Iowa School for the Deaf has a new strategic plan, beginning this August. Along with departments serving both Iowa Educational Services for Blind & Visually Impaired and Iowa School for the Deaf, the five-year plan was formulated over the 2021-2022 school year.
At the Board of Regents, State of Iowa meeting in early June, the plan was approved. Highlights of the plan:
Education Program
Goal 1 Improve the level of academic and social/emotional supports we provide to ISD students
Objective Establish and implement a Multi-Tiered System of Supports by moving over at least one level in the indicators of universal instruction, intervention systems, and assessment and data-based decision-making on the Self-Assessment Implementation rubric.
Outreach Program
Goal 1 Develop multilingual, culturally considerate informational brochures that explain each of the five programs to be distributed via email, social media, and the new ISD website.
Objective 1 Create one concise brochure with summary information for each of the five outreach programs.
Objective 2 Develop specific brochures for each of the three largest and highest impact sub-programs; Interpreting Intensive Study, ASL Classes, and Mentoring Program.
Objective 3 Develop flyers which will be updated annually for each event; DCC, Explore ASL, Immersion Conference, Summer Camp, Webinars, Family-Focused Workshops, Day Camps.
Goal 2 Develop budgets and sustainable models of funding for each outreach initiative.
Objective 1 Create anticipated budgets for programs seeking funding: Language Resources Program and Family Resources Program.
Objective 2 Routinely research, identify, and apply for applicable state and federal projects and grants through local and state agencies to fund opportunities for the Language Resources and Family Resources Programs.
Student Life
Goal 1 Develop and implement opportunities for personal and professional development for staff and training and support for students and families to address social-emotional needs our students.
Objective 1 Professional development plan will be implemented for the Student Life department.
Objective 2 Increase student understanding of social-emotional needs by providing educational opportunities.
Objective 3 Increase parent/family engagement by providing up to four social-emotional learning opportunities a year.
Human Resources
Goal Improve the recruitment process and practices to effectively access potential applicants.
Objective Develop individualized recruitment plans for TOD, TVI, OMS, and School Assistants (ISD).
Business Operations
Goal 1 Increase efficient use of I-Visions.
Objective Study all iVisions processes to determine what changes can be made to increase efficiencies in operations. Goal 2 Increase campus security.
Objective Based on an evaluation and recommendations for additional video surveillance, ISD will install additional cameras in recommended areas on campus. Goal 3 All staff have technology that is current and meets their needs.
Objective All staff will have access to hardware and software needed to fulfill position related responsibilities by July 2025.
Administration
Goal 1 Improve agency effectiveness by ensuring relevance of programs and services
Objective Implement a review process that aligns areas of programming and services with the mission driven work of the agencies.
Goal 2 Ensure both internal and external stakeholders are informed about agency progress to achieve strategic goals.
Objective Develop and implement a system for regular communication with internal and external stakeholders about progress to achieve objectives in the strategic plan.
Communication
Goal 1 Raise stakeholder awareness of Iowa Education for Deaf and Blind as a trusted resource and school/program of choice.
Objective 50% percent of referral sources will be able to identify at least one unique service, program or outcome provided by each agency.
Goal 2 Engage stakeholders to become advocates for services and programs offered from Iowa Education for Deaf & Blind.
Objective 1 50% referral sources will be able to identify examples of how they referred other stakeholders to programs and services offered by Iowa Education for Deaf and Blind.
