Strategic Plan

In 2021, YCSD adopted Let's Talk! - AskYCSD to streamline communications and ensure we, as a division, are responsive, available and service-oriented. This platform connects families, community members, and staff with division team members best suited to address their questions and concerns based on identified topics.

This Key Performance Indicator (KPI) is updated on the first business day of each month and can be filtered by date, category or topic.

Research shows one of the most effective ways to increase student achievement is for schools and families to work together to support children's learning and development. YCSD has selected six research-based family engagement concepts for reporting family engagement programs.

The division and all 19 schools hold events throughout each school year to enhance our families' knowledge of K-12 education while empowering them to be active participants in meaningful school-home relationships. The division monitors the purposes of events held, the target audience(s) and when and where events are held.

This Key Performance Indicator (KPI) is updated quarterly and can be filtered by school or department, year, time of day, and location.

Note: Schools and departments hold numerous events and activities for family and community members beyond those reported here.

Engaging families, community members, team members and students in the decision-making process is crucial to the success of the school division. Implementing an intentional approach to ensure all voices are heard allows for stakeholders to believe their feedback, input and participation is both purposeful and valued, school-home relationships are strengthened by building mutual trust and understanding.

The division tracks division-level committees, number of participants, and stakeholder representation by school, department, and demographics.

This Key Performance Indicator (KPI) is updated annually and can be filtered by year, committee, stakeholder role and program representation.

Note: The total number of participants across multiple years may differ from individual years. This total counts all unique individuals, so someone serving on a committee each year is counted once in the combined total.

The division uses multiple platforms and tools to communicate with families, staff and community members. Social media is a high-profile, high-potential communication channel to share division and school news, expand our audience, and facilitate two-way engagement. The division monitors the number of posts shared to the primary division Facebook and Instagram accounts, the number of followers, as well as the engagement and reach of the accounts.

This Key Performance Indicator (KPI) is updated on the first business day of each month and can be filtered by platform, month and year.

In conjunction with the Virginia Department of Education, the division offers students in grades 4-12 the opportunity to participate in the Virginia School Survey. The survey is designed to support school and division administrators in monitoring student access to a healthy and positive environment in which they can learn, work, interact, and grow.

State administration of the survey alternates annually between middle and high school students. The division has identified 10 questions from the state survey to administer at all grade levels.

This Key Performance Indicator (KPI) is updated annually after the division receives survey results from state agencies and can be filtered by school year, school level, and school.

Note: 2023-24 data for state administered high school surveys is not currently available.

Participation in school organizations, clubs and teams can benefit students in key areas such as academic performance, behavior and attendance. Extracurricular activities provide students opportunities, beyond the classroom, to apply knowledge, skills, habits and traits necessary for success in future experiences.

As activities can include year-long or seasonal participation, this Key Performance Indicator (KPI) is updated quarterly during the school year and can be filtered by school year, school and grade level.

Participation in school organizations, clubs and teams benefit students in key areas such as academic performance, behavior and attendance. Extracurricular activities provide students opportunities beyond the classroom to apply knowledge, skills, habits and traits necessary for future success. All middle schools and high schools offer opportunities for students in co-curricular, extracurricular and athletic/scholastic organizations.

Co-Curricular: Activities which are an extension of the formal learning experiences in a course or academic program

Extracurricular: Activities not explicitly connected to the academic learning

Athletics/Scholastic: High school activities associated with the Virginia High School League (VHSL) and middle school sports

Multiple Connections: Students involved in two or more school programs

As activities can include year-long or seasonal participation, this Key Performance Indicator (KPI) is updated quarterly during the school year and can be filtered by school year, school and grade level.

Regular attendance in school improves children's success while those with irregular attendance may fall behind. The York County School Division must comply with the Code of Virginia requirements for truancy and chronic absenteeism.

The Virginia Department of Education (VDOE) defines chronic absenteeism as a student having 10% or more absences during an academic school year, regardless of whether the absence is excused or unexcused. Unexcused absences include student absences for which the school has not received notification from the family and/or the absence does not meet criteria in the YCSD Student Handbook and Conduct Code. Truancy is defined as the act of accruing one or more unexcused absences.

The division monitors student absenteeism to develop supports and interventions for those students with five or more absences. This Key Performance Indicator (KPI) is updated on the first business day of each month and can be sorted by date, year, school and type of absence.

Creating a positive school environment requires collaboration between students, families and school staff. Student behavior violations and resulting disciplinary measures are governed by the YCSD Student Conduct Code. The Conduct Code is intended to ensure students learn in a safe and disruption-free environment.

Disciplinary measures include removal from class or being given detention, receiving alternative sanctions (e.g. denial of bus privileges), in-school suspension and out-of-school suspension. For more information, please review the Student Handbook and Conduct Code.

The division monitors the most common behavior violations and the resulting disciplinary measure. This Key Performance Indicator (KPI) is updated quarterly and can be filtered by school year, level, and demographics.

The following student behavior categories, as defined by the VDOE, were designed to assist in recognizing the impact the behavior has on the school learning environment and to encourage responses that promote social-emotional learning competencies.

Behaviors that Impede Academic Progress (BAP):

These behaviors impede the academic progress of the student or of students. They are typically indicative of the student's lack of self-management or self-awareness. Sometimes, the student may need help in understanding how the behavior impacts others. Therefore, as a result, training in social awareness may also be indicated.

Behaviors Related to School Operations (BSO):

These behaviors interfere with the daily operation of school procedures. Students exhibiting these behaviors may need to develop self-management, self-awareness, or social awareness skills.

Relationship Behaviors (RB):

These behaviors create a negative relationship between two or more people that does not result in physical harm. Relationship behaviors affect the whole school community in that the school climate is often a reflection of how people treat one another. Students who exhibit difficulty with relationship behaviors may also have difficulty with the other social- emotional competencies.

Behaviors that Present a Safety Concern (BSC):

These behaviors create unsafe conditions for students, staff, and visitors to the school. The underlying reasons for this type of behavior may lie in any of the social-emotional competencies, so the administrator should investigate the underlying motivation for the student's behavior. Training in social awareness and decision-making is usually indicated in any behavior that creates a safety concern.

Behaviors that Endanger Self or Others (BESO):

These behaviors endanger the health, safety, or welfare of either the student or others in the school community. Behaviors that rise to this level of severity are often complex. While they are indicative of poor decision-making skills, students who exhibit these behaviors may also have developmental needs in the other social-emotional competencies.

Persistently Dangerous Behaviors (PDB):

These behaviors are described in the Virginia's Unsafe School Choice Option Policy required by the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA) of 2015.