The Examiner U-46 News Feed

Johnson’s goal detailed for early childhood programs

By Seth Hancock
  As recently reported, the Board of Education in School District U-46 approved of goals for Superintendent Suzanne Johnson on Dec. 11, 2023.
  The nine-page document includes five goals which include performance goals for Johnson, how the goal aligns with the district’s mission, how the goals are measured, primary action needed and a timeline.
  This week, The Examiner will review the third goal which states: “U-46 will increase access to and enrollment in high quality early childhood programs.”
  On Johnson’s performance goal, the document states she will provide an updates to the board on the current five-year plan for providing access and opportunities to more students annually.
  “This goal is directly aligned to making great days for early childhood learning and future generations of U-46 students will have great days in elementary, middle and high school as a result of benefitting from the high quality early childhood instruction,” the document states on how the goal aligns with the district.
  Measurement of the goal will be various data such as surveys and transportation as well as recruitment, retention and teacher diversity. Also looked at its how it correlates to future attendance, testing, graduation and behavior rates as well as the state’s early childhood evaluation.
  There are eight primary actions listed in the document: “Define high quality early childhood programming; Review the early childhood audit and implement recommendations; Identify facility access for additional early childhood classrooms placed across the school district; Recruit and retain certified staff; Increase student access to bilingual staff; Apply for and receive additional early childhood grants to enhance programming and learning spaces; Regular and ongoing communication to community stakeholders, current families and potential families for early childhood enrollment; and, Add transportation to increase student access to early childhood programming.”
  The timeline states that it is a seven-year goal and is dependent on the shift to a sixth to eighth grade middle school model as well as “building closures, rebuilding plans, revised transportation routes. Incremental points of implementation should occur with significant changes to begin in 2029,” the document states.