Broughton touts DCPS achievements
Broughton announced the new initiatives as part of his 'capstone' presentation to the board. The capstone is an annual requirement, to show the board the superintendent is meeting Kentucky Association of School Administrators 'Next Generation Superintendent's Effectiveness Standards.'
Broughton, who is finishing his first year as DCPS superintendent, told board members about what he'd done to increase communication about district standards to teachers and staff, and had worked to boost academics and 'customer service' interactions with students and parents.
'I'm excited about what's going on in this district,' Broughton said.
Broughton said when he was hired as superintendent, he committed, 'that every day I would be collaborating, communicating and I would hold myself accountable.'
The district is 'striving in every day' to provide a high-quality education, Broughton said.
Board member Tom Payne told Broughton later in the presentation, 'The DCPS board had very high expectations, because we think we are in the top five in the state' among school districts.
Payne complimented Broughton's emphasis on student safety, student learning and his communication with the board.
'We expect a lot, and you certainly met our expectations,' Payne said.
Broughton announced two new programs planned, with the first starting over the summer and the second during the 2025-26 school year.
In June, the district will hold its first summer camp for gifted and talented students, Broughton said.
While the district offers services to a wide variety of students, 'at times we forget about those upper-level kids,' Broughton said. '...I want us to offer a camp to support them.'
Broughton announced the district would launch a teacher prep academy during the coming school year, for students who are interested in pursuing teaching careers. The academy is being created in conjunction with Western Kentucky University, Kentucky Wesleyan College and Owensboro Community & Technical College, Broughton said.
Broughton said the academy will be a way for the district to potentially create the next generation of DCPS teachers.
'Hopefully, they'll come back' to DCPS when they become teachers, Broughton said.
The Kentucky Association of School Administrators 'Next Generation' standards range from growing the district academically and helping students prepare for college or careers to providing professional development opportunities for faculty and staff. The standards also focus on superintendents growing as leaders.
To foster communication, 'I met with every department within DCPS,' Broughton said. Part of those meetings were to discuss expectations of staff, and also 'what I expected out of myself,' he said.
Among the goals the district accomplished during the school year was the creation of an online tutoring service, which operates nightly Monday through Thursday and is open to any DCPS student.
Broughton said while the hope is the service will be used by more students, 'it is out there and students are using it.'
Some goals for the coming year include completing the renovation of the new central office building on Frederica Street, and the implementation of morphology plans at five district schools. Morphology is the teaching of parts of words. According to a November 2023 article in Education Week, the use of morphology has been shown to have a 'modest effect' on reading, vocabulary and spelling.
The district will track morphology instruction in the five schools, with plans to expand to other schools in the future, Broughton said.
Regarding customer service, Broughton said the district staff embraced the '12X12X12' initiative at the beginning of the school year, where teachers and staff all worked to have 12 short conversations with 12 students by noon each day.
Some students 'may not have an adult look them in the eye and ask them how their summer was,' Broughton said, and that the initiative to actively engage students on a personal level 'set the tone' for the school year.
Broughton said that emphasis on customer service extended to the staff, who were instructed to answer phone calls by asking, 'how may I help you?'
'I do believe we are here to serve the community,' Broughton said. 'We are here to serve our students.'
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