Every child will learn
Our School

 

Our Vision    History    Current State    Future State

 

STRATEGIC PLAN FOR

EAST SIDE CHARTER SCHOOL

AND

EASTSIDE COMMUNITY LEARNING CENTER

 

2007 - 2010

 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

 

 

WHO WE ARE

 

In 1997, individuals associated with the Eastlake public housing project located in an underserved neighborhood in northeast Wilmington started up the East Side Charter School (ESCS) to educate children in a safe, caring and nurturing environment so they would excel academically and socially. Also, part of the vision was to create a community center to impact positively the school’s students, families and others in the area. In September 2005, ESCS moved to the larger, vacant Martin Luther King Elementary School, awarded by the City of Wilmington, to handle the growing student enrollment. In March 2006, the ESCS Board of Directors renamed these facilities the East Side Community Learning Center to reflect more accurately the original vision to create a community learning center with a strong school for young children and, importantly, a center to enrich the experiences of everyone in the community.

 

Today, ESCS has students from Pre-K through Grade 8 with a waiting list. Academic performance, as measured by student scores on the Delaware Student Testing Program (DSTP), was strong from 2000 through 2003, but has declined since then.

 

WHERE WE ARE

 

The Board of Directors has a passion to be successful and is already taking numerous steps to reinvigorate the academic program and to realize the vision of becoming an effective community learning center.

·        A year long, thorough planning effort involving all stakeholder groups (board, faculty, staff, parents) has led to the creation of a three year strategic plan incorporating the steps needed to propel ESCS to become a leading Delaware charter school.

·        The Board has been increased to include all talents and experience needed to accomplish this effort.

·        Management has been realigned to better allow seasoned, experienced educators to accomplish the goals of both the East Side Charter School and East Side Community Learning Center.

 

 

 

WHERE WE WANT TO GO

         

The principal strategic thrusts laid out in the plan to accomplish the goals are:

 

          1. Academic Program - Continuously and systematically develop the capacity to provide superior academic and developmental programs and experiences for all students as measured by each student’s success.

 

          2. Physical Assets - Optimize the design and utilization of all physical assets, including transportation, to meet our goals for ESCS & ESCLC.

 

          3. Technology - Leverage Information Age technologies and new teaching methodologies to improve the capacity to teach and communicate.

 

          4. Strategic Partners - Build a meaningful, supportive, interactive network of stakeholders and partnerships committed to students’ success, focusing initially on teachers, parents, mentors and community partners.

 

          5. Fund Raising - Raise funds annually to cover the operating budget shortfall and to complete all upgrades to the physical plant.

 

          6. Parent Involvement - All of the above initiatives must incorporate significant involvement by parents so that the students are supported at home as well as at school in their efforts to achieve.

 

 November 2007