Miami Trace Local School District officials discussed their updated strategic plan on Monday when the second-annual “State of the District” address aired online.
First to speak was Miami Trace Local Schools Superintendent Kim Pittser, who thanked those who tuned in to watch the presentation and introduced the current board of education, while also showing appreciation to them for their dedication to the district. Next, she discussed some changes to the mission statement and strategic plan.
“To keep us moving forward, we have revised both the mission statement and the strategic plan,” Pittser said during the video presentation. “The mission statement of Miami Trace is to provide a quality education with opportunities and relationships that cultivate success. In order to accomplish this mission we have created a strategic plan that incorporates large goal areas, strategies, action steps and a timeline to monitor our progress.”
Currently, the plan holds a number of strategies depending on which aspect the district is dealing with at a given time. In relation to teaching and learning, the strategies are to meet the individual needs of all students and create opportunities for students to identify career field connections.
In relation to the district culture, the district’s strategies are committing to supporting the students’ social, emotional and mental health needs as well as utilizing multiple methods of communication in order to inform and initiate discussion with the Miami Trace community.
Next — within district operations — the district will provide professional learning opportunities to all staff that are focused on providing for the needs of at-risk students, and they will effectively communicate the importance of staff and student attendance through the implementation of incentives and informational platforms according to its strategies.
Next to speak was Miami Trace Assistant Superintendent Rob Enochs, who discussed student services. He said that as important as the academic needs are of Miami Trace students, they must also consider the non-academic needs of students, including mental health issues, homelessness, behavioral issues, physical and/or mental trauma, social and emotional issues and hunger.
“In helping students overcome these barriers to learning we have been in the process of developing a wrap-around system of care,” Enochs said. “This simply means that we are attempting to use all available resources and services — both in the schools and outside of the schools — to help address student issues beyond the classroom.”
The first of these services he discussed was the Miami Trace Learning Center — which he said is at the center of the “wrap-around” system. The center was developed to address the needs of those students who are considered the most at-risk. At the learning center the district provides mental health therapy through Eastway, individual and group counseling and the avoidance of at-risk behaviors such as drug or alcohol use, and behavioral unit classrooms for kids with special needs or those who face significant behavioral challenges.
“Outside of the learning center was have partnered with the Counseling Source to provide mental health treatment to students in the individual buildings,” Enochs said. “We also have partnered with the Fayette County Health Department to provide a licensed nurse in each building. Finally, we have worked with the Nationwide Children’s Hospital in implementing a suicide prevention program. It is our intent to expand on these services by partnering with local agencies. We are currently forming relationships with the courts and children services and we hope to include offerings of dental and healthcare services.”
Finally, Enochs discussed the use of a new online registration site called Final Forms. Enochs said parents will receive information later this year on how to create an account with Final Forms. This will be used for registration for the 2021-2022 school year and will be used for new students to the district and kindergartners as well.
The information in this article was provided by Miami Trace Local Schools. Stay with the Record-Herald for information about curriculum and technology at Miami Trace Local Schools in the Thursday, Jan. 28 edition.
Reach Martin Graham at (740) 463-9684 or on Twitter @MartiTheNewsGuy.
