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Download the 2023-24 School Improvement Plan here.
Ready for the World
Diman Regional Vocational Technical High School
2023 – 2024
School Improvement PlanGreater Fall River Vocational School District School Committee
Paul Jennings - Westport, Chairperson
Jeffrey Begin - Swansea
Donald DiBiasio - Somerset
Rajiv Nehra - Fall River
Joan Menard - Fall River
Father Jay Mello - Fall RiverSuperintendent-Director
Brian S. BentleyAssistant Superintendent-Principal
Andrew D. Rebello
I am excited to share the 2023-2024 School Improvement Plan with our community. The effects of the pandemic have highlighted the critical role that our school plays in supporting our student's academic, vocational, and social-emotional growth. As we look towards the future, it is essential that we build upon our successes and continue to innovate in order to meet the evolving needs of our students, staff, and community.
Informed by the input obtained from our many stakeholders, including students, employees, parents, and the community, and the effort of the School Improvement Committee, this plan will guide the work of our school. Diman will continue to strive for organizational excellence and, in turn, continue to provide the world-class education and opportunities that our students deserve.
Our School Improvement Plan for the coming year is built on three pillars: Student Well-Being, Academic & Vocational Excellence, and Informed, Engaged, & Empowered Stakeholders. These pillars reflect our core values and priorities as a school and will guide our efforts to improve our students' educational experiences and outcomes.
This plan was designed to leverage the critical work the school has been leading and build upon that work in innovative ways so we may be even more responsive to the needs of our students and school community. We have an amazing workforce of educators, school leaders, and staff ready to bring this plan to life in our school.
Our school improvement plan reflects our unwavering commitment to providing an exceptional education to our students while fostering their well-being and engagement. We are committed to being responsive to the needs of our students and community and will make changes as needed. Together, we can ensure that our school remains a beacon of academic excellence, vocational training, and student well-being.
Andrew D. Rebello
Assistant Superintendent-PrincipalOverview of the 2023 – 2024 School Improvement Planning Process
Each year, Diman develops a School Improvement Plan to define its overall strategy and goals to achieve growth, close gaps, and improve the overall quality of education students experience. To accomplish this, a committee is initiated to guide the school in critical decision-making that will ultimately affect students, employees, and the community. This committee, comprised of students, parents, educators, administrators, and community members, assesses the current state of the school’s progress and identifies areas of improvement. In conjunction with the committee’s meetings and planning were our stakeholder outreach and partnership in developing our plan. Through three stakeholder specific surveys, we discovered the needs of our school community. We are proud to report that over 500 students, parents, & educators participated in our survey.
The 2023 – 2024 School Improvement Plan
To effectively implement our goals, the committee has proposed three high-level pillars that represent critical areas we will focus on over the next year. Each pillar contains several goals we believe are required to successfully support the pillar, as well as measures of success and associated targets so we can gauge our progress in meeting our goals. Strategies are specific actions we can take at the school to advance these priorities and help us meet our targets.
The three pillars of our School Improvement Plan are:
Student Well Being
Academic & Vocational Excellence
Informed, Empowered, Engaged Stakeholders
Pillar 1:
Student Well BeingIn order for our students to thrive in our school and fully engage in their educational experience, we must also commit to creating environments where they feel safe, welcome, connected and excited to learn. This pillar represents our commitment to serving the whole child – attending to the social, emotional, and physical health and wellness of our students so they are prepared and energized to focus on learning, growing, and building meaningful connections at school.
Priority One: Design and sustain welcoming, safe, connected, and inclusive summer programming.
Objective: Bring together stakeholders to support learning and skills development during the summer helping students develop academic, vocational, and social-emotional skills. Students will participate in summer options and will show a 5% increase on the yearly Student Equity Survey question: overall, how connected do you feel at your school?
Action Strategies
Timeline
Person/People Responsible
Create an interest survey for staff and students to highlight programs they would be interested in facilitating and participating in.
Summer 2023
Principal, Administrators, Bengal Challenge Coordinators and Teachers
Develop and provide a wide range of summer learning experiences that help students develop academic, vocational, and social-emotional skills.
AY 2024
Summer Programming Coordinator, Principal
Priority Two: Promote whole-child well-being through integrated wellness, social-emotional, and mental health services.
Objective: Through the development of SEL and MH supports, students will show a 5% increase on the yearly School Improvement question: Diman has a focus on meeting students’ needs.
Action Strategies
Timeline
Person/People Responsible
Provide a continuum of mental and physical health services for students and families at school and through telehealth programs.
AY 2024
Principal, Mental Health Committee
Establish a team of support personnel to provide services that promote student wellness.
AY 2024
Principal, Administration, Mental Health Committee, School Adjustment Counselor
Conduct an inventory of whole-child resources in the community to facilitate access and referrals to needed services.
AY 2024
Principal, Mental Health Committee, Guidance Counselors
Leverage community wellness centers and partnerships to promote safe, welcoming, and resource-rich environments for students and families.
AY 2024
Principal
Deploy Tier 1 & Tier 2 mental health supports to proactively discover and address students in need.
AY 2024
Guidance Department, Mental Health Team, ASPIRE teachers
Priority Three: Design and sustain student connection opportunities promoting social-emotional growth and wellness.
Objective: Connection opportunities will focus students on learning, growing, and building meaningful connections at school. Students will show a 5% increase on the yearly Student Equity Survey question: overall, how connected do you feel at your school?
Action Strategies
Timeline
Person/People Responsible
Partner with the Parent Teacher Organization & Parent Advisory Council to hold school events.
AY 2024
Principal, PAC, PTO
Collaborate regularly with the Student Government to carry out social events and activities: Dodgeball Tournament, Powder Puff Game, Staff vs. Student Basketball Tournament, etc.
AY 2024
Principal, Administration, Student Government
Develop a “Cultural Passport Program,” a program to provide students access to the Arts.
AY 2024
Principal, Advisors
Pillar 2:
Academic & Vocational ExcellenceWe believe in the potential of our students, and realizing that potential is only possible when we recognize, empower, and support our staff. Our commitment to produce life-ready students, as well as their academic, vocational, and personal growth and success, must be mirrored in our investments to sustain ongoing professional development, growth, and opportunities to contribute to the direction of our school.
Priority One: Increase school-wide reading and literacy initiatives.
Objective: Increase student reading levels and literacy school-wide. Benchmark data will see an increase on EOY assessment data.
Action Strategies
Timeline
Person/People Responsible
The English Language Arts Department will review and analyze the Renaissance platform for benchmark testing for all grade levels.
AY 2024
Principal, Assistant Principal of Academic Affairs, ELA Department
Deliver professional development session(s) for staff on reading levels to develop a common understanding of strategies and best reading practices to use with their content area.
AY 2024
Administrators, ELA Dept.
Establish a Literacy Committee to develop a school-wide Literacy Plan.
AY 2024
Administrators, Teachers
Priority Two: Establish professional learning groups that are intentionally designed to connect educators across our school community to collaborate and share high-leverage teaching practices.
Objective: Bolster teaching best practices school-wide and increasing staff collaboration. Data will show a 5% increase on the yearly Staff Equity Survey question: overall, how connected do you feel at your school?
Action Strategies
Timeline
Person/People Responsible
Create an Instructional Practices Committee to develop a school-wide high-leverage teaching practice focus.
AY 2024
Administrators, Teachers
Develop and reestablish school-wide Learning Walks.
AY 2024
Teachers, Staff, Administrators
Priority Three: Empower educators to identify their own learning priorities.
Objective: Deploy academic and vocational instructional coaching opportunities through a variety of options. The EOY SIP Survey will show a 5% increase in the question: Educators were empowered to effect change.
Action Strategies
Timeline
Person/People Responsible
Better Lesson Instructional Learning Platform
AY 2024
Administrators, Teachers
Research for Better Teaching: Skillful Teacher Training
AY 2024
Teachers, Staff, Administrators
Colleague to Colleague Program: peer- to-peer teacher consultant initiative that provides teachers with job-embedded support through peer assistance and coaching.
AY 2024
Administrators, Teachers
Pillar 3:
Informed, Engaged, & Empowered StakeholdersOur families are critical partners in preparing students to be life-ready. We firmly believe the continuous growth of Diman students can only be accomplished by continuing to inform and grow stakeholders within our community.
Priority One: Enhance and diversify communication strategies to strengthen stakeholder understanding.
Objective: Diman families will receive robust education and onboarding related to educational partnerships, technical practices, and advocacy opportunities. Grade 9 and all Diman families will report a 3% increase in effective school year preparation on the 2024 Mid-Year Review Survey.
Action Strategies
Timeline
Person/People Responsible
Re-vamp our rising grade 9 parent & family orientation. Families will gain knowledge of the Diman culture, expectations, and rationale, as well as hands-on, on-the-spot ASPEN Parent Portal training.
AY 2024
Principal, Administration, IT Department
Create a Week of Welcome for the Diman Community. Families will participate in a week of presentations to prepare them for the school year. Presentations will include ASPEN training, how to contact teachers, expectations related to discipline, attendance, and academic & vocational regulations.
August 2023
Principal, Administration, Parent Liaison
Priority Two: Sustain strong lines of communication with students, families, and employees.
Objective: The 2024 Mid-Year Review Survey will show a 5% increase in the Strongly Agree and Agree categories for teacher and administrator communication.
Action Strategies
Timeline
Person/People Responsible
Diman’s IT Department will implement automatic ASPEN grading notifications. Families will be notified when their child’s grade drops below 70 in a specific course.
AY 2024
IT Department
The Administration and the IT Department will collaborate to research and implement a Diman smartphone application. Students, families, and staff will have the ability to receive on- the-spot notifications.
AY 2024
Principal, Administration, IT Department
Non-Discrimination Statement
The Greater Fall River Vocational School District/Diman Regional Vocational-Technical High School prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, creed, sex, age, marital status, national origin, mental or physical disability, political belief or affiliation, veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, genetic information and any other class of individuals protected from discrimination under state or federal law in any aspect of the access to, admission, or treatment of students in its programs and activities, or in employment and application for employment. Furthermore, District/School policy includes prohibitions of harassment of students and employees, i.e., racial harassment, sexual harassment, and retaliation for filing complaints of discrimination.
