The Round Rock ISD Board of Trustees listened to presentations on the District Goals Survey Report, Vertical Learning Communities Feedback Summary and the 2017 Externship program during their regular meeting on October 19.

District Goals Survey Report, Vertical Learning Communities Feedback Summary

The Board of Trustees reviewed analysis of the District Goals Survey, which was open for the public from September 18 to October 1 in an effort to gain community feedback.

A total of 3,032 people responded, with the highest percentage of responses—72.8 percent—coming from parents. In assessing community feedback on the current strategic plan, the survey found that the first goals were rated as somewhat important and goals 6,7 and 8 are moderately important. When given the opportunity to rate goals from similar districts, results submitted placed an emphasis on college and career readiness, social and emotional learning and developing and retaining high-quality school leaders.

The Board also reviewed feedback from the vertical learning community forums held in September. Participants placed a high value on the themes of diversity, social and emotional learning and transparency. Attendees also had the opportunity to share their preferences for communication from the District, articulating a strong preference for electronic communication.

[Presentation]

Externship Program update

The District’s Externship program, where teachers have the opportunity to work with businesses and organizations to gain insight into the current career climate and bring that knowledge back into their classroom, completed its third year.

The program had a record number of 72 participants, which is an increase of 31 from the previous year. Feedback from teachers who participated was overwhelmingly positive with an average 4.7 rating out of 5 on their overall experience and open-ended feedback rated positive as well.

The program is primarily funded by the Texas Workforce Solutions Rural Capital Area Grant, which will continue to provide funding through Summer 2018.

[Presentation]