The District

Holland Public Schools will provide educational excellence through relevant and innovative programming that maximizes the potential of each student in safe, supportive, and respectful learning environments.  

ELA Goal:

All students will be effective readers, writers, and communicators. 

Strategies: 

-Identify and implement Essential Standards for all content areas K-12

-All staff will actively participate in data-driven Professional Learning communities

-Differentiated instruction and grading practices

-Implementation of Daily 5 in TK-5 Classrooms

-Intervention and tutoring provided to students who have not mastered Essential Standards

Math Goal:

All students will be proficient in math skills and have a firm understanding of the practical application of those skills to their life and work. 

Strategies:

-Identify and implement Essential Standards for all content areas K-12

-All staff will actively participate in data-driven Professional Learning communities

-Differentiated instruction and grading practices

-Implementation of Daily 5 in TK-5 Classrooms

-Intervention and tutoring provided to students who have not mastered Essential Standards

English Learners Goal:

All English Learners will become proficient readers, writers, and communicators in English and their native language. 

Strategies: 

-Designated 9-12 EL Instructional Coach

-Additional EL Instructional Support

-Additional staff to reduce student/staff ratio (goal is 30)

-Coordination of community resources to support refugee families

-Professional development for teachers to support English Learners

Wellness/Behavior Goal:

Students will acquire the social and emotional skills to be successful in school, life,  and careers.  

Strategies:

-Implementation of Positive Behavior Support for all students

-Implementation of TRAILS Social and Emotional Learning Curriculum with a focus on empathy, self-awareness, and respect

-Consistent use of Restorative Practices

Programs:

HPS will offer enrichment programs and extra-curricular activities that provide powerful learning and leadership opportunities for all students.  

Strategies:

-Mentorships for students

-Identify and remove barriers to student participation

-Tailor clubs and activities to match student interests

-exposure of opportunities for students (project term, coordination with Holland Rec, etc)

-Track student involvement through parent/teacher conferences 

-Coordination and communication of volunteer opportunities in the community

Holland Public Schools will unite our community around increasing opportunities and success for ALL students through dialogue, networking, and learning among families and community members.

Engage and Inform parents and community members through consistent two-way communication.

Strategies:

-Create and implement a uniform communication plan

-Train staff and parents on communication platforms

-Provide Parent “Hot Topics”  based on needs of families

-Collect and share  parent survey data on a monthly basis

Expand  and coordinate community resources and partnerships to meet the needs of our staff,  students and families. 

Strategies:

–Increase mental health services for students and staff

-Coordination/creation of before/after school programs (childcare)

-expand early childhood/pre-K options

-Provide mentorships and internships for students

-Develop a force of parent and community volunteers that engage in the vision and mission of the district

All students (TK-12) will participate in a minimum of 1 school-sponsored sport, club, or community involvement activity, with 40% of High School students participating in athletics.

Strategies:

-Mentorships for students

-Identify and remove barriers to student participation

-Tailor clubs and activities to match student interests

-exposure of opportunities for students (project term, coordination with Holland Rec, etc)

-Track student involvement through parent/teacher conferences 

-Coordination and communication of volunteer opportunities in the community

Beat enrollment projections by 50 students per year and maintain an enrollment of 2,900 by 2026. 

Strategies:

-Create an implement a uniform communication plan

-increase market share of students choosing Holland Public who live within district boundaries

-All staff will have recruitment and retention goals tied to their annual evaluations

-Survey parents regarding needs and use that information to adjust programming

-Provide before and after-school programming that will attract families

-Streamline the enrollment and registration process

Holland Public Schools will maximize resources for student learning, engagement, and safety.  

The Board of Education will maintain a General Fund balance of 10% while maintaining programs and class sizes that appeal to our community.

Strategies:

-Maximize grant funding

-Streamline internal procedures (staff absences, audits of payroll, identification of redundancies)

-Educate staff and community about funding and spending

- Align personnel, infrastructure, and instructional support resources to current and projected student enrollment

Develop a Facility Master Plan that prioritizes access to academic and extracurricular opportunities for students and the Holland Community

Strategies:

-Create and maintain a facility structure that is sustainable and adaptable

-Provide technology that supports programming and building security

-consistently maintain and update academic and extracurricular facilities

HPS will provide a safe and secure environment for all District students, staff, and visitors and ensure the school district is prepared to effectively respond to all emergencies that might affect the safety or security of students and staff.

Strategies:

-provide regular training to staff and students on current best practices around building security

-assess building security and areas of vulnerability at a minimum of 4 times per year

-provide our personnel with the resources needed to implement the district safety plan

-maintain personnel who are trained and equipped to carry out the school and district safety 

-work collaboratively with community agencies to create and implement a comprehensive emergency response plan

Holland Public Schools will recruit, retain, and invest in highly qualified staff.

HPS will be fully staffed with high-quality educators at the beginning of each school year by implementing an accelerated hiring process and ensuring that all employees are visible and vocal promoters of the District.

Strategies:

-Leverage the Future Educator programs (at HHS and Hope College).

-Incentivize bilingual employees (all employee groups).

-Explore and implement supplemental employee benefits such as loan forgiveness, employee wellness, childcare, and embedded professional development.  

-Utilize a variety of recruitment resources  to expand the scope and reach of prospective candidates beyond West Michigan

-Treat every interaction as an enrollment/recruitment opportunity (e.g. P-T Conferences, college classes).

-Diversify staff hires

HPS will retain 80% of staff members for at least 5 years (from hire date).

Strategies:

-Cultivate staff belonging and engagement through affinity groups 

-Each building identifies a Staff Engagement Chairperson

-Explore and implement supplemental employee benefits such as loan forgiveness, employee wellness, childcare, and embedded professional development

-Staff recognition and celebration programs

-Mentoring for internal  leadership positions

-Robust and ongoing mentoring of new employees (all employee groups).

-Conduct “stay” and “exit” interviews to identify and address employee needs of the district

HPS will provide the best competitive wages, benefits, training, and working environments possible with the resources available.

Strategies:

-Study local/comparable school districts and industry standards for employee wages, benefits, training, and working environments

-Provide meaningful, relevant, and ongoing professional staff development

-Address wages, benefits, training, and working environments through a collaborative Bargaining Process and resolution of collective bargaining agreements/contracts