Adoption of District Goals and Guardrails

The Board shall establish and maintain Goals and Guardrails in partnership with the Superintendent. The Goals and Guardrails guide the District’s strategic plan and are based on the community’s vision and values for Seattle Public Schools’ students and District strategies to improve student outcomes.

Requirements for District Goals

The Board commits to periodically reviewing and revising the District Goals adopted in Board Policy No. 0020, Goals for the District, using a SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, and Time-Bound) framework. The District will maintain at least one and no more than five SMART goals that reflect our community’s vision for student achievement and outcomes.

Requirements for District Guardrails

The Board commits to periodically reviewing and revising the District Guardrails adopted in Board Policy No. 0025, Guardrails for the District, so that the District maintains at least one and no more than five Guardrails. Each will describe an operational action or class of actions that the Superintendent may not use or allow in pursuit of District Goals.

Guardrails are intended to support, not hinder, pursuit of District Goals and are a reflection of our community’s values.

Interim Metrics

For each Board-adopted Goal and Guardrail, the Superintendent will establish one to three interim goals and guardrails. These metrics will be used for progress monitoring by the Board.

Progress Monitoring District Goals and Guardrails

District oversight is the responsibility of the Board as a whole, not of individual Board members.

The Board will adopt a calendar for regular monitoring of District progress towards the Goals and adherence to the Guardrails. The Superintendent will provide data for the Board to monitor according to the adopted calendar for the Goals, Guardrails, and the interim metrics.

The progress monitoring framework may include or be incorporated into other reporting requirements mandated by policy and law, including, but not limited to RCW 28A.655.100, RCW 28A.655.110, and Chapter 180-105 WAC.

Superintendent Procedure:

Policy Cross References:

• 0010 – Instructional Philosophy
• 0020 – Goals for the District
• 0025 – Guardrails for the District
• 0030 – Ensuring Educational and Racial Equity
• 1005 – Responsibilities and Authority of the Board
• 1240 – Committees
• 1310 – Policy Adoption and Suspension; Creation of Manuals and Superintendent Procedures
• 1620 – Board-Superintendent Relationship
• 1630 – Evaluation of the Superintendent
• 1630BP – Evaluation of the Superintendent
• 1640 – Responsibilities and Authority of the Superintendent
• 6550 – Internal Audit Policy
• 6550BP – Internal Audit Procedure

Previous Policies:

• A02.00 – Performance Management

Legal References:

• RCW 28A.655.100 Performance goals—Reporting requirements.
• RCW 28A.655.110 Annual school performance report—Model report form.
• WAC 180-105-040 Definitions.
• WAC 180-105-020 Performance improvement goals.
• WAC 180-105-060 Establishing goals.

Management Resources:

• Washington School Board Standards, Washington State School Board Directors’ Association
• WSSDA Policy & Legal News, May 2020
• Council of Great City Schools Student Outcomes Focused Governance Manual

Last Board Review:

Revisions:

• January 29, 2025
• November 3, 2021
• October 7, 2020
• August 21, 2019
• December 5, 2018
• September 23, 2015
• February 6, 2013

Adopted by the Board:

• June 1, 2011