The use of human-centered design in Shaler Area School District has been very successful. Some of the accomplishments achieved through this process are included below.
5 Pillars
Following the initial work to identify areas of strength and weakness in the district, a task force organized the information and feedback into five main pillars to focus efforts to improve the district and build on success.
Mission, Vision, Core Values
The human-centered design process identified a need to update the district's mission, vision, and core values. The process also was used to create a new mission, vision, and core values, which will guide planning for the future.
Employee engagement survey
A survey was completed by the entire teaching staff in the summer of 2017 to provide district leadership with baseline information to determine areas of strength and areas for growth within each school building and the district.
Focus Areas (by building)
From the employee engagement survey, district administrators identified a need to better communicate the educational initiatives in the district with focus, follow through, implementation, and evaluation. Starting in the 2017-18 school year, school leaders identified the biggest areas of focus at each building level in a document shared with the entire school community. At the end of the school year, staff will evaluate the success of their efforts and use that information to plan for the following school year.
Act 48 Professional Learning Committee
A committee of teachers and administrators was formed to review and plan the professional development schedule for the year to provide more focused and meaningful opportunities for teachers.
Finance presentations: April, May, June 2017
The human-centered design process identified the need to improve transparency within the district, so in the spring of 2017, the central office administrators met with all staff at their buildings to present the 2017-18 budget and district finance information. The administrators presented the same information to parent groups and at public meetings.
10 Things every Shaler Area parent should know
To address the need to provide additional communication to district families, Shaler Area released the "10 Things every Shaler Area parent should know" at the beginning of the 2017-18 school year. The flyer included some of the most important information for district families and directions for where to go with additional quesitons or concerns.