Mission accomplished: School improvement plan finished

Eight months after the work first began, the goals of the Carson City School District's first district improvement plan are complete.

Those goals are: 1) to increase test scores in math 2) to increase test scores by English-language learners and 3) to involve more parents in the schools.

Mike Watty, the Carson City School District's associate superintendent for educational services, will present the district improvement plan to school board members Tuesday night at the school board meeting.

"It's been a very very positive process and I think the final product is a great plan," he said.

The district improvement plan is an entirely separate document from the school improvement plans.

However, both are due to the state by Wednesday. And the two plans are integrally connected, according to Pat Carpenter, principal of Empire Elementary School.

"Whatever we're doing at the school should mirror what's going on at the district," she said. "We need to be on the same page."

She joined the district improvement plan team to ensure that that those goals reflected Empire's goals and vice versa.

The school and district improvement plans are required under Senate Bill 1, which passed in 2003, and aligns state law with No Child Left Behind federal legislation.

"This should help us become more effective and efficient," Carpenter said.

The legislation also requires a state improvement plan. Watty has worked on plans at the state, the district and the schools.

"All three levels of plans were done at the same time," he said. "We haven't had the opportunity to look at them all together."

But Senate Bill 1 requires the district improvement plan to be reviewed every year. Any variations can be worked out in the future.

"It's never finished," said Ruth Aberasturi, the Carson City School District director of student support services. "It will be revised ongoing as the needs appear."

Aberasturi worked on the 40-plus page plan with others several times each month.

"It was a matter of working it through so we have a kind of consensus," she said. "I thought it was a terrific exercise."

Contact reporter Maggie O'Neill at mo'neill@nevadaappeal.com or 881-1219.