Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Strategic Plan topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board adopts strategic-plan refresh; district moves to standardize grading and homework expectations
Summary
The board voted to adopt Resolution 1268 approving a strategic-plan refresh that emphasizes integrating well-being and learning; administrators outlined steps to standardize grading—including AP calibration—and to set common homework expectations with monitoring and student-family engagement.
The Issaquah School District board adopted a strategic-plan refresh and approved a set of indicators and actions intended to integrate student well‑being and learning, and to tighten consistency in grading and homework practices.
At the June 9 meeting the board voted to adopt Resolution 1268 after administration presentations described crosscutting strategies that place well-being and learning together, and highlight integrated MTSS (multi-tiered systems of support) and Universal Design for Learning (UDL). Marcel Hower and other strategy leads said the refresh centers whole-child wellness, community and belonging, and expanded student pathways including an innovative choice high school.
Assistant Superintendent Jacqueline Downey led a separate presentation on operational expectation 12, describing work this year to increase consistency in high-school grading and homework. She highlighted a district grading-practices advisory committee (GPAC), a full-day AP Calculus AB calibration to eliminate school-to-school grading differences, and plans for common AP grade-bump policies and common course syllabi to be available in August. "Grades should reflect the learning," Downey said, summarizing the guiding principle for the work.
The board's discussion focused on monitoring and enforcement. Directors asked how principals will be trained to calibrate implementation, how timeliness of feedback (required in the collective-bargaining agreement) will be checked, and how student and family feedback will be solicited. Several directors pushed for clearer language on homework expectations—one director suggested prohibiting assigned work over major breaks unless explicitly required—and urged stronger monitoring measures than syllabi alone.
The board approved the resolution after discussion. Administration said it would finalize work plans over the summer, run implementation pilots and convene a multi-stakeholder work group in 2026–27; the stated aim is to enact many changes in full by fall 2027 while rolling out pilot and monitoring activities next year.
What passed: Resolution 1268 adopting the strategic-plan refresh, which includes the crosscutting strategies and the set of proposed indicators for monitoring progress. The board also accepted monitoring report R1 earlier in the meeting, which staff said shows progress on select system health indicators such as graduation rates and belonging measures.
Next steps: staff will develop detailed work plans, calibrate principals and teacher teams in August, solicit student and family feedback through the planned work group and surveys, and report back on progress through the district's monitoring calendar.
