1. Berkshire Local School District Strategic Plan Update Fourth Update, 10/14/09

2. Our District Rating… We have a rating on the state report card of “Effective”. We did not meet Adaquate Yearly Progress (AYP) for students with disabilities. We had scores of proficient and advanced for students being assessed through Alternative Assessments. Our value-added indicator was above expected yearly growth.

3. The district as a whole… We have completed courses of study (COS) for Math, Science, and Social Studies. We are in the process of completing the COS for Language Arts/English.

4. Curriculum and Programming… As a district we continue to work on differentiating instruction to meet the educational needs of all our students. We have implemented team meetings that are integrated into the instructional day through Professional Learning Communities (PLC). The teams meet weekly and during the meetings the teachers are planning instruction together and analyzing student test score results to determine if students are learning.

5. At the Elementary School Level… We continue to differentiate instruction within the classrooms to meet the educational and individual needs of all our students (e.g., special education, gifted education). We are co-teaching across grade levels in some classes/subject areas. We are providing interventions related to student areas of needs.

6. At the Junior/Senior High School Level… We have added advanced level courses in math (e.g., Algebra at junior high level, Calculus at high school level). We have added electives to the course options at the high school (e.g., World Mythology, Speech and Theater).

7. Staff Development… We are providing on-site/in-district opportunities for staff development to teachers (e.g., instructional technology programs, co-teaching). We have teams of teachers across the district attending trainings on data and formative assessment (e.g., Middle School Math Assessment Collaborative; MMAC, FAST Cohort) We are doing a book study (book: “Learning by Doing”) related to Professional Learning Communities (PLC). (This is our second year of a book study. Last year the book was “The Art and Science of Teaching”).

8. Communication… We continue to utilize the district web-site to provide information on the district and to highlight programs and achievements. We continue to utilize a variety of communication modalities (e.g., newsletters) in addition to the web-site to provide information about the district. Some teachers at the junior/senior high school are using PAM and at the elementary school are using Teacherease to communicate with parents and keep parents and students updated on assignments and grades. A district quarterly newsletter is being generated by the superintendent.

9. Facilities… We have completed the consolidation of the elementary schools onto a common site. *Troy Elementary School was closed (spring 2009) *Construction on the expansion of Burton Elementary School was completed (summer 2009).

10. In Conclusion… We will continue to explore partnerships with community agencies, businesses, and academic institutions. We will continue to explore expanding our course selection options for students. We will continue to provide an educational environment that maximizes the potential of all of our students.