Superintendent Newsletter: Spring Goal Update to Our Community

The spring goal update is the last look at the data before the year ends. It is where the district can be honest about what is achievable by June, name the final push underway, and prepare families for the end-of-year results that will close the accountability loop.

A superintendent who sends a spring goal update demonstrates that the year's accountability communication has been real all along.

State where the district stands against each annual goal

What does the February or March benchmark data show for each of the district's primary goals? Reading proficiency rates in the early grades. Chronic absenteeism rates through the second quarter. Graduation pace for seniors. Whatever was measured in the fall and mid-year updates should be reported again here, with the same specificity, so families can see the trajectory across the full year.

Be direct about which goals are achievable and which are not

If the spring data shows the district is on pace to meet a goal, say so. If the spring data shows the district is behind pace and the end-of-year target will not be reached, say that too. Families who receive an honest spring assessment are prepared for the end-of-year report. Families who receive an overly optimistic spring assessment feel misled when final results show a shortfall.

Describe the final-semester push

What is the district doing in the remaining weeks to move the needle on its goals? Extended tutoring hours for students close to proficiency benchmarks. Intensive outreach to chronically absent students and their families. Accelerated pacing for students close to graduation requirements. Naming the specific actions in the final stretch demonstrates that the district is not accepting its current trajectory as fixed.

Connect spring results to next year's planning

Whatever the spring data shows will inform how the district sets goals and allocates resources for the following year. Briefly describe this connection. If the data is showing that a particular intervention is working, that is evidence for expanding it next year. If the data is showing that a goal was set too ambitiously or not ambitiously enough, that informs the goal-setting process. Families who see that data drives planning have more confidence in the district's strategic process.

Preview the end-of-year report

Tell families when and how they will receive the end-of-year accountability report. What will it include? When will it arrive? This preview signals that the accountability cycle will complete and that final results will be reported publicly.

Sample excerpt

"Our second benchmark data is in. Our reading goal: 66% of K-3 students are at grade level in February, up from 62% in October and 57% at this point last year. We are on pace to reach our 70% target for the first time. Our attendance goal: chronic absenteeism is at 13.1%, below last year's 13.8% at this point. Both goals are within reach. In the final semester, we are running targeted reading intensives for 340 students who are close to the benchmark, and deploying our attendance team to the 22 families with the highest absence rates. End-of-year results will be published in June."

Daystage delivers this spring goal update to every family inbox in the district, completing the accountability communication arc the community deserves.