The Extended Leadership Team (XLT) celebrated its ninth year at the HNA Palisades Conference Center. The team is comprised of central office administrators, school leaders, and teacher leaders from across the district. The team meets several times a year as a district team as well as individual school teams. For the past three years, the team has been instrumental in creating the District Strategic Plan with goals and measurable objectives focused on student learning.
Several activities were planned around the five focus areas of the District Strategic Plan:
- Promoting academic success for all students by ensuring equitable access to rigorous curriculum, aligned quality instructional materials, and content that is engaging for students.
- Developing and retaining a team of highly qualified staff through recruitment and professional development.
- Improving communications by building partnerships, implementing a variety of media tools, and developing meaningful family and community engagement strategies.
- Ensuring the health and welfare of our students and staff by strengthening the foundation of a district culture that is responsive to the social, emotional, and physical safety needs of every person.
- Developing the instructional support infrastructure that leverages technology, operations, and business services while being mindful of financial constraints.
Each activity enabled school teams to develop strategies and goals in each area and everyone had a chance to go on a Gallery Walk to learn more about each school’s priorities, goals, and programs.
One of the activities asked each group to think about the district mission, Elevate, Engage, Inspire, and what these words mean for teaching and learning.
Elevate: High Expectations where students possess the knowledge and skills that will prepare them for a variety of post-graduate options.
Engage: Healthy, productive, and supportive relationships between students, staff, families, and the community.
Inspire: Equitable access to a broad range of opportunities that enable students to pursue their passion and reach their full potential as responsible citizens and lifelong learners.
Our district is committed to ensuring that each of our students reaches his or her full potential by adhering to the motto of the South Orangetown Central School District, “Together We Can,” by engaging, inspiring, and elevating our students to achieve success. We’re looking forward to a great 2018-2019 school year.
A special thank you to Dr. Karen Tesik, our new Director of Special Education and Student Services for helping to plan an awesome day!
