The Churchill County School District Board of Trustees and Superintendent Dr. Summer Stephens have been named the Nevada Association of School Boards Governance Team of the Year.
A non-profit service organization, NASB provides policy services, legislative advocacy, leadership support a quality, cost-efficient board professional development to association members. NASB is governed by a board of directors made up of school boar members from across the state. Churchill County school board member, Kathryn Whitaker serves as the Vice-President of organization.
A news release from the district stated, “Together, the Churchill County district has worked to make significant inroads in improving student achievement and strengthening the strategic direction of the district.”
Three years ago, as the Churchill County Trustees hired a new superintendent, they were looking for someone who could help them develop a strategic plan and budget process that would provide the best opportunities for student achievement in the district. Dr. Summer Stephens was hired, and the governance team has accomplished much and has several long-term goals to accomplish even more.
The board has spent considerable time discussing priorities for their plan and the desired outcomes. Because of the clear directive to develop a student-centered strategic plan, Dr. Stephens has worked closely with staff and community members to develop a plan that focuses on learner agency and engagement.
Within one year, the strategic plan was developed with the first phase focusing on a “Profile of a Learner” strategy to develop life-ready learners. This profile describes the expectations the community believes are required of successful learners in Churchill County School District. All decisions about teaching and learning must now support the Profile of a Learner focus of helping students become critical thinkers, inspired innovators, collaborative learners, effective communicators, global citizens, and lifelong learners. This strategy aligns seamlessly with successful schools at the national level.
In addition to the Profile of a Learner strategy, the board and Dr. Stephens have worked in the past year to introduce the Learner Centered Framework as the focus of student learning and achievement. Through the Learner Centered Framework, teachers and students develop a partnership to determine which skills each student needs to achieve and then a plan to help the student reach the necessary mastery and skills. This framework allows for project-based learning, personalized learning, and career-based learning to help the students achieve in the ways that best suit them.
Over the past year, the governance team has also overhauled the district budget policy. The new policy will ensure that the priority in budget allocation is student engagement and learning. All budget decisions must now justify that the monies requested support student achievement.
In an effort to continue supporting students in Churchill County, the team has also attended the Silver State Governance workshop, a NASB initiative billed as “a first of it’s (sic) kind school board training” focused intensely on the on primary objective of “improving student outcomes.” The district has made a public commitment to continue developing the skills and strategies of their team with continued education through Silver State Governance.
State Superintendent Jhone Ebert visited the Churchill County School District in November 2019 and praised the Churchill County governance team for their innovative efforts to support student engagement and achievement through the Profile of a Learner, Learner Centered Framework, and personalized learning. Dr. Stephens and Trustee Kathryn Whitaker also presented at the Nevada Association of School Boards annual convention in November to share with other districts the work the governance team has been doing to promote student engagement and achievement.
“The Churchill County governance team has worked hard at developing and implementing a plan that will benefit the students of Churchill County and its community for years to come, and they remain committed to working together to make it happen,” said the district statement.
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