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• School and department offices should have real time access to administrative files housed at the <br />school district office to increase administrative efficiency. <br />• Students should graduate with the technological skills necessary to be successful in higher <br />education and future careers. <br />• Schools should support efforts to make technology readily accessible to students in their <br />schools, homes, and community. <br />Student recordkeeping should be simplified and enhanced by the replacement of the present <br />antiquated information system with a state -of -the -art system. <br />9. Support and strengthen site -based management <br />In implementing this strategic plan, the Board of Education must rely to a great extent on the <br />support and effectiveness of the School Governance Committees. It is expected that SGCs will <br />become well versed in the plan and will commit themselves to using the plan as a blueprint for <br />future SGC initiatives. Some issues, such as the coordination of curricula across the district, may <br />place some limits on the authority of SGCs while other strategies are almost totally dependent upon <br />the willingness of SGCs to implement them. <br />The district is now into its sixth year of implementation of a formal site -based management <br />model. The effectiveness of this governance strategy is critical to the success of the school district <br />because the responsibility for making major changes in school -based programs and policies has <br />been shifted to school governance committees (SGCs) made up of parents, teachers and other <br />staff, students, and the principal. Some SGCs are operating productively and cooperatively while <br />others, at times, are still struggling with the concept. Concerns that are most prevalent at this time <br />relate to the diversity of the members, the preparation of members to be productive contributors, <br />the degree of interest among constituents to serve on SGCs, and the question of who is ultimately <br />accountable under a site -based management model. The School Board should review the <br />implementation of site -based management in all of the schools in an effort to enhance its <br />effectiveness. <br />Summary <br />• The School Board should review the implementation of site -based management in an effort to <br />enhance its effectiveness <br />• The district should provide adequate support and training for SGC members <br />• SGCs should increase their efforts to be representative of and responsive to the total school <br />community <br />• SGCs should be held accountable for their operations, the decisions that they-make, and the <br />results that are achieved <br />Implementation <br />It was intended from the outset that this strategic plan would provide the district with a <br />blueprint for major directions over the next five years. The plan serves as a reference point against <br />which future, contemplated initiatives may be validated. It is expected that the Board of Education <br />will adopt the strategic plan in the spring of 1997 after providing additional opportunities for public <br />comment. <br />For the most part, the plan developed by the Task Force is consistent with the course which <br />the Board of Education has set for the past several years. Proficiency standards, differentiated <br />instruction, new approaches to gifted and special education, recommendations from the Blue <br />Ribbon Task Force, and personalized education plans are outgrowths of a commitment to high <br />standards for a students and to meeting the unique needs of AU students. In recent years the <br />Board has made significant strides with respect to providing adequate facilities and upgrading the <br />15 <br />