Thought for the Day:  JOURNEYS AND DESTINATIONS:  I set out for Riverton again this weekend to lend some assistance to my wife, who has been helping her parents with a change in life move from their long time country home (with plenty of stairs) to an in town smaller home with no stairs.  Denise asked me to make some shelves and bring the hardware for the installation.  I left hurriedly on Friday evening and found myself 20 minutes from Laramie when I remembered the hardware.  I had little choice but to turnaround.  I eventually found an exit and returned to Laramie.  I started my journey again 80 minutes later.  Sometimes things happen and you accept the circumstances or your own mistake.  I made it to my destination, installed the shelves, and returned to Laramie.  My father-in-law appreciated all the hard work (above and beyond he said), but I reminded him that he certainly has the more arduous journey to start again at this stage in his life.
I was listening to a book on the way back, and this quote stood out: “Why be unhappy about something if it can be remedied, and what is the use of being unhappy if it cannot be remedied.”   (Tibetan quote from the Book of Joy: Lasting Happiness in a Changing World). It was an interesting weekend, but we need to remind ourselves to accept our circumstances and continue on the journey.

DESTINATIONS—ACSD#1 GOALS AND TARGETS FOR THE NEXT FIVE YEARS
As we continue on our own journey, the school board will consider our “Destinations” at this week’s school board meeting.  We charted our destinations and pathways when we accepted the Strategic Plan in November 2017, and we spent the 2017-18 school year collecting baseline data to locate our point on the map. Here are the Destinations:

All students are performing at grade level performance standards
ACSD#1 has arrived at this destination when all schools are “Meeting or Exceeding Expectations” on the Wyoming Accountability in Education Act (WAEA) school accountability measure, and 85% of the students are performing at proficient or advance on the Wyoming Test of Proficiency and Progress (WY-TOPP).
All students are afforded excellent instructional services and programs
ACSD#1 has arrived at this destination when all schools have personnel assigned to all support areas and class size meets current standards.  In addition, all schools will deliver a guaranteed and viable curriculum as measured by the percentage of schools that have an aligned curriculum and are administering a common formative assessment in the core subjects.
All students and staff members are engaged in teaching and learning
ACSD#1 has arrived at this destination when 90% of students report that they are engaged in learning as measured by three statements on the annual school satisfaction survey, and 90% of teachers report that they are engaged as measured by three statements on the annual school satisfaction survey.
All students graduate with future plans
ACSD#1 has arrived at this destination when (1) the high school graduation rate is 95%, (2) all students have completed a four year plan, and (3) 90% of parents and students report that they agree or strongly agree that “students receive academic and career planning support.”

ACSD#1 WEBPAGE NEW LOOK
ACSD#1 will have a new look to the website starting today.  Please let us know if you like the changes.  We will also have a webpage for the Strategic Plan Destinations, so we can track our progress.  I am grateful for all the talented people we have in the district who make great things happen for our students and their families.

 Have a great week,
         Jubal