Superintendent: Orange City shows growth on state report card; strategic plan process underway

At the Sept. 27 meeting the Orange City School District superintendent said the district's performance index on the recent state report card improved by about 3 percentage points from the prior year and highlighted a high star rating overall, and introduced a forthcoming strategic planning process.

The superintendent told the board that staff participated in a special professional development day covering textbook adoption, student-data systems, classroom technology and crisis response, and that external consultants from the Impact Group provided an overview of the district's strategic plan phases. "It was a very productive day," the superintendent said, describing training in assessment review, nonviolent crisis prevention (CPI) and front-office safety.

Board members asked that the district record and narrate the Oct. 7 retreat presentation so community members can review it; the superintendent confirmed a narrated version will be posted on the district website. The superintendent also invited board members and the public to send questions in advance of the Oct. 7 retreat to help tailor the presentation.

The superintendent characterized the state report card results as a rebound from the COVID years, noting that "we gained 3% over last year's performance index" and pointing to star rankings where 4 indicates above expectations and 5 indicates significantly above expectations. The board agreed to discuss the report card in more detail at the Oct. 7 retreat.

The superintendent provided no additional policy changes tied to the report card at the Sept. 27 meeting; the report card discussion was presented as context for the district's ongoing strategic planning and accountability work.