The Vista Unified Board of Trustees completed the LCAP Public Hearing on June 20, 2019. Final direction was given by the Board to revise the draft Blueprint and LCAP. The Board will meet on June 27, 2019 to approve the Blueprint and LCAP.
Click HERE to view the final Blueprint for Educational Excellence and Innovation for the 2019-20 school year.
Click HERE to view the final LCAP (Local Control Accountability Plan) for the 2019-20 school year. (Español)
THE BLUEPRINT HOUSE OF LEARNING
The House of Learning is simple, visual representation of the Blueprint for Educational Excellence and Innovation. This graphic is our theory of action highlighting the importance of many systems working together to create the right conditions to transform teaching and learning into an engaging, relevant and personal learning journey. Our goal is that each of the eight strategies work together to build a house of learning that will inspire every student to persevere as a critical thinker to solve real world problems.
2018-2019 BLUEPRINT AND LCAP
Please click HERE (Español) to access the final version of the LCAP for 2018-19.
Please click HERE (Español) to view the final version of the Blueprint for Educational Excellence and Innovationfor 2018-19.
SCIENCE OF IMPROVEMENT: HOW TO IMPROVE
The Vista Unified School District is committed to continuous improvement in every aspect of the organization from promoting high levels of students achievement, to maintaining safe and secure facilities, to promoting active partnerships with local businesses, to securing access to university admission for all high school graduates. Continuous improvement requires on-going strategic planning. The Model for Improvement we use requires on-going strategic planning, and it is a simple yet powerful tool for accelerating improvement.
The model has two parts:
- Three fundamental questions, which can be addressed in any order.
- The Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle to test changes in real work settings. The PDSA cycle guides the test of a change to determine if the change is an improvement.
The application of this methodology is organized around three big questions. (See the figure on the right.) The first encourages us to get clear about the specific problem we are trying to solve. The second demands some reasoned explanation about the particular changes to be attempted (given the problem we are trying to solve) and what we expect these changes to accomplish. The third question-how will we know if the changes introduced are actually an improvement-encourages an empirical orientation. We tend to believe in the power of our own ideas; we need data to push back at us and challenge what we believe to be true.
Each plan-do-study-act (PDSA) cycle is akin to a mini-experiment. It begins with articulating the change and recording predictions about what we expect will happen (plan); attempting the change and documenting what in fact did happen (do); comparing the results to the predictions (study); and then deciding on what to do next (act). The Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle is shorthand for testing a change in the actions and services provided to students - by planning it, trying it, observing the results, and acting on what is learned. This is the scientific method adapted for action-oriented learning.
Continuous improvement requires on-going strategic planning. The Vista Unified School District completed a year long process of feedback and revision to the Blueprint for Educational Excellence and Innovation intended to ensure that students at all grade levels have access to, and are actively engaged in, a learning path that will lead to a seamless transition into successful college and career opportunities. The annual revision process of the Blueprint started in September and included parents, community members, teachers, staff, and students. All district plans, systems, policies, and procedures are required to align to the strategies outlined in the Blueprint.
The Vista Unified Framework for the Futureestablishes the anchor points that serve as the foundation for teaching and learning, and other support systems within the school district. The first anchor point is setting a clear vision for the future, providing a sense of direction of where we want to go and what we want to become as school district. The second anchor point is the establishment of a mission that serves to define the overall purpose of the district, outlining specific language of why we exist. The third anchor point is the commitment to a set of values that all members of the school district (parents, students, teachers, and staff) will follow in order to ensure that all learning environments support the positive academic and behavioral growth of all students. The fourth anchor point is establishing a set of beliefs that convert the values to convictions, describing the character of the district as a living organization. The fifth anchor point is establishing strategic parameters that will keep the district focused and efficient, serving as the formula that will lead the district to actualize the vision of becoming The Model for Educational Excellence and Innovation.
FRAMEWORK FOR THE FUTURE
Vision
Our vision in Vista Unified is to be the model of educational excellence and innovation.
Mission
The purpose of Vista Unified School District is to inspire every student to persevere as a critical thinker who collaborates to solve real world problems.
Values
- RESPECT: treating all with dignity
- TRUST: having confidence that every decision focuses on the best interests of all students
- COLLABORATION: working in a collective partnership with clear two-way dialogue that builds relationships among home, school and the community
Beliefs
We believe that...
- All students have a unique capacity to learn.
- Risk taking, effort and perseverance lead to excellence and innovation.
- Individuals learn and work best in a safe, nurturing environment.
Strategic Parameters
We will always...
- Promote servant leadership qualities in our students, staff, and administration.
- Provide all stakeholders access to transparent information to promote two-way dialogue.
- Include family and community members as partners in education.
We will never...
- Give up on a student.
- Stop learning and improving.
- Tolerate disrespectful attitudes or treatment towards others.
DISTRICT GOAL SETTING
In order for the district to make progress toward the vision, and fully implement the mission, the Superintendent works with the School Board Members to set overarching goals that encompass all programs and support systems for students including achievement, language acquisition, service learning, and school attendance, and climate. Above all else, the goals focus on promoting equity in all learning environments. In fact, the School Board has made Equity a key value for our Framework for the Future. These goals are closely aligned to the California State Board of Education priorities for the development of the Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP). While all of the goals are important, They were developed in tiers of priority. The highest priority is to ensure that all students have proficiency in English language arts, mathematics, and English language development (Goals 1 and 2). The next level of priorities focus on improving graduation rates, providing experience with service learning, expanding opportunities in Science, Technology, Engineering, Art, and Mathematics (STEAM), attendance and behavior (Goals 3, 4, 5 and 6). The final level of priority includes a focus on modeling the district values, improving learning materials and environments, attracting the very best staff and continuing to enhance our reputation for excellence and innovation (goals 7, 8 and 9). Each goal has a specific metric (or metrics) identified to continuously monitor progress toward achieving the goal over time. Click HERE for a detailed overview of the VUSD Goals.
VISTA UNIFIED SCHOOL BOARD GOALS
Español
STRATEGIC PLANNING
The Blueprint for Educational Excellence and Innovation sets a clear vision for the future, includes a purposeful 
mission, promotes positive, student centered environments, and identifies goals for what we expect students to achieve. The word blueprint is defined as "a detailed plan or program of action" (Miriam Webster, 2012).
The Vista Unified School District's Blueprint for Education Excellence and Innovation was designed to provide a plan of action for how the daily educational environment will support students to access the California Common Core State Standards and demonstrate attainment of the School Board Goals. Ultimately, greater levels of student access to the standards and engagement in meaningful, personalized learning environments will lead the district towards realizing the vision of becoming the model of educational excellence and innovation. This planning process led to the strategic parameters that define what the organization will do in a specific, methodical, and consistent way to promote high quality teaching and learning. In other words, the strategic planning process focused on identifying the key actions, services, tasks, and projects necessary to realize the Vision, Mission, Values, and Goals. The annual revision of the Blueprint actively engages all stakeholders (students, parents, teachers, and staff) in a series of community forums held to inform and gather input about how to ensure that Vista Unified becomes the model for educational excellence and innovation. All of the feedback gathered from the community forums, as well as feedback gathered from on-line surveys, is utilized during the strategic planning process.
The strategic planning process is labor intensive because it requires the careful consideration and alignment of a the many different voices of the community. The process also carefully identifies who would be involved in each Strategy and Action Plan, what structure is needed to ensure success, how the Blueprint would be monitored and what timelines are needed to keep track of progress.
A parallel project that is updated annually along side the Blueprint is the Local Control Accountability Plan (LCAP). The LCAP is a component of the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF). Each school district and charter school is required to develop an LCAP to identify goals and actions the district will take to ensure that students have access to the California Common Core State Standards and demonstrate high levels of achievement on a variety of state and local assessments. The information for developing the LCAP is taken directly from the Blueprint for Educational Excellence and Innovation. Please visit the Local Control Funding Formula and the Local Control Accountability Plan webpages for more information.