Staffers and board of education members with the Aurora Public Schools district kicked off a listening tour last week to garner feedback on proposed benchmarks aimed at increasing achievement.
The proposed benchmarks are included in a preliminary draft of VISTA 2015, which will help guide the school district for the next five years. The preliminary plan, which will be presented to nearly 100 community groups over the next six months, will dovetail off the original VISTA 2010 plan developed under the guidance of APS superintendent John Barry.
A recent analysis revealed that 93 percent of the objectives in the VISTA 2010 plan have either been completed or showed substantial progress. Those types of results - which were given a B+ grade - are encouraging and show the district is ready to set higher goals, Barry said.
"We're ready to take it to the next level," Barry said.
The areas in which the district fell short in meeting its goals in the 2010 plan will be rolled into the 2015 plan. The analysis revealed APS missed the mark on several of its objectives, including increasing graduation rates, ACT scores and the number of students who go on to enroll in college.
An effort to increase parental involvement and attendance at school events also was given a low mark in the report. In addition, the report showed little or no progress in the number of kids who feel safe at school.
But strides were made in other areas, such as the district's effort to increase partnerships with the community and integrate more technology in the classrooms. For example, APS students are conducting field work at the Anschutz Medical Campus to help prepare students for careers in health sciences field, Barry said.
"We no longer can do this alone," he said. "It's going to require a variety of community partnerships to help us educate our students."
Everyone from senior citizens to city council members will help guide the update of VISTA, or Visionary Instruction Shaping the Transformation of APS. Though Barry continually stresses the objectives in the draft of the 2015 plan are only considerations, he also didn't want to simply come to the community with a blank slate.
"This is the beginning of a six-month conversation," Barry said.
Some of the highlights include a proposed bonus pay program based on student achievement and an effort to increase the 4-year graduation rate by 10 percent each year. To see the draft of the plan, go to vista.aurorak12.org/vista-2015-draft.