Superintendent's Message

August 2018

On behalf of our entire professional staff of Westport Public Schools, I welcome you to the 2018-19 school year. The body of our work continues to remain embedded in our District Strategic Plan, and I share a link with you regarding the goals of that plan, and past accomplishments of the District upon which those goals were crafted.

Westport Public Schools Strategic Plan 2017-2020: Executive Summary

As you review the work before us, my vision for our work is also provided to provide context for our goals.

Superintendent’s Vision Statement

Westport Public Schools empowers and inspires its students to make the world a better place.

Westport Public Schools will be a global leader among all PK-12 educational institutions. It will support each student’s journey in a personalized pathway of success for optimal outcomes in academic achievement, social/emotional development, and personal wellness. Students will have active roles in charting their own learning journeys based upon their passions and attributes, while developing their own leadership capabilities. Skills and knowledge required to thrive in a global environment will be embedded seamlessly throughout their educational experiences. Learning can happen any time, any place, and will be routinely enriched by authentic experiences. Our District will conduct all of its work aligned to its Guiding Principles and empower each member of its team to actualize, communicate, and hold our District accountable to these beliefs in all aspects of its work. Westport Public Schools’ culture of agility and innovation will allow it to successfully adapt to any new trend or challenge as it relentlessly remains focused on the best for every child, every day.

It will achieve this by:

• sustaining a continuous focus to ensure that our District culture emulates understanding, acceptance, and respect of diversity for all students, staff, and families.
• aggressively seeking to eliminate any growth gaps between subgroups of students who are entrusted to its care. It will ensure that equity of opportunity is assured for each student through its network of educational pathways, systems of support, and personalized learning approaches.
• remaining relentless in its journey of continuous improvement through systemic and thoughtful data analysis and ongoing stakeholder feedback. It will cultivate creativity, innovation to promote dynamic and improved ways of achieving the District’s work.
• seeking, nurturing, and leveraging partnerships with resources, groups, or individuals who further the work of the District. Student learning will not be bound by the school day, the walls of our schools, or academic year.
• recruiting, developing, and retaining its talent pool to sustain an organization of great thinkers, talented individuals, and committed and caring team members. It will empower individuals at all levels to contribute to the District’s work. It will engender the core belief of each team member that the success of the entire District is everyone’s responsibility.
• remaining forward thinking in its work, yet maintaining agility in responding to emerging needs. Resources will be allocated by needs of the system, focusing on both effectiveness and efficiency.
• remembering and cherishing the fact that the District has been entrusted with the care and education of the next generation of Westport.

Westport Public Schools will remain a hallmark of excellence in education, a community of learners that cherishes every student, and a treasure of the community of Westport.

Sincerely,

Colleen Palmer