the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). Multiple
speakers, recognized as experts in their respective fields, presented to the participants.
In addition to the Gettysburg experience, participants met monthly to further develop as
leaders, join in collaborative conversations, read a variety of leadership books and related
articles, and learn about various leadership styles and strategies. Team-building and
leadership development activities were provided for past (alumni) and current seminar
members, such as book clubs, trivia nights, and a professional baseball game. A Leadership
Seminar alum was selected as an intern for this year’s program.
Instructional Leadership continues as a strong emphasis in Walnut Valley. In our fourth year
of the Walnut Valley transition plan for the California State Standards (formerly known as
Common Core), we continued with the Awareness, Transition, Implementation framework.
Under the direction of the Educational Services team, we were able to further develop and
provide additional leadership training for current California State Standards implementation and
oversight, including curriculum development, instructional methodology, instructional
technology, and mentoring. Building Instructional Leadership at Principal Professional
Development meetings included an emphasis on data-driven leadership. Furthermore,
Principals led site-based decision making in the area of the district-wide STEAM Initiative
(Science, Engineering, Arts, Mathematics), including visionary leadership, budgetary
leadership, and program development.
Learning walks increased at all middle schools, providing an opportunity for collegial
conversations around instruction. The Lucy Calkins writing program was implemented across
the school district. Rather than a traditional “top-down” implementation, the “Grass-roots” effort
truly allows for leadership development amongst teachers and administrators. Employees had
the opportunity to attend intense training, specifically in the overall leadership of Districtwide
implementation, at Columbia University in New York. In Walnut Valley, professional
development related to this writing initiative was provided by WVUSD employees to WVUSD
employees.
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