Strategic Direction

A high performing school district starts with a high performing Board of Education.
High performing Boards of Education focus on the work of governance, that includes core beliefs, clear student performance goals, an aligned superintendent evaluation, effective policies and a long-range strategic plan.

group of people in a board training — *School Board Members gather for governance training and setting achievement goals as part of their supportive accountability governance model.*

power point slide with governance goals and policies

Core Beliefs

CCSD School Board members worked through several whole board training sessions during the summer months of 2024 and as part of that, developed a new set of core beliefs that serve as the foundation for the district:

All students are highly engaged in their education and capable of reaching their full learning potential.
Employees are trusted and supported as professionals and provided with resources to elevate student outcomes.
Families and our community are involved partners in student success and can expect all students to receive the best education possible.
Schools are positive and welcoming environments with clear expectations and accountability in all academic and operational areas.

Student Performance Goals & Accountability

Student performance matters in CCSD because it means students learning more, growing more, and achieving more in a CCSD classroom than they could anywhere else. Accountability means we have clear goals for student learning and when we meet those goals, we celebrate. When we fall short of meeting those goals, we adjust our practices in order to improve outcomes for students.

Student Performance Goals

For the first student performance goals, the School Board together set three-year goals in reading on grade-level and English Language Arts (ELA) proficiency in grades 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and American Literature, as measured by Georgia Milestones Assessment scores. To aid them in setting these goals, School Board members reviewed three years’ of state testing data for CCSD students, state averages and data from comparable school districts statewide. The School Board continued in February with setting goals for Math in grades 3-8 and Algebra.

collage of photos of school board members working on charts and presenting goals

2027 Goals for ELA, Reading & Math

To implement these goals:

(1) Principals analyzed their school’s student performance data and set aligned goals in their School Improvement Plan. The Superintendent will be regularly sharing student performance reports with the community on our website here. As these school-level improvement goals are developed, school principals will engage their faculty in best practices for elevating classroom instruction and use of data to improve student learning.

(2) District leaders will establish Key Performance Indicators to measure the effectiveness of district systems designed to support schools and the focus of increasing student learning. KPIs will be added to the district website in summer of 2025.

Accountability

The Cherokee County School Board is committed to high expectations, clear student achievement goals, and consistent accountability coupled with the support needed for principals, teachers, staff, and students to be successful. Accountability starts with the School Board establishing student achievement goals in multiple achievement categories. The School Board-established goals serve as the basis for the Superintendent's evaluation instrument that will be made publicly available on the School District's website.

Superintendent Evaluation Instrument

The Superintendent is to align Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for each Division of the School District and School Improvement Goals for each school to the student achievement goals established by the School board and the evaluation instrument it establishes for the Superintendent.

School Improvement Plans
Key Performance Indicators (coming soon)

Accountability coupled with support is defined by the School Board as clear expectations, aligned resources, defined monitoring structures, customized support structures for schools informed by student achievement, and annual reporting to the public on progress toward attaining the School Board-established student achievement goals.

Supportive Accountability Governance Model

In October 2024, the School Board engaged in a whole board governance training that focused on Theory of Action, enabling them to review and give feedback on various governance models and how they want to effect improvement in the district. School Board Policy BAB emerged from this study and discussion, presented in November and approved for final reading at the December 12 School Board meeting.