Walker County Schools is seeking feedback from the community on its new long-term goals. The district’s coordinator for federal funds, Autumn Hentz, hosted a virtual meeting on July 20 to outline the district’s upcoming plans.
While part of the requirements for federal funding through the Every Student Succeeds Act, which requires school districts to get feedback annually from constituents, the meeting outlined goals that emerged over the past year, both as a result of the pandemic and of meetings with students, teachers and other community members.
The district has already submitted a draft of its Comprehensive Local Educational Agencies Improvement Plan to the state, which is now being shared with the wider community before the plan is finalized and funds are received.
Hentz outlined several overarching goals, including increasing attendance and graduation rates, student engagement and academic achievement, as well as better support for educators.
Increased student attendance leads to higher graduation rates, Hentz said. The district is looking to decrease student absences by 3% by May 2022 as compared to the 2019-2020 school year, since the 2020-2021 school year data were skewed by impacts of the coronavirus pandemic such as quarantines.