Agora Vitals with Dr. Butler

“A goal without a plan is just a wish” – Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Agora’s School Improvement Plan drives the direction and focus of our school. Since 2018, we have held the same long-term goals of improving student outcomes in literacy, mathematics, and graduation rates. Even though those goals remain constant, the action plan changes every year based on our progress, challenges, and evolving student needs. You may have seen some shifts in the way classes are planned and conducted, you may have seen differences in the kinds or interactions that are expected of our students, and I am quite certain that you have experienced the analytic writing tasks that are now part of every content area and grade level. All of these items and many many more actions that happen behind the scenes are part of our improvement plan.

Even as we are working on the actions, strategies, and supports that are part of this year’s plan, we’re starting to think ahead to 2024-25. The Pennsylvania Department of Education directs a lot of our planning work, and the first due dates for the 2024-25 plan happened in January!

Currently, we are in our data collection phase of planning. All parents were invited to share their perceptions and personal experiences with Agora through a survey sent back in December. Our students and staff were also asked to complete surveys about our school during the last week of January. The SIP team will examine the data from these surveys, along with student achievement and academic growth measures, graduation and attendance rates, and other important measurements to identify the areas where we need to focus attention.

After we examine multiple data sources, we’ll identify our school’s strengths and needs, and then prioritize those that will help us make the biggest impact on student learning. From there, the state will help us set goals and measurable targets, and we’ll construct a set of action steps grounded in state-approved strategies to help us achieve our goals.

The proposed School Improvement Plan for 2023.24 will be posted for public review in May, once the Steering Committee completes the entire process. You will be invited to read the document, ask questions, and provide your insights during the period of public review.

After that, our Board will review and approve the plan, and then it gets sent to the state for approval.

THANK YOU to the parents and students who have volunteered to serve on this year’s School Improvement Plan Steering Committee:

• Donnie M

• Jazlene L

• Solomon G

• Adina H

• Stacy P

Thank YOU for helping Agora grow and improve!

Onward and upward,

Dr. Butler