Ellicottville School District
Defines “Topics” for Task Forces
(01/23/2009) By Superintendent of Schools, Mark Ward

The Strategic Planning process took a big step forward as the Board and Administrative Team met with Penny Ciaburri from PLC Associates, who is working with the District in the development of a Strategic Plan, to identify the main areas that will be addressed.

The planning process requires the District to establish a Core Team comprised of a diverse cross section of stakeholders throughout the community. The “team” will be comprised of thirty two members and will have membership from the following groups:

Board of Education, Central Administration, Building Principals, Parents, Teachers, Support Staff, Senior Citizens, Business, Political Leaders and several atlarge selections.

The Core Team will be responsible for working on the Vision, Mission, Core Values and Beliefs. Our Board of Education will approve the Core Team membership.

The Core Team will also help guide and react to the work of the Task Forces as they respond to the key initiatives and established action plan. The appointed facilitator for each of the five Task Forces will lead discussion, plan agendas, post minutes and coordinate logistical aspects of the Task Force work progress. We look forward to involving a lot of community members on each of the Task Forces.

In an effort to define the future work of the Task Forces the following areas have been established with areas of emphasis listed. Most areas will likely form “sub-groups” that will be assigned a more narrow focus of the overall Task Force topic. The list below is only a beginning look at what the Task Forces will study:

Academic Excellence and Rigor
• Curriculum
• Assessment and testing
• Class size
• Mapping and congruence
• Compare and contrast
Facilities Buildings & Grounds
• Review and evaluate present building conditions
• Future needs of District based on 21st century learning
• Facility attractiveness for future growth
Systems & Structures
• 21st century learning
• Health, Safety and Wellness
• Professional Development
• Transition planning from PreK to K, grade 6, grade 9
• Athletics and extra-curricular activities
• Technology
• Course offerings, enrollment and staffing
Fiscal Status
• Long range budgeting
• Awareness of trends/history
• Financial health of District
• Cost effectiveness
• Taxes
Community Partnership
• Developing relationships
• Creating position relationships in a changing environment
• School – Business relationship
• Create 21st century learning opportunities for students in the greater community

The Task Forces will clarify each area, ask questions, address major issues,
conduct a SWOT assessment (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunity, Threats), collect
and analyze relevant data, engage other resources (people/information) , develop and
prioritize action plans and finally develop a cost/benefit analysis. Membership on each
of the five (5) Task Forces will be based on “volunteers”. We are encouraging anyone
who is interested in serving on the “District Core Team” or a specific Task Force to email
Mr.Ward at mward@eville.wnyric.org or call the District Office (699-2368).