Greetings from the ISD Board of Trustees.
Our Board committees have commenced for the year with lots of action on financial planning, construction, policy developments, governance issues and strategic planning.
At our 20 September 2018 Board meeting, we confirmed the Board and Director’s Goals for 2018-2019. They are:
BOARD GOALS
1. Develop a methodology to evaluate the current strategic plan and design a comprehensive process for updating or creating future strategic plans.
2. Identify the preferred option of Board composition to increase effectiveness and Governance at ISD.
3. Explore, select and define an initial model for an expanded inclusion of students with special learning needs at ISD.
DIRECTOR’S GOALS
4. Complete design phase of pool and determine construction timeline. Finish construction of PAC and athletic complex within budget.
5. Successful implementation of IB PYP, MYP, and DP to improve student performance
6. Explore, propose, and define an initial model for an expanded inclusion of students with special learning needs at ISD.
7. All students at ISD will make a difference in the life of someone outside the school walls. (Multi-year goal)
We will update the community on progress towards these goals throughout the year via our Jag Journal entries and we will also report on them at the Annual General Meeting next April.
The Board also discussed three policies:
We held a second reading and voted to adopt the compassionate enrollment policy. This new policy gives the Director and Board Chair jointly the discretion to allow a child who does not normally attend ISD to attend the school for up to one month without paying school fees. This policy was developed in response to two incidences in the past two years where circumstances have put children in emergency situations. This policy gives clarity about when and how the school can assist.
We also held first readings of an amendment to the Leave Without Pay Policy (amendment being proposed for clarity) and the introduction of a policy requiring the school to have a Code of Conduct. The Code of Conduct to be signed by teachers has been developed to support the school’s Child Protection Policy.
Both policies will be considered again by the Policy Committee before a second reading before the full Board in our October meeting. If you have any comments on the proposed changes to school policy, you can email the Policy Committee Chair, Anne Peters on boardbox@faculty.isd.sn.
Finally, the Board finalized the terms of reference for each of its committees this year, along with confirming our Governance Agreement. This agreement outlines how we will approach our duties as trustees.
We are now looking forward to diving into a productive year of strategic thinking and planning to support the long-term vision of the school.
Please contact us on boardbox@faculty.isd.sn with any questions.
Kind regards
Louisa Gibbs
Chair, ISD Board of Trustees