- Westonka Public Schools
- World's Best Workforce
ISD 277 Westonka Public Schools Local World's Best Workforce Plan
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The World's Best Workforce (WBWF) Plan was developed in 2013 (Minnesota Statutes 2023, section 120B.11) to ensure that school districts and charter schools in Minnesota enhance student achievement through teaching and learning supports. School boards that govern districts and charter schools are required to develop comprehensive, long-term strategic plans that address the following four WBWF goals:
- All children are ready for school.
- All racial and economic achievement gaps between students are closed.
- All students are ready for career and college.
- All students graduate from high school.
Note: Due to legislative changes, third grade reading is no longer a WBWF goal area as of the 2023–24 school year.
The Westonka Public Schools World’s Best Workforce Plan serves as a blueprint that demonstrates how the district’s current strategic plan and supporting district initiatives and plans work together in a concerted effort to educate and prepare our students to be competitive and successful in a global and changing work environment.
WBWF Achievement Goals & Results
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By aligning district initiatives and plans to the district's strategic goals, Westonka has been able to achieve positive results in the key areas of the World’s Best Workforce. In particular, the objectives established under Westonka Public Schools Strategic Goal 1 are directly aligned to the World's Best Workforce Achievement Goals centered on: 1) school readiness, 2) achievement gap, 3) career and college readiness, and 4) graduation rate.
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School Readiness
All Students Ready for School
Westonka Public Schools uses early childhood screening to check the basic health and development of a child between the ages of 3 and 4 years. This screening is required for kindergarten entrance. The areas of screening include height, weight, vision, hearing, health history, family factors, fine motor skills, gross motor skills, language skills, cognitive skills, and social and emotional skills. The screening is specifically designed to identify children who may have fallen behind and may benefit from district and community resources/intervention services. This process is intended to aid in closing the achievement gap.
The district’s goal is to have at least 90 percent of students eligible for kindergarten pass their kindergarten assessment screenings in the spring.
Results:
For the 2023-24 school year, Westonka Early Childhood screened 160 children. Of those children, 137 were determined to be kindergarten-ready (86%). Twenty-three students were referred to Early Childhood Special Education or to medical or mental health specialists.
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Achievement Gap
All Racial and Economic Achievement Gaps Between Students are Closed
The achievement gap, as measured by the Minnesota Comprehensive Assessment (MCA) in reading and math, between the district's highest student subgroup and lowest student subgroups will decrease by 2 percentage points from the 2022-23 school year to the 2023-24 school year.
Results:
SPECIAL EDUCATION SUBGROUP
2023 MCA Math Proficiency
- White Group (1,014 students): 77.6%
- SPED Group (166 students): 45.2%
- Gap: 32.4
2024 MCA Math Proficiency
- White Group (1,043 students): 76.5%
- SPED Group (182 students): 44.5%
- Gap: 32.0
Achievement Gap Difference: -0.4
2023 MCA Reading Proficiency
- White Group (1,022 students): 74.10%
- SPED Group (170 students): 41.2%
- Gap: 32.90
2024 MCA Reading Proficiency
- White Group (1,075 students): 76.2%
- SPED Group (150 students): 46.0%
- Gap: 30.20
Achievement Gap Difference: -2.70
FREE/REDUCED MEALS SUBGROUP
2023 MCA Math Proficiency
- White Group (1,014 students): 77.6%
- F/R Meal Group (234 students): 53.8%
- Gap: 23.8
2024 MCA Math Proficiency
- White Group (1,043 students): 76.5%
- F/R Meal Group (246 students: 58.5%
- Gap: 18
Achievement Gap Difference: -5.80
2023 MCA Reading Proficiency
- White Group (1,022 students): 74.10%
- F/R Meal Group (248 students): 54.00%
- Gap: 20.1
2024 MCA Reading Proficiency
- White Group (1,075 students): 76.2%
- F/R Meal Group (244 students): 63.9%
- Gap: 12.3
Achievement Gap Difference: -7.8
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Career & College Readiness
All Students are Ready for Career and College
Pre-ACT and ACT results are used to help determine student college and career readiness. The following goal was set to measure student college and career readiness:
The composite score gap between our lowest student group (of at least 20 students) and our highest performing student group will decrease by .5 points from the 2021-22 school year to the 2023-24 school year as measured by the 10th Grade Pre-ACT results and the Graduating Class ACT results.
Results: Both groups increased their composite score average while the White group had a greater increase in composite score over the Students of Color Group, contributing to an increase in the composite score gap of 1.2 percentage points.
2021-22 Grade 10 Pre-ACT Composite Score:
- Students of Color (23 students): 18.0
- White (144 students): 20.2
- Gap: 2.2 points
2023-24 Graduating Class of 2024 Composite Score:
- Students of Color (20 students): 19.9
- White (151 students): 23.3
- Gap: 3.4 points
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Graduation Rate
All Students Graduate from High School
The State of Minnesota tracks graduation rates for each public school district, looking at 4-, 5-, 6- and 7-year cohorts of students. The most up-to-date graduation rates can be found on the Minnesota Report Card, located on the Minnesota Department of Education website. The district's long-term goal is that the 4-year, 5-year and 6-year graduating rates will be no less than 95% at the end of each school year.
Results:
- Westonka's 4-year graduation rate of 2023 (the most recent data available in the MDE Data Center) was 92.6%
- Westonka's 5-yr graduation rate of 2023 was 92.0%
- Westonka's 6-yr graduation rate of 2022 was 96.8%
Contact
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If you have questions about Westonka Public Schools World's Best Workforce Plan, please contact Westonka Assistant Superintendent for Teaching and Learning Mark Femrite at femritem@westonka.k12.mn.us or (952) 491-8002.
