Department of Education Commissioner Dionne Wells-Hedrington recently held a “State of the Union,” four-day tour in efforts of meeting with principals of the department’s 24 schools to collaboratively push student success. 

The meetings were held in-person from Jan. 24-27. The conferences allowed principals the space to openly share on topics like enrollment numbers, student test scores, graduation rates, student mental health and wellness, parental involvement, etc. 

At the start of the school leader’s presentations Wells-Hedrington said,” I want you to set aside the titles of everyone in this room and be completely transparent in your presentations.” The meetings were needed for her to hear firsthand the needs of the schools, provide additional support and to hold school leaders accountable for producing the desired outcomes for students. 

Each school received a budget of $250,000 and will be given an annual budget through the Consolidation Grant application. The funding is purposely for the execution of plans to improve student scores and overall learning.  She said,” We are placing the responsibility of teaching and learning back into the hands of the schools.” “Each school has received adequate funding that should be used to implement plans that will benefit students. This is an important part of the department’s transformation into an institution that truly serves students.” 

Another round of meetings will be held in May to analyze the effectiveness of the plans that were put in effect at the schools.

Source: VI Daily News